oporto books on amazon”The port, such as Sherry, is a wine widely imitated but never equaled; the only wine which has the right to be called Port is the Alto Duero wine…”
Although “port wine” is made in many places, the only wine which has the right to be called Port is the wine of the upper Duero (Alto Duero), fortified with brandy of Portuguese grapes and distributed from the city of Oporto, that lends its name to the wine. The wine of Portugal was known in England (but not liked) from the year 1308. English merchants, in search of a better wine, traced the Douro River to find an extremely dry and inhospitable region, which stretches from the town of Regua to 96 km towards the border with Spain. This region has the least amount of rain in the North of Portugal. You can not know what led these explorers to styling terraces in the hills of the region for planting the vine, but this way of cultivation remains to the present day. This territory is formed by a kind of crystalline rock breaking and crumbling, in an area consisting mostly of granitic soil.
Different varieties of vine grow in this place and have adapted to the extreme heat and little rain. The Touriga Nacional and French, the Tintas Roriz and Barroca are the main, but the Mourisco, the bastard and the Sousão and ink Cao are also used. The Malvasia Fina, the Rabigato and the Codega are used for white port.
It was not until the year 1670 that the Duero wines became sufficient to England and the Methuen Treaty of 1703 (by which the Portuguese wine and English wool were exchanged freely), gave absolute preference. The French Revolution and the Napoleonic wars increased the difficulty to get good French wines and gave it a great advantage to Portugal to export its wines to England. As in other cases, it was seen that Portuguese wines were better if added them a number of brandy to stabilize them and this was the main reason to fortify its wines. This practice stopped fermentation and let the wine with the taste of the British natural sweetness.
Large exporters of Port, still carry the names of the English who initiated the trade in wine, and thus we see brands of the oporto:
Calem, Offley, Gould Campbell, Cockburn, Croft, Delaforce, Dow, Geaham, Robertson, Sandeman, Taylor
and also Portuguese names as:
Fonseca, Ferreira, Silva and Cosens, Quinta de Noval, Ramos Pinto, Barros Almeida and others.
As it is the case with most of the wines, the harvest begins in late September and grapes are transported in large elongated baskets and poured into the winery, where it is still used the treading of grapes, although sometimes treading has changed by the use of the autovinificador.
The process of fermentation is made in large vats of wood that are now gradually being replaced by stainless steel or cement tanks. When the degree of sweetness is reached in the wine it is transferred to large barrels containing brandy, which swiches “off” (i.e. stopped) the fermentation process immediately, resulting in a wine of determined sweetness and alcoholic strength, with a delicate balance between the two. The wine is taken to the “Quintas” which are the wine properties where it rests, and at the beginning of the following year the wine is downstream moved to Porto, or rather, to the suburb of Vilanova de Gaia, located on the other side of the River, opposite Port. Before transporting the casks it was carried out by river in single sail boats called “Rabelo“, but currently is transported in tank trucks or rail, since the construction of dikes along the River, prevents the original transportation.
Today the river is full of speedboats and water skiers.
In Vilanova de Gaia wine matures in old barrels of oak of 600 l. called “pipas“. Young wood is not used because it may change the flavor of the wine.
TYPES OF OPORTO
BLENDS OF WINES FROM VARIOUS CROPS
White port is made from white grapes and is aged in pipes up to 10 years. The alcohol content is around 20 °
They are sweet wines, like all the ports, but some (Ramos-Pinto and Churchil Graham) are made dry, and in this case to indicate it on the label. White port is a colored Topaz, fresh wine and is taken as an aperitif.
The Ruby Port is a young wine, fruit of the mixture of various crops, aged in wood between two to three years, which gives a body between medium and robust, intense red colour and sweet fruity flavour.
The Tawny Port is resulting from the mixture of different vintages and wine that is aged in barrels for one longer time; the wine loses its color and it even acquire a toasted colour, almost ambar.
Aged Tawnies spend more time in barrel and the label shows the time passing through the wood: 10, 20, 30 and 40 years. Prolonged barrel aging confers a shade of Red roasted with amber reflections and the bouquet reminds of dried fruit long barrel gives them and the skin of citrus fruits.
Port of crusted, aged in wood for three years and other three years in the bottle, is a Ruby of great quality that while aging in bottle produces a deposit or crust, so it should be decanted.
MIXTURES OF THE SAME VINTAGE WINES
Vintage port is regarded as the jewel in the Crown of the wines of Oporto, is the only one that matures in the bottle. Produced with grapes of a single vintage, after only two years of aging in barrels, it goes to the bottle, where it will keep getting older and gaining body gradually. It spends 10 to 50 years in the bottle.
Very strong and fruity, with a high concentration of tannins in their youth, it does not reach its full development until age 20. The wine pulls a hastily called crust, so it should be decanted. The Vintage Port is one of the most long-lived wines that exist and should be reserved for special occasions. The Vintage are the only ports that have date and are the best and most fine wines of the region.
Late Bottled Vintage (LBV)
It is a Ruby port of a single year, selected for their high quality and bottled after a period of ageing from four to six years. The majority is ready for consumption at the time of the purchase, but some continue their aging in bottle.
Port LBV presents red intense Ruby colors, has body and is rich in the mouth; It has the distinction of style and personality of a wine of a single vintage. It is a wine with lower cost than the previous, but with similar characteristics.
——————————————————————————————————
The port should be served at room temperature and is taken at the end of the meal in a sufficiently large cup and not in a glass “miniature”. It can serve to accompany the dessert, or it can be taken instead of a liqueur after the coffee.
The oporto, as Sherry. It is a wine widely imitated but never equaled, the only wine that is entitled to be called “Port” is the Alto Douro wine, fortified with brandy and distributed from the city of Oporto, that gives it its name.