Touriga Nacional, though the most difficult to manage in the vineyard, is seen as the most desirable. Thank You! We've received your email address, and soon you will start getting exclusive offers and news from Wine Enthusiast.
The base for Port is made like any other wine. Before all the sugar has been converted to alcohol, a neutral grape spirit is introduced to the wine. This process is known as fortification. The aguardente kills the remaining yeast and stops fermentation. Wines are stored and aged in barrels before bottling.
But grape growing and wine production in Portugal, and specifically in the Douro, began thousands of years ago. The Treaty of Windsor laid the groundwork for a reciprocal relationship between Portugal and England. By the 15th century, Portuguese wine was exported regularly to England, sometimes in exchange for salt cod. By the s, people began to refer to this wine shipping from the seaside city of Porto as Port. Sea travel also took its toll, as the heat and movement inside the barrels deteriorated the wines.
To offset this, winemakers began to add brandy to the wines, which extended their shelf life. In the mids, his family was the first to buy vineyards in the region for wine production.
Although best known as a sweet wine, Port has many more layers to it. Join us as we take you through the nuances of this popular Portuguese libation to learn about what it is, how it's made, how many varieties there are let's just say there are plenty , and how to best enjoy it.
Unlike other types of wine, fortified wine is made by adding a distilled spirit, particularly a grape spirit such as cognac or brandy. Much like authentic Champagne must come from the specific wine region in France, true Port must come from Portugal's Douro Valley. Still, many wines calling themselves Port may come from other regions, so always check the wine label says "Porto.
Port is considered a dessert wine since it most often has a sweet taste and is enjoyed during or after dessert. It's also popular on its own as a dessert. This high ABV is one reason why you usually only see Port served in small portions.
As with all winemaking , Port production begins once the grapes are harvested. The grapes are pressed to extract the juice and begin the fermentation process. If the winemaker fortifies the wine before fermentation is finished, the result is more residual sugar that creates a sweet wine. By contrast, if the winemaker adds the spirits after the fermentation process is complete, the result is a dry fortified wine with less sugar. Oftentimes, young Port wines are aged in large oak barrels for about 18 months.
That said, some Port producers bypass the oak casks and let the wine age in the bottle. Depending on different winemaking factors, you can end up with a sweet and complex Port wine or a drier and brighter variety. For the most part, Ports are full-bodied, sweet red wines with notes of berries, caramel, cinnamon, and chocolate. In other words, just as with other types of wines , Port comes in a wonderful variety of styles to suit your tastes.
Flavanol pyranoanthocyanins are formed by the cycloaddition between anthocyanins and 8-vinylflavanol adducts initially derived from the cleavage of ethyl-linked flavanol oligomers [ 46 ] or pigments [ 86 , 87 ]. This postulate is concordant with the fact that procyanidin dimers are more abundant than catechin monomers in grapes and wines from the Douro region [ 88 , 89 ].
Furthermore, their concentrations decreased in older wines for both malvidinglucoside derived-pigments A second generation of pyranoanthocyanins can be formed by the reaction between a vitisin A and other metabolites. For example, oxovitisins XX are neutral yellowish pyranone structures involving the nucleophilic attack of water at the C position of vitisin A [ 90 ].
In Mateus et al. The structure of these compounds consists of a pyranoanthocyanin moiety linked through a vinyl bridge to a flavanol or phenol unit. Their pathway of formation involves the carboxypyranoanthocyanins and vinylphenolic compounds. The first of these compounds reported in the literature arise from reaction of 8-vinylflavanol with carbon C of the carboxypyranoanthocyanins, followed by loss of a formic acid group yielding the vinyl bridge.
Portisins have been shown to have very high colouring capacity, much higher than that of their anthocyanin or pyruvic acid adduct counterparts [ 91 , 92 , 93 ]. Later, other portisins B type were detected in aged Port wines. In these, the flavanol moiety is replaced by a phenolic moiety with different hydroxylation and methoxylation patterns [ 61 , 67 , 74 , 75 ].
These compounds were reported to result from the reaction of carboxypyranoanthocyanins with vinylphenols and cinnamic acids, following a mechanism similar to that of vinylflavanols and involving a further decarboxylation. The condensation between A-type vitisins and methylpyroanthocyanins results in the formation of pyranoanthocyanin dimers XXII , Figure 3. These turquoise blue pigments were found in a 9 year aged Port wine [ 73 ]. In addition, wine spirits are rich in aldehydes such as acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde, isovaleraldehyde, isobutyraldehyde, and benzaldehyde [ 94 ].
The volatile profile of young Port wines is significantly different from that of aged Tawny Port wines or bottle-aged Port wines.
Producers blend wines from several vintages and vineyards to produce wines with a consistent character. The final aroma character of the Port wine is to a considerable extent determined by the processes that take place during the oxidative ageing process of these wines, such as oxidation, carbohydrate degradation, formation and hydrolysis of esters, formation of acetals and to a lesser extent extraction of components from wood [ 11 ].
