All You Ever Needed to Know About Port

By admin • March 28, 2008

Introduction

Port is a sweet, fortified wine made from the fermenting grape juice of several varieties of grape which are then mixed with brandy spirit. The port varieties are uniquely suited to the Douro Valley region in Oporto, Portugal. The area produced wine for hundreds of years but fortification began there in the mid-1700’s.

Port-style wine casks Wine made in the style of port is also produced in Australia, South Africa, India, Canada and the United States. EU regulations mean that only port from Portugal’s special Demarcated Zone (see A to Z below) may be termed “Port”. Similar rules have been laid down for speciality products such as Parma Ham and Melton Mowbray pork pies. US Federal Law states that Portugese-made port should be labelled Porto or Vinho do Porto.

Royal Navy Dinner Port has a unique place in British naval history as it needed martial protection during shipping and became the favoured drink of the Royal Navy. A plethora of port-related etiquettes have sprung from its use.

Port should always be poured for the person on your right and then passed to the person on your left. Even today, those who leave a Naval dinner table for the toilet before the ringing of a special bell, may be fined one bottle of port per person at the dinner (sometimes many hundreds).

Port is so revered that a decanted bottle should traditionally be drunk in one sitting by diners and special “Hoggett” decanters with rounded bases can be used to ensure that no-one puts the port down until it is returned to its stand.

Method and Maturation

Grape picking in the Douro Grapes for Port are often picked by hand. The grapes often ripen first at the bottom of the valley, so pickers work their way up the valley over a period of three weeks. Because the valley bottom is warmer, Touringa Nacional is planted lower down the slopes and Tinto CÃ£o is at the top of the vineyard - where it is better suited to the cooler climate.

Pressing is often done by foot, using large stone tanks called lagares. These tanks hold around 6,000 litres of grape juice -called must.

Treading grapes in Douro Valley Treading is a superior method to industrial pressing and is the most commonly used method for making vintage port. Maceration by human feet brings out the full concentration of flavours from the grape skin and brings out a deeper colour.

The alternatives to human pressing are;

‘pumpover’ - stainless steel vats
‘vinomatics’ - rotating horizontal drums
‘port-toes’ - fermentation tanks that emulate the mascerating action of the human foot.

After pressing, all port is fortified with grape spirit (brandy), before it has fully fermented - normally when only half the natural grape sugars have been converted into alcohol. This halts fermentation (by killing the yeast), keeping the wine sweet, but making it much stronger than table wine (usually about 20%).

Port oak barrel Port wine is stored in big oak vats. It rests over winter is tasted and sorted in spring of the following year. Typically, wine suitable for late bottled vintage, finest reserve and ruby are placed in large vats holding between 10,000 and 20,000 litres.

Those destined for the aged tawnies will be put in small casks (known as pipes) which contain only 550 litres, but allow the wines to mature to their characteristic orange-brown colour.

Grapes suitable for vintage port are bottled and laid down. Vintage port accounts for only a small percentage of the total production over the decade, but declaring a vintage is an exciting prospect. A tasting panel decides the merit of each particular year’s wine and occasionally decides that some wine warrants the ‘declaration’.

Grape Varieties & Blending

Port is a blended wine. The selection of wines for the final blend will determine taste, quality, aroma and aging ability. The blender can create a vast number of very different wines with just a few varieties of grape. More than forty varieties grow in the port wine region, but five are essential components of fine port wine.

Touriga Nacional

Touriga Nacional The finest of all grapes for making red port, this variety grows vigorously but yields an extremely small amount of fruit from small, blue-black berries. Low as the yield may be, it is massive in its power and quality.

The wine produced from the Touriga Nacional grape is very dark and concentrated, with a powerful and rich berry aroma. Its tastes are in perfect harmony, with great reserves of fruit balancing a tannic structure which is both massive and supple. It is this power and balance which makes the juice of the Touriga Nacional a vital component in most of the finest vintage ports. It thrives in the hot and arid soils of the Alto Douro.

Touriga Francesa

A more productive grape than Touriga Nacional, yielding wines that are slightly lighter in colour and weight. Its great value is the heavily scented quality of the wine it produces, which contributes a very fine and intense perfume to the final blend.

Tinta Roriz

Of the five classic port grapes, only one variety -Tinta Roriz - is not a Portugese native. The variety is also grown in Spain, where in the Rioja region it is known as the Tempranillo. Tinta Roriz is tough and masculine in its character, yielding surprisingly good quantities even in the most arid conditions. Its wines bring a firm tannic structure to the final blend of port. They often have a distinctive ‘resiny’ nose.

Tinto CÃ£o

Tinto Cao Perhaps the most ancient of the ‘big five’, the Tinto CÃ£o has a history stretching back to the 16th century or possibly earlier. It offers quality more than quantity, producing small amounts of wine, but of an exceptional finesse. he Tourigas provide berry aromas of a rich intensity, Tinto CÃ£o contributes its own aromatic complexity. Its wines are also unusually long-lasting, of great importance in the making of vintage port.

Tinta Barroca

A relative newcomer to the Douro cultivated only in the last hundred years, but welcomed for its high yield and the flowery aromas of its wine. Able to withstand cool conditions, it is usually planted on north-facing slopes, where its grapes grow in large bunches. The wines of the Tinta Barroca are robust, with a flowery aroma that contrasts with the more fruity smells of the varieties already mentioned. Some consider it one of the Douro’s top three, and although conditions can produce wines of varying quality, the Barroca has been a welcome innovation. It can be particularly useful in softening the final blend.

Other Varieties

Frontenac

Port-style wines in the US have seen some marked success with Frontenac.

White Port

White port is made using the following grape varieties; Esgana-CÃ£o, FolgasÃ£o, Malvasia, Rabigato, Verdelho, and Viosinho.

Different Types of Port

‘Chip Dry’ White Port

White port is made in exactly the same way as conventional port, but using white grapes instead of red. It has a drier, fruity taste, and is a good aperitif, best served chilled.

White port can be used in cocktails or poured over ice in a large glass, topped up with tonic, and finished with a leaf of fresh mint. Suggested accoutrement include salted almonds or olives (which are also grown in the Douro region).

First Estate

Novice port drinkers can do no better than to begin here: First Estate is a soft and glorious mouthful. It is an outstanding vintage character blend. Rich, fruity and elegant, it is aged for four years in vat and is ready for drinking immediately.

Late Bottled Vintage

Blended from wines of a single year, LBV ages from four to six years in vat and is ready to drink when bottled. LBV was originally wine that had been destined for bottling as Vintage Port, but due to lack of demand was left in the barrel for rather longer than had been planned. Over time it has become two distinct styles of wine, both of them bottled between four and six years after the vintage, but LBV is fined and filtered prior to bottling while the vintage is not.

The filtered wine has the advantage of being ready to drink without decanting, and is bottled in a stoppered bottle that can be easily resealed. However many wine experts feel that this convenience comes at a price and believe that the filtration process strips out much of the character of the wine.

