Good port wine: review, manufacturers, how to determine the quality

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Portugal has long been famous for the production of wines and the cultivation of grapes of various varieties. In addition to the achievement of the Portuguese in football, this country has earned worldwide recognition as a place for the production of good port wine. The history of the drink has more than one century, it is famous for its strength and richness of taste.

Contrary to belief, a good port can be easily distinguished from any other wine drink. Its peculiarity is strong taste, rich color and bright bouquet. Depending on how port is made, it can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. Today, the drink is bottled all over the globe, but still its homeland is Portugal. It is there that you can taste the real lush and rich taste of port wine.

History of Port

In the gardens of the Iberian Peninsula, people have grown grapes and made wine since ancient times. It is known that these regions were famous for winemaking as early as the 4th-5th centuries BC. After the arrival of the Greeks, and later the Romans, the productiononly prospered.

The banks of the Douro River are the birthplace of port wine. This drink is made from certain grape varieties, the climatic conditions of Portugal favor the growth of the vine and the formation of bunches of berries.

During the heyday of the Portuguese kingdom at the beginning of the second century, the export of wines was established, which were duly appreciated by the countries of the European continent.

Port wine in its usual performance appeared much later. Starting from the second half of the 17th century, England and Portugal signed a number of treaties, the results of which were close military and commercial cooperation. The British recognized the Portuguese port as good and for many years it became one of the favorite drinks of the inhabitants of Foggy Albion.

After trade relations with France were suppressed in 1664 by the English crown, merchants had to look for new suppliers of the drink of the gods. So Portuguese wines hit the shelves of English shops in their full range. Strong wines of the Douro Valley were most appreciated by consumers, and it is here that good port wine is produced to this day.

Origin of the name

The vineyards of the varieties needed for production were located in the interior of the country, which made transportation difficult. In order to deliver a valuable cargo to England, it was first sent by water transport down the river to the port city of Porto. So the name of the drink was formed from the phrase Vinho do Porto, that is, "wine from Porto", but the British in their own waylabeled the wine as portwein. The first record of transporting a batch of this type of wine was made in 1678.

Alcohol and port wine

Port wine with a taste familiar to modern consumers appeared somewhat later. During transportation, the wine could lose its properties and deteriorate, so the producers added more grape alcohol to the container.

In the second half of the 18th century, the sale of port wine declined sharply, this was due to the increased number of fakes of the noble drink. English consumers began to refuse a low-quality product. After the intervention of the government in the process of production and transportation of strong wine, the demand situation has improved significantly. Port returned to its former glory of a good, strong wine made from grapes. Measures were also introduced to delimit vineyards in different parts of the country. Only high-quality vinhos de feitoria wines were exported, the rest were destined to remain within the country.

Also important is the production of glass bottles, which was established at the end of the 17th century. This greatly facilitated the delivery of valuable cargo to the shores of England.

Production of strong wine drink

The grapes, which grow in the arid and hot climate of Portugal, are considered ideal for the production of good port wine. Harvested by hand in mid-September, as well as for the manufacture of any type of wine.

Bunches of grapes do not differ in large size, like berries. The peel is dense, the varieties are dark. Vines of different types are grown separately from each other, but later they are formed into one blend.

Each type of berry has its own characteristics, differs in sweetness, richness of taste and aroma. Combined, they make an excellent raw material for a good port.

There are several stages of making wine, the first of which involves the crushing of berries on large slabs of stone. These are a kind of granite plates - lagars. Crushing occurs in the same way as from time immemorial the production of wine, with the help of the feet. Harder bunches of grapes are cut in the next stage of production.

In the process of crushing, workers follow a certain technology, each of them is engaged in the work assigned to him. Important in the process of fermentation of grapes is the location of the shell of the berries over the crushed mass. Thus, the necessary greenhouse effect is formed, heat is released and the wine mixture begins the fermentation process. After a few hours, tannins, coloring pigments, alcohol and aroma from the skins are released. The stage of free fermentation is called "free", from the moment of stacking and crushing, an independent process of forming the drink begins.

After the grape juice has been fermented, it is poured into a container and wine alcohol with a strength of 77% is added to it, the ratio of additive to wine in the classic version is 115 liters per 435 liters. Thanks to alcohol, the work of wine yeast is stopped and the sweetness of the drink is preserved.

Tony

Before choosing a good port, you need todetermine its type and category. There are two of them in total:

• tony;
• ruby.

There is a huge difference between them in the complexity of product maturation. So, the final stage of maturation of Tony takes place in wooden barrels, and ruby in bottles.

The production of Tony port wine is distinguished by the maturation of wine in huge barrels, the volume of which is about 600 liters, made of wood.

There are the following types of this port wine:

• Tony - aged three years.
• Tony Reserva is an original Portuguese port wine with hints of grapes and aged in a wood barrel for six years.
• Tony is ten years old, twenty years old, thirty years old and forty years old. The older the wine, the more expensive it is.
• Coleita - port wine can be over a century old, while aging in a barrel for about seven years.