More than volatile components have been detected in Port wines, of which have been entirely or partially identified, however, the sensory importance of the various groups of volatile compounds does not entirely explain the sensory properties of Ruby or Tawny Port wines [ 95 ]. Norisoprenoids have been found to contribute significantly to the aroma of young and aged Port wines [ 76 , 99 , , ].
In a one year aged Port wine produced from Touriga Franca and Touriga Nacional grape varieties the norisoprenoid, 2,6,6-trimethylcyclohexene-1,4-dione, described as having sweet honey aroma, was identified by Rogerson et al.
Ferreira et al. These authors observed that temperature and pH had a major influence on norisoprenoids levels and oxygen saturation reduced these compounds. Freitas et al. Carotenoids are the precursor of norisoprenoids and in Port wine carotenoids persist after the vinification process [ ].
Grape varieties used for Port wine production are rich in certain carotenoids and viticultural practices, such as bunch shading [ , ] and grapevine water status [ ] can influence the concentration of carotenoids in the grape berries. Acetals, derived from glycerol and acetaldehyde, also appear to be involved in the flavour of aged Tawny Port wines [ ]. The levels of aldehydes and methyl ketones increase during the oxidative ageing of Port wines.
The major aliphatic aldehyde is acetaldehyde with a clear trend of increasing with the time of storage in wood barrels. At wine pH, four isomers are formed by condensation of glycerol and acetaldehyde: cis - and trans hydroxymethyl-1,3-dioxane and cis - and trans hydroxymethylmethyl-1,3-dioxolane. These four acetals have been studied in more detail in order to understand their impact on wine aroma and if these substances can be used as indicators of Port wines age with oxidative ageing conditions.
These four isomers are found in Port wine at high concentrations. Nevertheless, this reaction is strongly dependent on free sulphur dioxide levels. When there is no free sulphur dioxide, the level of four isomers increases with the extent of ageing. On the other hand, when sulphur dioxide combines with acetaldehyde, the acetals cannot be formed because of the formation of the acetaldehyde-bisulphite adduct. The concentrations of the four acetals increases consistently with age due to the constant increase of acetaldehyde content and the nonexistence of free sulphur dioxide during Port wine storage.
Many acetals have been isolated from Tawny Port wines, but their contribution to the oxidised character of the wine is unclear [ 8 ]. Port wines with extensive wood-ageing have higher concentrations of diethyl and other succinate esters that contribute to the Port wine bouquet. Some of the latter are furan derivatives, such as dihydro 3H -furanone and may contribute to a sugary oxidised bouquet [ 8 ]. Esters of 2-phenylethanol may contribute to the fruity, sweet bouquet of Port wines, and diacetyl can contribute to its caramel odour [ 99 ].
However, in wood barrel aged Port wine the 3-hydroxy-4,5-dimethyl-2 5H -furanone sotolon seems to be the most significant volatile compound [ , ]. Albeit being a compound with an apparently important role in Port wine aged aroma, the mechanism of sotolon formation in wine is not yet fully understood. The formation of sotolon in Port wines is dependent on the temperature and oxygen levels [ , ], which are crucial parameters during the oxidative ageing of Tawny Port wines.
These reactions can lead to the formation of sotolon 8 according to [ , , , ]. Young Port wines show higher levels of volatile sulphur compounds than aged Port wines [ ]. Sulphur compounds, such as 2-mercaptoethanol, 2- methylthio ethanol, ethyl 3- methylthio propionate, 3- methylthio propanol, cis - odourless , and trans methyltetrahydrothiophenol, 3- ethylthio propanol, 4- methylthio butanol, dimethyl sulfone, benzothiazole, 3- methylthio propionic acid and N methylthiopropyl acetamide are not present or are present in lower concentrations in aged Tawny Port wines when compared to young Tawny Port wines [ ].
It is a traditional product with more than years old and commercialised all around the world for many centuries. However, more knowledge is still needed in order to understand and control its composition and its evolution during the wine ageing process.
Port wine presents a complex physicochemical matrix that results from complex and concurrent chemical reactions that occur during the ageing process significantly changing its sensory profile. Different Port wine styles are obtained using different ageing processes, related to different oxygen levels, temperature and sulphur dioxide variations. A dozen or so port-wine lodges near Porto welcome visitors for tastings and tours to see the barrels and vats in which the wine is maturing.
The best way to fully experience the Douro Valley is to rent a car to visit several quintas. While some are private, many welcome travelers.
Of the quintas that are open to the public, most offer a tour, followed by a tasting of several wines. Some rent out rooms.
Without a car, a slow but scenic way to visit is to take a boat from Porto to the heart of the Douro a seven-hour trip.
Neither town is particularly exciting, but both have hotels and make a decent home base for visiting the area's quintas. A rabelo — the traditional flat-bottomed boat that was once used to transport barrels of port downriver from Douro to Porto — is permanently moored to the rooftop.
Compare quintas with the help of a guidebook, online research or local advice. One good place is Quinta do Panascal, which produces the popular Fonseca port.
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