To distinguish an LBV from a vintage port, check the cork, and examine the top of the bottle to see if there is a stopper underneath the capsule; the serrated edge of a stopper is usually visible, or can be detected with a thumbnail.

LBV is intended to provide some of the experience of drinking a Vintage Port but without the decade-long wait of bottle aging. To a limited extent it succeeds, as the extra years of oxidative aging in barrel does mature the wine more quickly.

LBV ports tend to be lighter bodied than a vintage port. Filtered LBVs do not improve significantly with age, whereas the unfiltered wines will usually be improved by a few extra years in the bottle. Since 2002, bottles that carry the words ‘Bottle matured’ must have enjoyed at least three years of bottle maturation prior to release.

The concentrated fruity flavour and firm, full bodied style make LBV the perfect port to accompany chocolate desserts, and blue cheeses such as Stilton or Roquefort (see the Food Guide below).

Aged Tawnies

Tawnies get their nutty flavour from the barrels in which they mature. The barrels allow the wines to “breathe” -that is, oxidise very slightly, and evaporate into more intense and viscous port. The wood absorbs the rich red colour of the wine and eventually the tawnies become golden brown. Tawnies are renowned as silky and mellow.

10 YEAR OLD TAWNY

An exceptionally fine old tawny blend, aged for an average of 10 years in oak casks. Elegant and smooth, combining delicate wood notes and rich mellow fruit, it is bottled for immediate drinking. Excellent with soft cheeses such as brie; and a superb dessert wine, particularly with dishes made with coffee or almonds.

20 YEAR OLD TAWNY

Another magnificent and finely-balanced tawny of outstanding richness and complexity. The additional ten years of aging produces a fine balance between the rich, raisiny fruit and the nutty, honeyed finish - a taste to linger over. This rare port is traditionally enjoyed as a dessert wine or at the end of the meal.

30 YEAR OLD TAWNY

Only every two or three years is a reserve of port with sufficient structure, fruit and power to age, laid aside to age in oak casks. Those that have reached their peak after thirty years are then blended together for balance and finesse, and to ensure consistency of quality and style. The 30 year old tawny shows incredible length with smooth butterscotch and caramel flavours.

40 YEAR OLD TAWNY

An incredible example of an old Tawny port. A rarity, as few houses will make a 40 year old tawny. This wine is olive gold in colour with rich caramel, butterscotch, hazelnut flavours. The concentration in this port also produces a wine with amazing length, which lingers beautifully in the palate.

Colheita

Used to describe old tawny ports from a single year. Colheita tawnies are distinctive from from other aged tawnies, because the bottle is marked with the actual vintage year.

Garrafeira

Garrafeira is a style of Port made from the grapes of a single harvest. Maturation in wood (which allows oxidation) is followed by reductive maturation in large glass demijohns.

The Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto (the governing body for the authenticity of port in Portugal) mandates that these wines should spend a minimum time in wood (â‰ˆ3-6 years) and then at least eight more years in glass, before bottling. However, Garrafeiras often spend a much longer time in glass than is stipulated.

Niepoort is the only current supplier of Garrafeiras. Their black demijohns - bon-bons - have a capacity of around 11 litres each.

Garrafeira is also used as a description on some very old Tawny labels, where the contents of the bottle are of exceptional age.

Classic Vintage

A vintage is only declared in a good year. It normally requires a cold wet winter, followed by a warm dry spring and a searing, hot summer. Many of the best vintage ports have been produced when there have been a few days of rainfall in the normally dry late August /early September. This allows the grapes to swell slightly, the skins to soften and the natural sugar levels to rise. Fine weather during the harvest is also important.

â€˜Declaring’ is not taken lightly, since it invites an expert audience to judge the veracity of such a claim. Samples must be sent to the IVDP (the governing authority for Port production in Portugal).

With improving technology and better weather forecasts, vintages are now being declared more often. Dow and Taylor often declare a single quinta (or ‘house’) if their main blend is not of sufficient quality to declare a ‘full’ vintage. As the reputation of the ‘house’ or ’shipper’ can be ruined by adopting the ‘chateau’ method of declaring all but the worst vintages, producers usually only declare around three times in a decade.

Vintage port must bottled and racked after two years in wood, they then slowly attain sublime elegance and power. Because they only spend two years in the barrel, vintage ports retain their fruity flavour and dark ruby colour. Vintage ports do not undergo any filtration or fining.

A popular collector’s item, vintage ports will last for fifty years or more and must be matured for a minimum of fifteen years. They are renowned for their massive structure, concentration of flavor and distinctive â€˜masculine’ style.

Vintage ports are classically served after lunch or dinner, in an atmosphere where they can be fully appreciated and discussed. They can be enjoyed without food, but cheese is a fine accompaniment, as are nuts or dried fruits. Vintage port making only truly began in the 1800’s as a result of glass bottle designs and the development of the method for making it.

Quinta

Quinta ports can often be vintage port as well, however, they have the distinction of being made from the grapes of a single vineyard.

Quinta de Vargellas

This is a â€˜single quinta’ wine, made in exactly the same way as Taylor’s Vintage Port, but using only the grapes from this individual property, trodden on the estate. Only small quantities are made, and only in very good years.

Quinta De Vargellas has the highest percentage of old vines of any quinta in the Douro, 60% being over 75 years old. Quinta de Vargellas Vintage Ports are ready to drink from ten years, but will go on developing for another twenty years or so - almost as long as declared vintages.

Records show the Quinta de Vargellas being sold at Christie’s auction house in the 1820Â´s. Quinta de Vargellas vintage ports are one of a small handful of single estate ports to have achieved the stature and reputation of the great ‘declared’ vintages and to be traded regularly at auction. Still as prized today as they were over 180 years ago, these distinctive wines are one of the longest established of all single estate ports.

Buy Quinta de Vargellas Vintage Port here.

Quinta de Terra Feita

Quinta de Terra Feita’s vines have been supplying the highest quality grapes for over a hundred years. This famous old estate is one of the most substantial properties in, what is considered by many, to be the finest wine producing area of the Upper Douro.

The Quinta is situated on the western slopes of the PinhÃ£o River Valley. With over 61 hectares under vine it produces 1,300 hectoliters of port wine. The wines of Terra Feita are all produced in traditional granite lagares on the property. This ancient method still produces the best quality wine; the gentle action of the foot carefully extracts the maximum color, fruit and tannins from the wine.

Terra Feita wines are powerful, richly perfumed wines, with enormous reserves of fruit. Small amounts of Quinta de Terra Feita have also been bottled, since the beginning of the century, as single quinta vintage ports.

Whilst normally kept for family consumption, small parcels of this single estate vintage are now being released on to the market. Powerful and richly perfumed, with enormous reserves of fruit, these superb PinhÃ£o Valley wines are now being discovered by a select group of connoisseurs of fine vintage port.

Buy Terra Feita Single Quinta Vintage ports online here.

Tasting Port

AROMA

When a smell enters the nose it stimulates the olfactory cells in the lining of the upper nose. These are connected to the brain via the olfactory nerves. It is the brain that interprets the information it receives.

