Contents
In this article, Shakedown breaks down the most famous Portuguese drink, Port Wine.
Tips for choosing port wine in the store.
What is port wine
The history of the origin of this drink began in 1688, when France, dissatisfied with changes in English domestic policy, imposed an embargo on the import of British goods.
In response, the authorities of foggy Albion, reluctantly, were forced to ban the import of French wines into the country.
When this trade war escalated into a whole series of armed conflicts, the wine-loving Britons began to look for alternative sources of the drink they valued so much.
In the end, they decided to turn to less famous for good wines, but much friendlier Portugal.
Among other winemakers of this Iberian state, residents of the northeastern part of the country, living in the Douro River valley, decided to join the wine export.
Since, to put it mildly, they were unlucky with the climate, they could offer only very mediocre dry red wines, moreover, they did not tolerate long sea voyages.
The situation changed when, thanks to pure chance, it was possible to establish that the local wine becomes more resistant to transportation as a result of its fixation with grape spirit.
When the British began to give special preference to drinks brought from the Douro Valley, in view of their richness, original flavor bouquet obtained through a happy combination of wine, brandy and oak barrels, and the ability to ripen after bottling, a real production boom began in the region.
At the same time, the quality of the offered products began to decline steadily. The reason for this was the use of artificially “aging” dyes, the addition of cane sugar and the consolidation of unsuitable wine produced in other areas of Portugal.
In order not to lose the main overseas consumer, measures had to be taken at the state level.
In 1756, the famous Portuguese Prime Minister, Marquis de Pombal, prompted King José I to pass a series of laws defining the territory, regulating the raw material base and establishing the technology for the production of a drink, which was officially assigned the name Porto wine (port wine) generated by the British – wine, brought from the Portuguese city of Porto.
The victorious point in the history of the formation of port wine was set in 1820, when instead of fixing the already finished wine, alcohol was added to the unfermented must, thereby interrupting the fermentation process and maintaining a higher sugar content of the resulting drink.
Thus, port wine, often referred to simply as porto, is usually a blended fortified wine produced in the north-east of Portugal in the Douro Valley from certain local grape varieties.
The features of its production include: the interruption of fermentation by adding grape spirit, followed by aging in oak barrels and the practice of further aging in glass bottles.
Port wine color
Depends on the aging period and the grape varieties used in the production.
So, if we are talking about wine from red grapes, then during the stay in the barrel it can gradually turn from dark ruby to dark amber.
In turn, the less common white port, depending on the aging time, is divided into pale, straw and light golden.
What does port taste like?
First of all, the range of its sugar content covers the entire range: from dry to dessert.
There are also significant taste differences between drinks with different aging periods.
In particular, young wines that have spent two to three years in the barrel will have a bright, rich fruity taste.
As for port wine of a more respectable age (by the way, it can reach the 50-year-old mark), over time, the theme of nuts, spices and dried fruits is more and more clearly manifested in its taste.
How many degrees in port
Thanks to a significant proportion of grape spirit (77-degree brandy added in a ratio of 1:5), the strength of the drink we are interested in is quite high.
As a rule, it fluctuates between 18 and 23 degrees.
At the same time, proposals that arise from time to time to classify port as a category of alcoholic beverages do not find wide public support.
From what and with what to drink port wine
Let’s start with dishes. For a competent initiation to port, a decanter-decanter, an ordinary funnel, and special glasses are required.
Show-offers add a tasting bowl to this list.
The decanter and glasses for port wine should be made of transparent crystal or high-quality no less transparent glass.
The shape of the glasses should be elongated and slightly narrowed towards the top.
Leg – preferably quadrangular with a special recess for the thumb.
The volume can vary from 140 to 220 ml.
The use of the drink of interest to us, in view of the traditional presence of sediment and high alcohol content, requires preliminary preparation.
First of all, the selected bottle is transferred from its usual horizontal position to a vertical one.
In this state, it, depending on the age of its contents, should be within 2-7 days.
Then you need to bring the drink to the ideal temperature for it.
In the case of red port, it is 18°C, while in the case of white it is 10-12°C.
The drink prepared in this way is uncorked and poured into a decanter with the help of a funnel, where it settles and breathes air for 10-15 minutes (by the way, unfinished port wine is not customary to cork a second time).
