Portugal’s cult drink: What you need to know about Port wines

class = “sc-cffd1e67-0 fmXrkB”>

An old Portuguese proverb says: “There is no single moment for a glass of port, but there is always the right port for every moment.” However, many people find themselves overwhelmed in front of the port wine rack in a specialist store due to the wide range of products.

But different port wines are often the result of different storage conditions. Although white and rosé ports are also available now, red port wines predominate. By the way, these are best enjoyed at room temperature.

Apparently, port wine is named after the port city of Porto

Production takes place in the Douro Valley, approximately 50 kilometers to the east. This warm region on the banks of the Douro River is world-famous for its steep, stone-walled terraced vineyards. All port wines are initially made the same way.

Particularly exciting: the crushing of freshly harvested grapes with bare feet in large granite basins (but nowadays this is usually done by machines). After being enriched with 77 percent alcoholic wine distillate, fermentation is stopped and the sweet wine is placed in wooden barrels. They are called Ruby or Tawny Port, depending on whether the wines mature for a short time in large wooden barrels or for a longer time in small barrels (pipa).

Ruby Port – Dark fruit bombs

Ruby Ports are always deep in color and fruity in character. Typical flavors are black cherries or canned blackberries. There are four different types:

• Ruby Harbor – Entry-level port with a simple, fruity-sweet aroma keeps for one to three years when sold.
• Book Ruby Port – Gourmet port, which has a more intense aroma and slightly softer alcohol than Ruby, has been stored for up to five years.
• LBV port (Late Bottled Vintage) – from a single good vintage, extremely complex fruit and spicy aromas, very sweet, stored for four to six years. If the label says “unfiltered” you should drain it.
• Vintage Port – The most expensive of the Rubys, a single top vintage, this aroma consisting of quite complex leather, coffee and dried fruit aromas requires at least 20 years in the bottle to mature. Important: always empty.

Tawny Port – Crazy classics

Tawny means brown-red. In addition to color, long maturation in small Pipas also brings intense hazelnut, mushroom, leather and dried fruit aromas. Here too four types are distinguished:

• Tawny Harbor – Classic matures in barrels for two to three years and develops delicate and sweet aromas of caramel, toffee and leather.
• Reserve Tawny Harbor – Schmeicher, it needs to mature for at least six years before it can be sold, with velvety alcohol and intense chocolate and dried fruit aromas.
• 10 – 40 Years Old Port – Legendary among 40-year-old port wines, incredibly subtle and complex aromas of walnuts, coffee, raisins and leather.
• Port of Colheita – Vintage Tawny Ports, very rare! The harvest and bottling date of this product, which is matured in Pipas for at least eight years, is always on the label.

The following applies to all Tawny Ports: neither store nor discharge.

Source : Blick