Inevitably, someone who has experienced more smells, like a professional taster, will recognise a wider range of smells - the benefit of experience. However, most people will be able to detect enough from the first sniff to make some conclusions about the wine.

Smelling the same thing for a long time dulls the brain’s ability to receive the messages, so it is best to take an initial sniff and then go back to the wine, rather than keeping one’s nose in the glass.

TASTE

Tasting port Here it is the taste buds that are stimulated and carrying the message to the brain. Sensibly, the part of the brain that deals with taste is near that which deals with smell. The taste buds are located primarily on the tongue, although other soft areas of the mouth contain taste buds.

What is extraordinary is that certain parts of the mouth detect certain tastes better than others. The front or tip of the tongue detects sweetness, the sides saltiness, the back bitterness and the top of the tongue sourness.

Astringency and spirit can be felt as a sharpness on the gums, while tannins produce a “furry” feeling on the teeth. Clearly it is important to take a reasonable mouthful of wine to evaluate it properly. Tasters often draw in some air to ensure that the wine stimulates all the taste buds as well as the olfactory cells.

SIGHT

Finally, using our eyes can help in evaluating the type of wine. This is important with port as the color can indicate the age of the wine. But sight is only one element in the evaluation, with taste and smell all important. The color of a wine can say much about its type, age and condition.

The tasting glass should be filled about a third full, then tilted to a 45Âº angle above a white background in a well lit position. The best tasting rooms face north so that they do not receive direct sunlight. The 45Âº angle varies to the depth of the wine from the bowl to the meniscus edge or rim.

At the rim the wine is at its thinnest and the color can easily be judged for hue and intensity. If the glass is then held upright, the general appearance can be observed, along with clarity and brightness.

Judging a Port’s Age

YOUNG VINTAGE

Purple and intense right up to the rim. The shade of purple then darkens until it appears almost inky black in the center. The wines are almost opaque. Buy young vintage port here.

MATURE VINTAGE

As vintage port ages so it’s color changes. Very old vintages fade completely and can be mistaken for tawny ports - only the taste gives it away. Wines 10 to 15 years old, and over 30, are dealt with separately below.

10-15 YEAR OLD VINTAGE PORT

Color fades from deep purple to red/brown - the older the more brown. At the meniscus the color fades and the shades of brown are lighter and more evident. The body of the wine is often described as â€˜brick red’. The wine is clear and bright. Buy 10-15 Year Old Vintage Port here.

OLDER VINTAGE PORT

As vintage port matures further the brown tones soften to become orange. The overall effect is of a warm tawny color. The color is even, so that the shades between the meniscus and the body are less obvious. The degree to which red tones remain is often a guide to the year. A â€˜big’ wine - like a classic vintage - will display red tones into old age; lesser years fade faster.

OLD TAWNY PORTS

Again the age of the wine is important as the dated tawnies vary in age from 10 to 40 years. (Legally port shippers are not able to produce blended tawnies older than 40 years). As a general rule tawnies become lighter the older they become because the color is â€˜lost’ into the storage vessels. However with tawny wines color can often mislead the taster.

10 YEAR OLD TAWNIES

The youngest style of dated old tawnies. The wine retains much of the original fruit and this is evident in the color which has an overall reddy/brown appearance. The wine is bright and clear. The color will graduate to a darker tone in the body of the wine.

Buy ten year old tawny port here.

20 YEAR OLD TAWNIES

The change in color from 10 to 20 years is perhaps the most marked between any of the tawnies but can be most confusing in judging the age of the wine. Fuller styles, such as Taylor Fladgate and Fonseca retain some of the rich red color that is found in the 10 year olds.

Thinner styles often appear very orange in color by the time they are 20 years old. This can in part be due to storage as the amount of evaporation becomes a key factor in old tawnies - hot cellars that increase the evaporation will also reduce the color. This can normally be detected in the taste with the wines appearing slightly spirity, sometimes with a â€˜burnt honey’ aftertaste.

The color should be thin at the meniscus, a pale amber rim, with a gradual increase in the tone to a tawny - red/orange in the body. The wine will appear more viscous and the surface can sometimes appear slightly â€˜oil’.

Buy 20 year old tawny port here.

30 AND 40 YEAR OLD TAWNIES

Again these wines can show anomalies in that old tawnies only become pale to a certain point before they start to darken again. Indeed it is not so widely known that tawnies of 50 or 60 years have olive green tones that can easily be detected at the rim of the wine.

In general the color will be tawny - orange with most of the red tones having disappeared. The wine is again more viscous the older it is, but it is the taste where the greater changes can be detected. The older the wine becomes the more obvious the spirit, but in a smooth and nutty way.

Buy 30 and 40 year old tawnies here.

LATE BOTTLED VINTAGE PORT

These wines display many of the characteristics of young vintage port. However, little of the purple highlights can be found; instead this is most often seen as a blood red. At the rim the wine appears plum colored with the wine darkening rapidly. Whilst LBV is not opaque in the way that young vintage ports are, the body is nevertheless dark.

Buy Late Bottled Vintage port here.

VINTAGE PORT

Vintage port represents only a fraction of all the port sold worldwide It established itself as the Englishman’s wine early in the 19th century, during the Peninsula Wars when Wellington’s officer’s enjoyed a run of fine vintages, culminating in the ‘Waterloo’ vintage of 1815. For the remainder of the century, vintage port consolidated its success, and today the taste for it is stronger than ever, as new markets around the world come to value its quality and authenticity.

Vintage ports are a selection of the very best wines, grown during a single exceptional year. These wines are kept for two years in wood until their second spring, when they are tasted. If judged to be outstanding, the selected wines are blended together, and the decision is taken as to whether or not the vintage is to be ‘declared’. A vintage is not declared every year, but perhaps three times or so in a decade.

Towards the end of its second year the infant vintage port is bottled and left to mature - slowly developing the powerful heady aromas and sublime opulent flavour that are the hallmarks of a true vintage port. Most bottles will be allocated for sale ‘on declaration’ but often the wineries will retain a small library reserve.

Birthdays

It may be twenty years or more before a vintage port has reached its full perfection. For this reason, parents and godparents can confidently set some aside, knowing it will reach maturity about the same time as the fortunate child and will continue to provide pleasurable drinking for a lifetime.

If there is not a declared vintage in the year of the child’s birth, then there will often be a very good quinta. Whilst it will not command the same price or reputation as a vintage port, it will nevertheless age and drink well!

Storage and Cellaring

Port Cellar It is possible to have the port stored professionally. Good wine merchants will undertake this, and arrange for your wine to be insured for its steadily growing replacement value.

The wine may also be stored at home in a cool, dark, vibration-free cupboard. A temperature between 12Â°C and 15Â°C is best, however, constancy is more important -extremes are undesirable. Light may damage the port and movement will unsettle the sediment. To keep the cork moist, the bottle should rest on its side, with any visible splash of white paint uppermost.

Some very old vintages should be checked for damage to the cork -a good wine merchant will offer re-corking services. The port should then be left for a further 12 months before drinking.

Buy vintage port here.

