A Port Primer

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Vibrant City of Oporto

 In advance of the tasting this Thursday (6-8pm) at Vino Verite, people have asked for a “primer” on Port.  Since I traveled to Port not too long ago (known to the Portuguese as Oporto), I ended up solidifying a great deal of the book and tasting experience I previously had with Port.

 

For what it’s worth, I highly recommend traveling to Portugal, and especially Oporto— it is a vibrant and delightfully “scruffy” city, with superb restaurants, friendly people, and some great off-the-beaten-path museums.   It is how I remember Paris was about 20 years ago; while the people are nice, the city is not primarily oriented to tourism.  Except for the Port trade, that is.

 

But the nice thing is that the grapes for Port are picked far from Oporto, and the barrels of wine are aged across the river from the city as well, in a town called Villa Nova de Gaia.  So as a visitor, one can hop in and out of the Port Wine experience, which can be very tourist oriented, but certainly should not be missed.

 

Port’s origins are pretty much the same as any traditional red wine.  For example, one of the grapes used, Tinta Roriz, is the Portuguese name for Tempranillo, the famed Spanish grape predominantly grown in Rioja and the Douro region of Spain.  In Spain, the Douro region is named for the same river that if followed all the way to its end, brings you past the vineyards that grow grapes for Port, and finally, the city of Oporto, where the Douro meets the sea.

 

In contrast to Oporto’s near-costal location, the grapes for Port are grown far up the valley of the Douro, on the steep, terraced sides of the valley.  (Note in the picture that just about every inch possible is used to grow vines.)  Once the grapes are harvested, they are fermented in the traditional ways that all red wine is— but when making port, the wine has brandy added to it to stop the fermentation process (the high alcohol of the brandy kills off the yeast).  At this point, the ceremony begins— the fortified wines are transferred from tanks into barrels, which are loaded onto boats called Rabelos.  The Rabelos head downstream towards the mouth of the Douro, and upon reaching the city of Villa Nova de Gaia, which is directly across the river from Oporto, the barrels are offloaded and placed in the huge variety of cellars or caves to begin aging.

Ruby Port 

Ruby port is the youngest and least processed of the ports— yet it can have incredible complexity and flavor.  Just don’t expect it to be at all like aged ports.  Since the grapes are picked, pressed, and fermented in steel or concrete tanks, there is no oxidation that occurs.  Therefore, Ruby Ports have a thick, sweet, and robust flavor mostly— and again the complexities from the base flavors can range from earthy to citrusy.  Ruby is also the least expensive, so a great deal of sampling is not out of the question!

 

Ruby and White Port

 White Port 

White port, as the name suggests, is made from white grapes, but the same process is used as is to make Ruby port.  White ports can have a rather intense sweet quality, but many can offer delightfully intriguing qualities and notes such as orange peel, pear, and vanilla-almond flavors.  It is best served chilled, and there are dry as well as sweet versions.  White Port is a style that is gaining in popularity, especially with excellent domestic versions produced in California and Washington State.

 

Tawny Port

Now we get to the style of Port most people are accustomed to— this is “base port” (Ruby) put in the barrels that are then shipped downriver to the city of Villa Nova de Gaia.  The barrels allow in a certain amount of air, so the wine slowly oxidizes, as well as interacts with the wood of the barrel.  The wine loses its red or ruby colors and turns tawny, or amber.  You might imagine that the differences in the original red wine used to make Tawny will result in a huge range of possibilities as the port is aged for designated decades of 10, 20, 30, and 40 years. The port ages and the color changes; warm brownish hues mean the flavors turn towards nuts, vanilla, chocolate, and an incredible variety of wood-based aromas fill the glass.  These woody notes, pleasing and harmonious, are what have ensnared so many people to become fans, ever searching for that deep, elegant nose and flavor of Tawny Ports.

 

Colheita

Colheita means “vintage” in Portuguese, but must not be confused with the style and gravity of “Vintage Port” which is explained below.  In short, Colheita is Tawny Port from a single vintage— the difference is that Colheita is aged in the barrels for at least 18 months, but more often for a much longer period, in some cases decades.  Therefore the mark of Colheita is most certainly the single year’s vintage, but also that it has been allowed to oxidize and mature in the barrels, not the bottle.

 

“Vintage” Port

Vintage Port is considered the highest level and most cherished of the Ports.  The various houses which grow and make the ports will keep a sharp eye out for “ideal years,” and if they feel one is reached, a “Vintage” is declared.  Therefore, the single year on a bottle of Vintage Port refers to that great year’s harvest, determined by the overall quality of the original wine.  The wine is not put in barrels to oxidize, marking the difference from Colheita. Now, you might think that since Vintage Port draws so much attention that Vintages would be declared more often than not— however, given that the world’s opinion of the Vintage will be heavily weighed and communicated, producers are very, very careful in determining which years will be declared as “Vintage.”  Vintage port can be aged with great success in the bottle, so keeping it cellared can be a great idea.  Usually a Vintage Port is made in small quantities, so the price is quite high because the bottles end up being in rare supply.

 

Crusted Port

No, we’re not talking Port that is enjoyed by Pirates. (But it’s fun to think about anyway.)  Crusted Port is in many ways a great secret— it is a blend of ports from various years.  The date on Crusted Port simply refers to the year the bottle was created, and should not be confused with Vintage Port, made from the grapes of a single year’s exceptional harvest.  However, Crusted Port is usually quite excellent, given that blending can produce results of higher quality than simply sticking to a single year that may or may not have been stellar.

 

There’s more to report here, but this is adequate for one to understand the most common types of Port on the shelves or your local retailer.

 

Enjoy!

 

-Haj

Cellared Barrels of Tawny Port

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