The Wine
The port wine is produced in a carefully delimited part of the Douro region that extends from 100 Kms east of the city of Porto to the Spanish border, covering an area of 74130 acres. The vineyard is essentially strewed on terraces, classified according to a quality range that considers the soils' quality, the sun exposure, the varieties of grape, etc...
The variety of grapes
We find more than 150 different varieties in the delimited region but only 5, for the red wines, and 3, for the white wines, are promoted by the I.V.P. (l'Institut du Vin de Porto). Then, Touriga Nacional, Touriga Francesa and Tinta Roriz are the most prized varieties entering in the elaboration of vintage Ports.
Fermentation
The fermentation is only lasting for a few days and is characterized by repeating pumping over that are used to extract the most color and matter. Then, the fermentation is blocked with an addition of wine-alcohol grading 77°; as a result, it brings the wine to an alcoholic concentration of 19% and forms a high concentration of residual sugars. After the first racks in winter, the port wine enters a period of aging during which it's kept in 225 liters barrels, 550 liters barrels (going by the name of Pipe) and in large barrels (going by the French name of Foudres), all of them in wood. Concerning the other wines, fermentation is fully completed and no wine-alcohol is added. Moreover, there is no residual sugars and the alcoholic concentration goes from 12 to 13.5%.
The different Port wines
The Ruby Ports: : those wines are characterized by tastes of black fruit, a well structured matter and a deep color. They are essentially aging in barrels and in tanks.
Finally, they are divided between three categories:
Ruby : a mix of different years, at least three years old, lighter than the other ruby it retains a strong fruit taste.
Late Bottled Vintage : solely composed of wines from a unique and excellent year, it is left, aging between 4 and 6 years, in chestnut's or oak's barrels and, only then, it's bottled. It's characterized by tastes of very mature fruits. While it can be considered to be mature, it will; nevertheless, continue to evolve for some years after being bottled.
Vintage : also composed of wines from a unique and excellent year. its color is almost black and it ages for 2 years before the I.V.P. (Instituto do Vinhos do Porto) Taste it and approve it as a vintage. It's, then, bottled without any kind of filtration and it will continue to age for several years. While in its youth, it's a powerful wine characterized by a rich color and long lasting flavors.
Tawny Ports : characterized by a taste mixing the flavors of dry fruits, wood and spices, they age in barrels of 550 liters and slowly get oxidized over a long period of time. By mixing different wines we get the tawnies (10,20 and 40 years old) which are bottled when they are already mature.
The White Ports : it's a mix of wines from different years that are bottled at maturity.
The Wine
The port wine is produced in a carefully delimited part of the Douro region that extends from 100 Kms east of the city of Porto to the Spanish border, covering an area of 74130 acres. The vineyard is essentially strewed on terraces, classified according to a quality range that considers the soils' quality, the sun exposure, the varieties of grape, etc...
The variety of grapes
We find more than 150 different varieties in the delimited region but only 5, for the red wines, and 3, for the white wines, are promoted by the I.V.P. (l'Institut du Vin de Porto). Then, Touriga Nacional, Touriga Francesa and Tinta Roriz are the most prized varieties entering in the elaboration of vintage Ports.
Fermentation
The fermentation is only lasting for a few days and is characterized by repeating pumping over that are used to extract the most color and matter. Then, the fermentation is blocked with an addition of wine-alcohol grading 77°; as a result, it brings the wine to an alcoholic concentration of 19% and forms a high concentration of residual sugars. After the first racks in winter, the port wine enters a period of aging during which it's kept in 225 liters barrels, 550 liters barrels (going by the name of Pipe) and in large barrels (going by the French name of Foudres), all of them in wood. Concerning the other wines, fermentation is fully completed and no wine-alcohol is added. Moreover, there is no residual sugars and the alcoholic concentration goes from 12 to 13.5%.