How to Decant Port

Not all ports need decanting

Vintage Ports, being matured in the bottle, should be decanted to remove the natural sediment deposited by the wine. But Late Bottled Vintage Ports and Tawny Ports do not need decanting as they mature in the cask, and should be bright, clear and ready to drink, as the sediment is removed before bottling. All port should be served at room temperature with the exception of tawny (slightly cooler) and white port (chilled).

Equipment for decanting

There is no mystery to decanting. Stand the bottle upright for a few hours, to allow all sediment to fall to the bottom. Have a perfectly clean decanter ready, or failing that, a clean wine bottle or jug. With the port bottle still vertical, remove the seal and wipe the top of the bottle clean. Ease the cork gently out.

Decant gently

Slowly and steadily, pour the port into the decanter. The splash of white paint on the bottle tells indicates the way up it was cellared; this mark should be uppermost during decanting. You may wish to use a small funnel, ideally with a strainer.

Managing the sediment

Muslin funnel for decanting port Place a bright light behind the bottle to see if any sediment is approaching the neck - this is when you should stop pouring. If the port has thrown a very heavy deposit, or if the cork has disintegrated, it may benefit from filtering through clean muslin in a funnel.

The deposit - residue of old grape skins - is a natural substance rich in flavour. The dregs of the bottle make a great addition to soups, stews and casseroles.

The Glass

Port glasses Glasses should always be spotlessly clean, free of any residual detergent. A thin, colorless port glass is best for displaying the deep rich color of port to its best advantage. Half filled, a deep bowl allows the wine to be swirled around, focusing all the complex, fruity aromas into the in-curving top of the glass. Watch for the â€˜tears’ falling back inside the glass - one sure sign of a fine and fully matured port.

Best before…

Vintage port should be consumed within 24 hours of opening. This is to ensure that it is enjoyed at its best. Having spent its â€˜life’ in bottle with little contact with the air it quickly oxidates.

Other styles, like the Late Bottled Vintage and the Aged Tawny ports, can be consumed for up to three weeks from the date of opening.

Alternative

A particularly interesting way of opening an old vintage bottle (which may have a weak cork) is to use red hot port tongs, hold them on the neck of the bottle for around two minutes and then apply a cold cloth to the area, snapping the neck through the rapid change in temperature. I have also seen men in the navy open bottles with swords but neither of these methods are recommended by wine blokes!

Matching Port and Food

Although port is typically consumed as a dessert wine, there are some savory foods that go extremely well with it, one of which is cheese. With these few guidelines in mind, choosing the right cheese for your port or the occasion becomes a much easier task. - Consider the assertiveness of the cheese and the weight of the port - Is the cheese pungent, salty, or sweet? - Look at the texture of the cheese

Port & Cheese Pairing Guide

Port	Cheese Type	Example of Type
White	Hard, crumbly cheeses	Wensleydale, Cheshire, Caerphilly
Ruby	Full flavored goat’s cheeses	Ticklemore, Crottin de Chavignol
10 Year Old Tawny	Hard sheep’s milk cheeses	Berkswell, Pyrenean
Vintage Character	Full flavored cheeses both hard & soft	Mature Cheddar, Pont L’Eveque
Late Bottled Vintage	Soft, creamy cheeses	Brie de Meaux, Waterloo
Vintage	Blue cow’s milk cheeses	Stilton, Dorset Blue Vinny

Port & Desserts

Dessert	Port
1. Apple Pie	Taylor’s 20 Year Old Tawny
2. Dark Chocolate Almond Tart	Taylor’s LBV 1994
3. CrÃ¨me Brulee	Taylor’s 10 Year Old Tawny
4. Flourless Chocolate Cake	Taylor’s Vintage Port 1985
5. Pecan Pie	Taylor’s 10 Year Old Tawny
6. Almond Biscotti	Taylor’s 20 Year Old Tawny
7. Fig and Pistachio Tart	Taylor’s 20 Year Old Tawny
8. Dark Chocolate Mousse	Taylor’s First Estate
9. Fruitcake	Taylor’s 10 Year Old Tawny
10. Hazelnut Chocolate Tart	Taylor’s Vintage Port 1986

An A to Z of Port

Acetic Acid

A volatile acid that features in all wine, in tiny quantities. In excess it can turn wine into vinegar.

Acidity

A balancing component of all wines which gives freshness. Tartaric acid is the most common and is naturally produced.

Almude

A Portugese measure used in port - the amount a woman can carry on her head (25 litres).

Astringency

Caused by the natural tannins occurring in grape skins, pips and stalks; it can be detected by the slight puckering in the mouth.

Bastardo

A red grape variety used in port production. It used to be used in Madeira. Shakespeare’s reference to ‘Brown Bastard’ was probably to such wines.

Beneficio

The regulation by which the quantity of port production is limited by regulating the amount of brandy a producer can buy.

Body

A tasting term referring to the ‘weight’ of the wine in the mouth. Young ports are often described as full bodied.

Brandy Spirit

An essential ingredient in port, it is added in the ratio of 1 part neutral grape spirit to 4 parts of grape juice. A clear liquid at 77% alcohol by volume, it is known locally as aguardente.

Bouquet

The overall smell of a wine, a mixture of many complex aromas.

Canada

A Portugese measure used in port - the amount a man should drink every day (2 litres).

Capsule

The closure on the top of the bottle protecting the cork. The lead foil previously used has been superceded by tin or aluminium.

Casa

The Portugese word for house; may also refer to a firm.

Colheita (pronounced Col-YATE-ah)

The harvest or vintage. Used to describe old tawny ports from a single year - a popular style with Portugese port producers. You can tell these Colheita tawnies apart from other aged tawnies, because the bottle will be marked with the actual vintage year.

Cork

Bark of the Cork Oak, but to shape and used as a stopper in the bottle. Vintage port corks are larger than others and bear the name of the shipper/producer and the year of the wine. Wood aged ports use stopper corks, shorter and normally topped with plastic.

Corked

A term used to describe a wine whose condition has been affected through the failure of the cork. The condition can often be recognized by a musty smell.

Crusted

An unfiltered port bottled after four years in wooden casks and matured in Oporto for at least three more years. Known as the ‘poor man’s vintage’, it is a blend of several vintages though it is bottled in the same way as ordinary vintage and still needs to be decanted. The year on the bottle refers to the bottling date and crusted ports can be drunk a bit earlier than vintage -but will still benefit from ageing. Crusted ports are rarely found these days. The name comes from the deposit found in the bottle.

Demarcated Region (The)

The port wine district, defined by law and enforced by EU guidelines. Only real Port comes from here, other port-style wines from outside this region are often labelled as “Fortified Wines”.

Douro

The principle river flowing through the port wine region which, historically, provided the only access to the vineyards. In 1756 the Douro region became an appellation, which means that the grapes from the area are classified together in much the same way as the CÃ´tes du RhÃ´ne and Champagne areas in France.

Evaporation

The natural effect of heat on wine. In port production losses via evaporation amount to 3% of stock annually. Evaporation is essential to the production of tawny ports.

