The major holidays are behind us. Valentine’s Day, with its enduring tradition of sparkling wine, has come and gone. What would be the perfect quaff on a raw night in early spring? The answer is in fortified wines. Not those with extra vitamins, but luscious liquids manipulated in a way that can bring real joy to the soul when the weather conspires against us.
Port wine is known throughout the world and has been with us since the early 1800s. All ports come from the Douro River valley in Portugal, where the grapes are grown on terraced hillsides along the stream. At harvest time, the grapes are cut from the steep slopes and taken to the press houses where the crushing is done.
Tradition holds that the fruit was placed in open granite bins called “lagars,” where barefoot workers locked arms and squeezed out the juice. The more modern method is machine crushing and fermentation in concrete tanks. In order to stop fermentation, the wine is run into barrels that contain a clear brandy. This stops the wine from progressing any further. The result is a sweet, high-alcohol drink that is unlike any other grape wine.
The youngest of these is the ruby port. Aged in wood for two years, it is very red and light. Easy drinking and sweet, it is a good place to start.
Next in designation are the tawny ports. Due to extra barrel aging, they lose the garnet hues of the younger rubies. What they gain is elegance and balance. Instead of the fruity sweetness that the young wines possess, the flavors are more nut-like and the hints of caramel pour forth. Done in many styles from luscious to dry and refined, this is, in my opinion, where port tasting really starts.
The best wines will have an indication of age on the label. Usually, the older, the better. The finest ports are the ones bottled in a “declared” vintage. These wines come from years that shippers decide are extraordinary, in which the wines are especially fine. These decisions are made on an individual basis and not everyone jumps on board. Microclimates abound in the Douro, and each “house” has its own style and traditions. These wines are exceptionally long-lived with the tradition of buying a bottle at baptism for the child‘s wedding as part of port lore.
While waiting for the wine between the tawnies and the declared vintages, there are the late-bottled vintages. These are a bit of a compromise, with more richness than the tawnies but not quite the balance and refinement of the declared vintages. The wine is lighter than the latter but should have both vintage and bottling dates on the label.
Port wine is a wonderful quaff brought about by centuries of British tradition and the manipulation of natural processes. In this weather, it’s a gem to seek.
Keep sipping, Steve
Steve Juliana of Hummelstown is a wine advisor and a life-long lover of wines.