Ruby

In glass containers, wine does not oxidize, its color, original taste and aroma are preserved. The drink category is characterized by less exposure and value. The cost of port wine can also be different depending on the grape varieties and the aging period. Distinguish:

• cheap ruby port, it is a mixed variety and usually serves as wine that is not stored;
• port wine ruby reserve - has a greater saturation of taste and concentration, also has a low price;
• after two years in barrel and three more years in bottle, a blend of three good grapes producesport crustd;
• wine of dense consistency with a rich taste, which is infused in a barrel for six years, is called "late bottle vintage";
• vintage single quinta – distinguished by high alcohol content for wines and rich taste and bouquet;
• The most valuable in the ruby category is vintage port wine - after storage for more than two years in a barrel, it matures in a bottle, the period can last up to several decades.

Branko

The intermediate category between ruby and tony is branco. It has its own characteristics in color, the drink is called "white port".

The art of drinking port wine

Porto is served with meat, gourmet snacks or desserts. Nuts and fruits also go well with the drink. As an aperitif, only Branco wine, from light varieties, is suitable.

So, how to drink port wine correctly? It is important to observe some of the nuances of storing and serving wine. The bottles are stored strictly in a horizontal position, this allows the drink to retain its special taste properties. If the drink is vintage, then before drinking, you should make sure that sediment has already formed on the underside of the bottle, and only then uncork. Before pouring into glasses, the wine is carefully poured into a separate decanter until it settles. White wines are usually served chilled, while red ports are served at room temperature.

For port wine, glasses with a rounded bottom and a narrowing at the top are used, so you can feel all the notes of the bouquet. Tulip-shaped glasses are filled by a third,their capacity is 220 ml.

Crimean port wine

Strong wine has become ubiquitous. In every country where grapes are grown, there is a production of this drink. How port wine is made in Portugal is described above, but the Crimean peninsula has its own rules for wine production. They are dictated by the climate of the region.

The technology lies in the fact that the Crimean port wine is made in stages:

• harvesting and chopping, using light and dark berries;
• wort fermentation;
• adding alcohol to the mixture;
• Throughout the hot summer, a barrel of wine and alcohol is in the bright sun, after which it is transferred to a cool cellar;
• for several years the drink continues to ferment and infuse, then more alcohol is added to it to stop fermentation;
• at the very end, the port is filtered and bottled.

Crimean port is especially valued, aged for about five or six years. The strength of the wine is about 17–18 degrees, the sugar content is from 9.5%.

Many of the ports bottled in Crimea have a special blend. Although there are drinks for the production of which only one grape variety is used. These include Massandra, red port wine Livadia and white Surozh.

Popular drink

On the territory of the former USSR, port wine with the famous name "777" was so popular that it was he who headed the pyramid of alcohol salesproducts.

An ordinary wine drink contains from 17 to 19 degrees and sugar in it from 5 to 10%. The percentage varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. This type of port is still produced today, its peculiarity is that it is added to its high-grade brandy in a direct way.

The price of port wine "777" played an important role in its popularity. The drink was inexpensive and met all the needs of the consumer, it was strong and pleasant in taste, and also had a characteristic wine bouquet.

Today you should be extremely careful when purchasing inexpensive alcoholic products. "Port wine 777", the price of which is lower than the cost per bottle of well-known manufacturers, may turn out to be a banal fake. In addition to disappointment in the taste of the product, there is a risk of harming your he alth by drinking low-quality wine.

How to choose a good port wine?

Before buying fortified wine, you should familiarize yourself with the recognized producers of this product. The main thing in choosing a good port is that real port is still made only from grapes grown in Portugal. Therefore, regardless of the quality and cost of analogues produced in Crimea or Armenia, the right drink can only be made in Portugal. There are many guidelines for determining the quality of wine, but the main one is determining the place of production of the drink.

The main producers of the drink are:

• Sandeman.
• Offley.
• Cálem.
• W. & J. Graham.
• Cockburn's.
• Croft.
• Taylor.
• Dow.
• Real Companhia Velha.
• C. N. Kopke.

Among the Crimean producers of the famous drink is:

• Inkerman.
• Koktebel.
• Massandra.

You can determine the quality of port wine by its color, if the glass of the bottle allows it, information about the manufacturer and the presence of sediment.

Aged wines always have a pleasant aroma without the harsh smell of alcohol. The taste of the drink is strong and rich. The absence of alcohol impurities in a clear amount characterizes the quality of the product.

Reviews

Among connoisseurs of strong wine there are both men and women. Port wine is distinguished by the richness of the bouquet, strength and bright taste. Those who have tried a Portuguese drink or a good Massandra red port wine leave reviews as a noble drink worthy of attention. But the cost of this port wine is slightly lower than that of European counterparts.

A good port wine is suitable for feasts of any type and level, and bottles of wine are often presented as a gift.

Port in cocktails

As an independent drink, strong wine has an incredible taste and is appreciated by many. But it can also be enjoyed in tandem with other supplements. The most famous cocktails with the addition of port wine are: "Broken Spur", "Autumn Equinox", chocolate cocktail, "Devil" and others.

Port wine is combined with sweet syrups, citrus juices, alcoholicvermouth and liquor. As a highlight, lemon, orange or cherry zest is added to the prepared drink. Cocktails are served chilled, often with pieces of ice.