Fining

The process of clarifying wines prior to bottling.

Finish

The taste that lingers in the mouth after swallowing.

Flabby

A tasting term that describes wines that lack acidity and therefore balance.

Garrafeira

The Portugese word for a vintage port cellar, also, Garrafeira is a style of Port made from the grapes of a single harvest. Maturation in wood (which allows oxidation) is followed by reductive maturation in large glass demijohns. Garrafeira is also used as a description on some very old Tawny labels, where the contents of the bottle are of exceptional age.

Imperial

A large bottle used for vintage port, containing six litres.

Late Bottled Vintage

A style of port pioneered by Taylor’s in 1970, made from a single good vintage and bottled between four and six years after the harvest. Fined before bottling, it should not need decanting.

Lagares

Large stone tanks in which port grapes are trodden.

Lees

The sediment of dead yeasts which form in the bottom of vats.

Must

Unfermented grape juice and skins.

Nose

The smell of a wine.

Oenology

The study of the science of wine.

Oporto

Oporto The sea-port town at the mouth of the river Douro, known in Portugese as Porto. Port wines derive their name from this place, which served as the hub of port exports and sales to Europe. Over time ‘Porto wines’ has become ‘Port wine’. In America, port from Portugal is known as Porto or Vinho do Porto due to Federal laws that distinguish the native brand from Port-style wines made outside of Portugal.

Oxidation

The effect of oxygen on wine, usually detrimental, except when it occurs gradually over a long period of time as in the cask ageing of old tawny ports.

Pipe

A pipe of port holds 550 litres which is the equivalent of 967.8 pints.

Port-toes

The new mechanical system for macerating grapes pioneered by Taylor’s at the Vargellas winery, used for non-vintage Ports.

Quinta

The Portugese name for a farm, vineyard or estate. Wines from a single estate are known as ’single quinta ports’.

Racking

The drawing off of wine from its lees.

Residual Sugar

The tasting term for the sugar that has not converted into alcohol. All red ports are relatively rich in residual sugar.

Schist

The sedimentary rock which makes up the soil of the unique demarcated region of the Douro valley.

Selo de Garantia

Selo de Garantia The Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e Porto seal found on bottles of Port that originate from the demarcated region. The Instituto is a body of Ministry of Agriculture of Portugal and the seal denotes real port as opposed to port-style wine (a product of EU guidelines that aim to give credit to regional products). The Institute also enforces Oporto-only bottling of vintage port in order to iron out the significant variations that could occur between bottling times and enforce bottling after two years.

Tawny

A style of port that is made by maturing port in small oak barrels, known as pipes, for 10, 20, 30 or 40 years. The colour of the wine is absorbed by the wood, lightening the wine from deep red to a rich tawny hue. The high ratio of the surface area of the wood to the volume to the volume of wine allows for a high level of evaporation which concentrates the wine and produces the rich raisiny, nutty flavours. Tawnies are blended wines and the age indicates an average age.

Tinta

A Portugese word meaning “inky” that prefixes others in describing red grape varieties - Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca, Tinto CÃ£o.

Ullage

The name given to the air that occupies the space between the top of the wine and the bottom of the cork.

Vat

A large oak container for storing wine. Vats vary in size from 2,000 litres up to 50,000. They are used in port production to mature the fruitier styles of port such as the late bottled vintage, vintage character and ruby ports.

Vila Nova de Gaia

Lying across the River Douro from the town of Oporto, Gaia is where the port lodges are situates. Traditionally all port is matured in Gaia.

Vindima

The Portugese word for the grape harvest, which occurs in late September or early October, and is usually called ‘the vintage’ in English.

Vintage

This is the style of port that matures in bottle. It is the very peak of port production and represents only 1.5% of the volume of port made in years when a vintage is declared -usually only three times a decade.

Yeast

An essential ingredient in wine production. Yeasts are the tiny micro-organismswhich turn grape juice into wine by metabolising the sugar into alcohol. This process is known as fermentation. Yeasts normally die once the alcoholic strength of the wines rises above 14% of acohol by volume - thus with port the addition of the grape brandy when only half the sugar has been converted kills the yeasts, allowing the natural sugars to remain. It is for this reason that port is sweet.

The Leading Port Houses:

CÃ¡lem - established 1850

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHKw09tiNgkCalem is now part of a Portuguese group called Sogevinus, which also owns Burmeirster amongst others. CÃ¡lem was founded one and a half centuries ago, and has passed through successive generations of the CÃ¡lem dynasty.

CÃ¡lem is a venerable house and one of the most enduringly popular in Portugal. The house is renowned for the quality of its aged tawnies and colheita Ports (aged tawnies of a single vintage year). It is also famed for the quality and popularity of its basic “Velhotes” range.

CÃ¡lem is a large producer, with a huge share of the Portuguese and French markets. It has class “A” vineyards in the highest quality Cima Corgo region (Port vineyards are graded from “A” to “F” on quality).

Churchill - established in 1981

At first, Churchill’s rented a lodge in Vila Nova de Gaia from Taylor’s but soon expanded.

Churchill’s has met with increasing success in the USA. With the purchase of Quinta da Gricha and Quinta do Rio, both renowned Grade A vineyards in the premium Cima Corgo region of the Douro, Churchill’s is now in control from grape to bottle. Since its foundation, Churchill’s has always been an exclusive, independent family owned business specialising in Vintage Port and other premium quality Ports.

Cockburn - established in 1815

Cockburn’s (Coh-burns) are makers of fine ports including Cockburn’s Special Reserve - the world’s most popular premium port. Cockburn’s is known worldwide for its mature, less sweet wine style.

Cockburn’s are the largest vineyard owner in the Port district. This gives Cockburn’s significant access to stocks of aged wines for its many fine blends.

Cockburn’s family of ports includes Special Reserve, Vintage Port, Anno (Late Bottled Vintage) and Quinta dos Canais (Single Quinta Vintage), Fine Ruby, Fine Tawny, and 10- and 20-year-old Tawnies.

Crofts - established in 1678

The House of Croft is over three hundred years old. The company was orginally known as Phayre & Bradley after its founding partners and took its present name in 1736 when it was joined by John Croft, a member of an old and distinguished family of Yorkshire wine merchants.

John Croft was one of the leading figures of the Port business in the eighteenth century. John Croft’s 1788 treatise on the Wines of Portugal was the definitive work on the subject and is still one of the most important sources of information on the early history of Port wine.

The Croft family played a prominent and influential role in the Port wine trade and elevated the House of Croft to the place of distinction which it occupies to this day.

Although well established in Oporto and active in their Port wine business, the Crofts never lost touch with their Yorkshire origins. In his treatise, John Croft describes himself as â€˜Member of the Factory at Oporto and Wine Merchant of York’.

The family returned to England in the nineteenth century, after the Peninsular Wars, and there are no longer any Crofts in the firm. Nevertheless. the family maintained its affection for the fortified wines of the Douro and the late Percy Croft, who died in 1935, is credited with the famous words: “Any time not spent drinking Port is a waste of time.”