If you want to impress your friends, you can thoughtfully sniff the cork before decanting, feigning a quality check of your port, and then pour a couple of drops of the drink into the carafe, so to speak, “washing” the vessel.
How to drink port
In the vast majority of cases, port is drunk neat.
At the same time, glasses should be filled no more than half; but better, after all, by a third.
After that, you should wait a few minutes, allowing the alcohol vapor to evaporate, and only then begin to enjoy the combination of taste and aroma of the drink, drinking it in small, leisurely sips.
At the same time, the glass should be held with five or, in extreme cases, three fingers, without protruding the little finger and ring finger.
And one more sexist moment… In Spain and Portugal, porto is considered a purely male entertainment. Ladies in such cases are offered a softer and more delicate sherry.
A rather unfussy young red ruby port or its pale white equivalent is often used in mixes and cocktails.
But even in this case, it would be utter blasphemy to interfere with such a port wine with cola, lemonade or beer.
Wine from the banks of the Douro can be slightly diluted with non-carbonated mineral water, lime juice or, at worst, tonic.
What to eat port wine
According to the classics, it is not customary to eat porto (moreover, wines are not eaten, they accompany the meal).
Most often, this drink is consumed as an aperitif (i.e., in French) or a digestif (in English – with a cigar).
At the same time, no one will consider you ignorant if you serve dessert port wine to the sweet table.
It will be perfectly appropriate in the company of fragrant candied fruits, fruit desserts, dark chocolate, roasted nuts and strong coffee.
Drinks with a medium aging time and low sugar content go well with cheeses. However, the latter should be soft and rich; such as English Stilton, French Camembert or Italian Moscarpone.
In addition, there are special cases. For example, it is believed that sweet white port goes well with foie gras.
Port wine recipe at home
To make a real port wine with your own hands, you need to live in the Douro Valley.
At the same time, if the proper technology is followed, you can get a quite decent port-like drink that will be no worse, and perhaps even better, than any Anapa or Massandra.
The main thing is not to be fooled by popular proposals to add wine yeast, elderberries, and more sugar to the wort. Remember that under the Marquis de Pombal for such “know-how” could be raked to the fullest.
List of ingredients
Red or white grapes of sweet varieties – from 5 kg;
Ordinary brandy or cognac (ideally – 77% young grape alcohol) – from 1 liter;
Sugar (in the hope that it will not be needed) – from 1 kg.
Method of preparation
Unwashed berries are separated from the ridges and put in a spacious enamel bowl. Squeeze juice out of them by hand.
If the must turned out to be sour, you will have to add sugar to it (for starters, about 1/5 of the volume of the resulting wine material).
If everything is in order with the sugar content, you can cover the container with gauze with a clear conscience and place it in a warm, dark room for 2-3 days, while not forgetting to stir the wort twice a day with a wooden spoon or spatula.
After the start of active fermentation, filter the must through a thick cheesecloth, squeeze the pulp into it well and try again for sugar (if it is still not enough, add another 1/6 of the total volume of the substance, or better, spit on the port wine and send the unsuccessful wine material for mash for subsequent distillation).
Pour the filtered wort into a bottle, close it with a lid with a rubber tube lowered into the water and return it to a dark, warm place for 2-3 weeks.
By the end of the second week, it is worth starting to check the future wine for strength (you can taste it, but better – with the help of an alcohol meter).
When the strength of the must reaches 4-6 degrees, it must be filtered again, after which it must be fixed with grape distillate, bringing the strength of the drink to 18-20 revolutions.
After about a day, when the fermentation process comes to an end, the resulting result must be sent for aging.
For this purpose, it is best to place it in an oak barrel. If this was not found on the farm, you can be content with tightly closed glass jugs with dried small oak chips added there.
In this state, the drink should mature for several years, until it turns a brownish amber color.
Further, the wine that has reached the standard should be bottled, draining the chips if necessary. Now the drink is finally ready to drink, but if you have enough willpower, let your creation gain solidity by spending another couple of years in the bottles laid on their sides.
Explore all types of port wine.
Relevance: 01.06.2017
Tags: wine and vermouth