In 1911 the House of Croft was acquired by the Gilbeys, the distinguished English wine trade family. It is now owned and run by descendants of two old Port wine families, the Yeatman’s and Fladgate’s.

The place of distinction occupied by Croft and its wines is due in no small measure to its ownership of one of the finest estates of the Douro Valley, the famous Quinta da RoÃªda.

Delaforce - established in 1868

Dow & Co - established in 1798

Dow’s was one of the first Port companies to recognize the importance of vineyard ownership in the Upper Douro Valley. George Warre’s first-hand knowledge of the region guided his judicious selection of some very fine â€˜quintas’ (vineyard, in Portuguese) which he acquired for Dow’s. The two principal vineyards purchased were: Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira in 1890 and Quinta do Bomfim in 1896.

Through the 20th Century, these great vineyards provided - as they do today - the backbone of Dow’s Vintage Ports, resulting in such outstanding wines as the Dow’s 1900, 1908, 1927 and the 1945.

Although Senhora da Ribeira had to be sold in 1954 to ensure the company’s survival at a time when the Port trade was in deep crisis, Dow’s continued to purchase the wines from the quinta in virtually every year, and these were to contribute to Dow’s acclaimed Vintage Ports of the second half of the 20th Century that include the 1955, 1963, 1966, 1970, 1980 and 1994 Vintages.

One of the high points of Dow’s recent history was the reacquisition of Senhora da Ribeira in 1998 - the company’s bicentenary. Some outstanding wine was made in that year and to mark the occasion, the finest wines were bottled as Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira Vintage Port.

Ferreira - established in 1761

Known since 1751 and established by a wine-growing family of the same name from the Douro, FERREIRA has for centuries been synonymous with high-quality Portuguese wine. Ferreira’s history follows and is hard to distinguish from the history of the Douro Demarcated Region’s evolution (set up in 1756) and of its ports and table wines.

The family patriarch - already the owner of vineyards subsequently included in the Douro Demarcated Region - started his commercial activity in the mid-18th century. However, the company’s foundations for the future would stem from the actions of his grandsons, JosÃ© Bernardo and AntÃ³nio Bernardo, when they added considerably to the land they had inherited.

The marriage between his descendants, the cousins AntÃ³nio Bernardo and AntÃ³nia Adelaide, would consolidate a unique heritage in the following generation and mark FERREIRA’s future in an indelible way.

Dona AntÃ³nia Adelaide Ferreira became a widow at the age of 33 and took charge of the company’s business, which she consolidated and increased thanks to her enterprising spirit and charisma, still a reference today on how to “do well in Portugal”.

With an exceptional energy and a commercial acumen unrivalled in the Portuguese society of her time of which no other instance is known, she was able, in spite of the political troubles of the day, to give a great thrust to wine-growing in the Douro, setting up estates that are famous to this day, planting vineyards, building modern wine centres,opening up roads and paths in virtually desert areas, developing viticulture and oenology methods and making high-quality wines.

At the same time she undertook remarkable social works and financed the building of hospitals, day-nurseries and schools, to such an extent that her memory is revered to this day. Her intelligence and kindness earned the warm admiration of her contemporaries, who nicknamed her “Ferreirinha” (”little Ferreira”). It is under this name - Casa Ferreirinha - that the company’s Douro wines are traditionally sold in Portugal.

With her death the company became a partnership and a new stage of adjustment and expansion according to the requirements of the day got under way, with due regard to its essential values - the quality roots with unique estate assets in the Douro, supported by the best oenological methods and making excellent wines under a strong brand. These values have been with FERREIRA to the present day and were instrumental in the creation of wines such as the legendary Barca Velha in the 1950s.

In 1987, when acquiring the company of A.A. Ferreira, S.A., SOGRAPE assumed its cultural and historical heritage: the co-ordination between production and trade, the understanding of tradition as a factor of modernity, the focus on quality as a mainstay of the brand’s prestige.

Today, more than 250 years on, FERREIRA is “the Portuguese brand”, the reference in high-quality ports and Douro wines, the symbol of a country and of a culture that it proudly dignifies.

Fonseca - established in 1822

Fonseca Guimaraens was founded in 1822, when Manuel Pedro Guimaraens acquired control of the Fonseca & Monteiro Company through purchase of the majority of the Fonseca holdings. As a condition of the sale of his shares to Guimaraens, the departing Fonseca stipulated that his name be retained.

Not long after this purchase, Manoel Pedro Guimaraens, a supporter of the liberal cause in the ‘War of the Two Brothers’, was forced to flee Portugal hidden in an empty port wine cask. He settled in England, where his company remained based until 1927, when the headquarters of the firm returned to Portugal.

During this period, Fonseca grew rapidly in reputation and importance. By 1840, the firm had become the second largest shipper of Port Wine and in 1847 the first Fonseca vintage port was shipped to England. Family has been a part of every Fonseca Vintage Port. Frank Guimaraens made all the vintages beginning with the 1896 through to the 1948. His daughter, Dorothy Guimaraens, following his death, made the 1955. Bruce Duncan Guimaraens, great-great grandson of the founder, made every Vintage from 1960 through to the 1992.

As for the 1994 Vintage, Bruce Guimaraens’ son, David was responsible for this extraordinary award winning port wine. This remarkable continuity of winemaker is clearly evident in the wine.

Gould Campbell - established circa. 1797

Gould Campbell was founded in 1797 when Garret Gould, prompted by the political strife wracking his native Ireland, sailed to the hospitable shores of Portugal where he established the firm of Messrs. Gould Brothers & Co., operating from both Lisbon and Oporto.

The firm survived the trials of the Peninsula War which followed a few years later, when the Anglo-Portuguese army of the Duke of Wellington expelled the French invaders, and soon became very successful bringing into partnership the prestigious Merchants and Bankers Messrs. James Campbell & Co. Gould Campbell came to establish a reputation for the excellent quality of their Ports and their Vintage Ports in particular.

In 1970 the firm was acquired by the Symington family who had themselves been Port producers since 1882. It is therefore one of the very few Port shippers which remains a private family business, thus retaining its individuality and distinctiveness. The grapes for Gould Campbell Ports are drawn from vineyards in the Alto Douro area, where the yields are very low (about one pipe - 550 litres - per 1,000 vines) but the wines have immense complexity and depth.

The winery is situated at PinhÃ£o, where a proportion of the wines are made in modern temperature controlled fermentation tanks. However, a significant proportion of Gould Campbell Ports are still made in small quintas in the hills around PinhÃ£o, using the ancient method of treading the grapes by foot in stone tanks called lagares.

W & J Graham & Co - established in 1820

The firm of W & J Graham & Co has its roots in a Glasgow-based textile concern. During the early nineteenth century an office of this trading company was established in Oporto. In 1820 the brothers William and John Graham, who were then managing the office, accepted 27 pipes of Port wine in settlement of a bad debt.

This Port was shipped to the parent company in Glasgow which initially reprimanded the brothers for not sending cash. Fortunately however, after it was sold the Port turned out to be very popular and soon William and John were being urged by their parent company to acquire and ship more of this finest of fortified wines. Within the next few years Graham’s reputation grew as a shipper of fine Port, first to Scotland and gradually all over the port-drinking world.

GuimarÃ£es - (belonging to Fonseca)

Morgan - established in 1715

Buy Morgan vintage port here.

Noval - established in 1813

The name of Quinta do Noval first appeared in the land registries in 1715. The property was owned for more than a century by the Rebello Valente family, who were given it by the MarquÃªs do Pombal, Portugal’s all-powerful Primeminister. In the early XIXth Century, the estate passed by marriage to the Viscount Vilar D’Allen, who was renowned for hosting wild parties at Noval, transporting dancing girls from the Folies Bergeres.

By the 1880s the Douro had been ravaged by phyloxera and, like many estates, Quinta do Noval was put on the market. In 1894 it was bought by the distinguished Port shipper AntÃ³nio JosÃ© da Silva.

Da Silva breathed new life into Quinta do Noval, replanting the vineyards and renovating buildings on the estate. His work was continued by his son-in-law, Luiz Vasconcelos Porto, who ran the company for nearly three decades. He was responsible for an extensive programme of innovation, transforming the old narrow terraces into the wide whitewashed ones seen today, which allowed for better use of space and more exposure to the sun. At the time, this was considered revolutionary thinking. He also built Noval’s image in the UK, focusing his attention on Oxford, Cambridge and private clubs.

Noval made its reputation with the declaration of 1931 - arguably the most sensational Port of the XXth Century (and certainly the most expensive). Due to world recession and vast shipments of 27’s, only three shippers declared 1931. To this day, Quinta do Noval remains the only Portuguese house to have made its name to any great extent in the British and US vintage Port market.

Throughout the century, other Port shippers have followed where Noval has led. For example, the first stencilled bottles were introduced by Noval in the 1920s; Noval pioneered the concept of Old Tawnies with an indication of age (10, 20 and over 40 years) and in 1958 was the first house to introduce a late-bottled vintage: 1954 Quinta do Noval LBV.

Vasconcelos Porto retired in 1963 and his grandsons, Fernando and Luiz van Zeller, took over the company. Another extensive programme of modernisation was embarked upon, including new vinification equipment, new vine plantations and bottling the vast majority of wines in Vila Nova de Gaia (in 1963 only some 15% of Noval Ports were bottled there; fifteen years later the figure was 85%).

In the autumn of 1981 a catastrophic fire swept through Noval’s lodge, bottling plant and offices in Vila Nova de Gaia, destroying 350,000 litres of stock, 20,000 bottles of the 1978 vintage and more than two centuries worth of records. The following year a new generation of the family entered the company: Cristiano and Teresa van Zeller, great grandchildren of Luiz Vasconcelos Porto, then aged 23 and 22 respectively.

In 1982 building began of a vast lodge at Quinta do Noval. In 1986 the Portuguese government changed the shipping laws, allowing Port houses to export directly from the Douro. Noval was the first major house to be able to take advantage of the new legislation and announced in 1989 that it would be moving most of its stock to the Douro.
In May 1993 the Van Zeller family sold the company to AXA, one of the world’s largest insurance groups. The deal included the 145 hectare estate, together with stocks and production facilities.

Noval is now part of AXA MillÃ©simes, a group which already includes a string of leading Bordeaux chÃ¢teaux, such as ChÃ¢teau Pichon-Longueville, ChÃ¢teau Petit-Village and ChÃ¢teau Suduiraut, and also owns an estate in Hungary’s Tokaj region, DisznÃ³kÅ‘.

In October 1993, Englishman Christian Seely was appointed Managing Director of Quinta do Noval. In 1994 Noval began a major programme of technical improvements, including replanting and renovation of the vineyards, a new vinification centre, improvements to the Douro lodge and the construction of a new warehouse and bottling plant in the Douro. This programme construction of a new warehouse and bottling plant in the Douro. This programme completes Noval’s move to the Douro, making it the first traditional shipping company to move its stocks and operations from Vila Nova de Gaia to the Douro Valley.

In January 2001 Christian Seely was appointed Managing Director of AXA MillÃ©simes with over all responsibility of all the AXA properties replacing the recently retired Jean Michel Cazes. Remaining Managing Director of Quinta do Noval, Seely has strengthened the management team. AntÃ³nio Agrellos continues as Technical Director, with overall responsibility for production, winemaking and blending. Filipe Salgaldo is Finance and Administration Director.
2005 and beyond…

After over ten years of investment and hard work today Quinta do Noval is widely regarded as one of the greatest names in the Port Wine business. It is our aim to continue to produce outstanding Port wine and to maintain and enhance the quality of Port bottled under the Noval name. Hand crafted wines of the very best quality.

PoÃ§as - established in 1918

PoÃ§as was founded in 1918 by Manoel Domingues PoÃ§as Junior, with Port Wine being the main purpose of trade. There are 53 traditional Companies in Vila Nova de Gaia that make up a part of about 25 Groups. A mere seven of these Groups are Portuguese, family owned and independent Companies. PoÃ§as’ House is one of them.

Royal Oporto - established in 1756

In 2006 Real Companhia Velha celebrates 250 years of existence and uninterruptedBesides the fact that not many companies have existed for so long, specially in the wine trade, what makes Real Companhia Velha unique is the way its own history is intimately linked to the history of the Porto Wine trade and to the history of Portugal itself.

For more than one century, between 1756 and 1865, Real Companhia Velha played such an important role in the Porto industry, as regulatory body, as well as trade promoter, that it can be said, the history of the Company is almost the History of Porto.

Since its primordiums, the company’s activities were designated to protect and to develop the prestige and the sales of Porto Wine- Portugal’s number one export product of that time. In fact, the importance of Porto Wine for the Portuguese economy in the middle and late 18th century was such that in 1799, Porto Wine represented more than 50% of the total Portuguese exports.

On the 7th December 1865 by Royal Decree of King Regent Dom Fernando who declared free the exports through the Porto Harbour of all wines produced in Portugal, the company lost its majestic privileges and became a public company trading in the open Porto market continuing to develop the reputation of its name all over the world.

Rebello Valente - (belonging to Robertson Brothers & Co)

Since a fine 1970, very little Vintage Port has borne the name of Rebello Valente. Rebello Valente is part of the Sandeman/ Seagram group (see below).

The older vintages are worth looking out for, though an agreeable 1985 will make attractive drinking over the next five years.

Robertson Brothers & Co - established in 1881

Sandeman - established in 1790

This Port house was founded by Scotsman George Sandeman in 1790, who established offices in London and Oporto, with the intention of importing Port, and also Sherry.

The Sandeman family ran the business into the late 20th century, and remain involved in the business to this day, led by another George Sandeman, the seventh generation to take charge. In recent years, however, there have been new owners. From 1980-2002 it was part of the Seagram group, but in 2002 it was taken over by Sogrape.

Like Quinta do Noval, Sandeman have been responsible for a number of firsts in the Port trade, and in business generally. In 1805 they began to brand their barrels with the Sandeman Crow’s Foot emblem, using the same method animals were branded - a hot iron. This practice was intended to guarantee quality by putting the name of Sandeman to the Ports - which were often sold by UK wine merchants with no mention of producer - but it was in fact the origin of the term ‘brand’, as in ‘brand name’.

Later, the Sandeman family continued this theme of innovation when they purchased the rights to the ‘Don’ image. This drawing of a figure, in Portuguese student’s cape and hat, holding a glass of Port, by George Massiot Brown, was made in 1928. It’s use by the Sandeman family was one of the first examples of repeated use of a recognisable brand image for marketing purposes.

Silves & Cosens - (belonging to Dow & Co)

Smith Woodhouse - established in 1784

Christopher Smith, a prominent figure in the British wine trade and Member of Parliament, who was later to become Lord Mayor of London, opened offices in Oporto in 1784 to ship Port wine from the bar of the Douro. Several years later Smith’s sons were joined in partnership by the Woodhouse brothers, already well established as importers of wine from other regions, and the firm became known by its present name.

Smith Woodhouse built a strong clientele for more than a century, but after World War II, in common with other firms, business became increasingly difficult. In 1960 W & J Graham bought Smith Woodhouse and then in 1970 the Symington family acquired the firm. The Symingtons brought with them a wealth of experience spanning four generations of direct involvement in the Port trade as growers and shippers.

Under the Symingtons’ ownership Smith Woodhouse continues to make some of its finest Ports by the traditional methods, and has produced a succession of outstanding Vintage Ports in a characteristic opulent rich style, balanced by firm hard tannins.

Smith Woodhouse owns Madalena Vineyard, which lies along the riverbed of the “Torto”, one of the tributaries of the Douro, famous for its top rated production. In fact the “Rio Torto” is acknowledged as having the highest concentration of top quality vineyards in the Douro. The maturation in the “Torto” valley is typically later than in the PinhÃ£o valley, bringing about an extended ripening period leading to the production of well balanced fruit and giving rise to wines of great finesse and structure.

Taylor, Fladgate & Yeatman - established in 1692

Taylor’s is now over 300 years old. It remains a family firm, completely independent, owned still by relations of the original partners.On the Atlantic coast at Oporto are the ancient lodges where Taylor’s priceless ports slowly reach their glorious maturity. High up in the Douro Valley is Taylor Quinta de Vargellas, one of the world’s truly great vineyards, comparable in quality to Chateau Latour. In between is the complex network of independent farmers, who have supplied Taylor’s for generations, their press-houses and wine making establishments.
Taylor is accepted by most wine authorities to be the greatest of all port shippers, famous especially for its sublime and long-lived Vintage ports, which consistently fetch the highest prices at auction, and for old, distinguished Tawny ports. But Taylor’s is also an innovative house, pioneering the successful Late Bottled Vintage style which has been copied by almost every other shipper.

The finest Port is produced from grapes grown on the steep and rocky slopes of the Upper Douro and its tributaries. Vines have been grown on these remote hillsides since pre-Roman times. In the 17th Century British traders, cut off from their supplies of Bordeaux by frequent wars with France, took a liking to the full-flavoured, robust wines of Portugal. Under the Methuen Treaty of 1703, England granted lower duties to Portuguese wines than to those of France and Germany, becoming for over a century the principal market for the wines of the Douro Valley. But these wines did not travel well, so the traders added brandy to fortify them against the rigours of their Atlantic sea voyage. Before long pure grape spirit was added during fermentation and Port, as we drink it today, was created.

Among the first of the early traders was Job Bearsley, who by 1692 was a Port shipper and partner in the firm which we know today as Taylor Fladgate & Yeatman. His 4XX (an old woolmark) is still cut into the walls of the Casa dos Alambiques, where Taylor Fladgate have made wine from 1744 to this day-apart from its short break as a field hospital for Wellington’s troops. The 4XX mark still features on the company crest, and on every bottle.

Now in its fourth century, the company is still thriving, with wine quality remaining the firm’s only consideration. Taylor’s Port was, is, and will continue to be, one of the world’s greatest wines.

Warre & Co - established in 1670

Founded in 1670, Warre and Co. is the oldest British Port Company and, what is more, it has remained family owned, by the Symingtons, throughout its long history. Renowned for its classic Vintage Ports, as well as the much sought after Quinta da Cavadinha, Warre also ships some tremendous Late Bottled Vintage and it is these two Ports that we have been buying from Warre’s for nearly twenty years. The LBV is a bottling of first-class wine from undeclared vintages, is bottled after four years in cask and then given extensive bottle-ageing. It is deep-coloured, rounded and very fruity. The 1989 Quinta da Cavadinha is the eighth vintage offered from this quinta and has a big, aromatic and spicy bouquet with rich fruit and a great length of flavour on the palate.

Port Bottles

The bottles in which vintage port is kept can be collectors items in themselves as the post-1945 methods have changed and the old bottles are therefore unique.

Categories: Blog
Tags:

About the Author

admin

Hi, I'm the site admin! I don't know enough about wine to do any tasting or advanced wine commentary, but I do keep this Wine Blokes website up and running - I moderate each and every comment received, and make the occasional post about wine news that has dropped into my email inbox. If something doesn't work, its probably my fault :(

Wine: reviewed by experts, drunk by all

Contents

Introduction

Method and Maturation

Grape Varieties & Blending

Touriga Nacional

Touriga Francesa

Tinta Roriz

Tinto CÃ£o

Tinta Barroca

Other Varieties

Frontenac

White Port

Different Types of Port

‘Chip Dry’ White Port

First Estate

Late Bottled Vintage

Aged Tawnies

10 YEAR OLD TAWNY

20 YEAR OLD TAWNY

30 YEAR OLD TAWNY

40 YEAR OLD TAWNY

Colheita

Garrafeira

Classic Vintage

Quinta

Quinta de Vargellas

Quinta de Terra Feita

Tasting Port

AROMA

TASTE

SIGHT

Judging a Port’s Age

YOUNG VINTAGE

MATURE VINTAGE

10-15 YEAR OLD VINTAGE PORT

OLDER VINTAGE PORT

OLD TAWNY PORTS

10 YEAR OLD TAWNIES

20 YEAR OLD TAWNIES

30 AND 40 YEAR OLD TAWNIES

LATE BOTTLED VINTAGE PORT

VINTAGE PORT

Birthdays

Storage and Cellaring

How to Decant Port

Not all ports need decanting

Equipment for decanting

Decant gently

Managing the sediment

The Glass

Best before…

Alternative

Matching Port and Food

Port & Cheese Pairing Guide

Port & Desserts

An A to Z of Port

Acetic Acid

Acidity

Almude

Astringency

Bastardo

Beneficio

Body

Brandy Spirit

Bouquet

Canada

Capsule

Casa

Colheita (pronounced Col-YATE-ah)

Cork

Corked

Crusted

Demarcated Region (The)

Douro

Evaporation

Fining

Finish

Flabby

Garrafeira