More to Port Than Meets the Eye
The merging of two cultures through dessert wine.
by Bella, Napanoch, NY
by Bella, Napanoch, NY
This
fortified wine is sweet because it was fortified with brandy. This process
kills yeast in the fermented wine and produces a rich and sugary flavor.
Where
does port come from? Well it’s in the name! Port comes from Portugal and in
particular from the Northeastern Douro Valley. There is an area of about 1,000
square miles where the vineyards are situated.
As
a historical sidenote, an angry Britain declared war on France in 1698 and
blocked French ports, resulting in the shortage of wine. British wine merchants
approached the wine-renowned Portuguese, but the wines weren’t the same quality
as the French so the Brits took control. Brandy was added before fermentation
and port was born.
DISTINGUISHING
BETWEEN TYPES OF PORT
Bottle-aged
port keeps its color and fruitiness when maturing while cask-aged port loses
some of its color. Ruby is the cheapest—cask aged and usually drunk young. Tawny
is cask aged too but spends longer in the cask, developing more complicated
flavor. Late bottle vintage (LBV) ports are cask aged before being bottled with
some sediment to add character. Vintage ports are on the Rolls Royce level of
the beverage. Made from the best wines and aged for a few years before
bottling, they are at their best after a long maturation period.
THE
WAY IT’S DONE IN ENGLAND
British
naval officers passed the port from port to port—that’s clockwise to you and
me. Want to play along? The host should pour for the guest to his right and
then pass the bottle to the guest on the left. It’s then passed to the left all
the way back to the host.
Port
is making a comeback in today’s society. This is a nostalgic beverage,
reminiscent of the time of elegance, wealth, and refinement. Remember the
picture of the generously proportioned gentleman in a wingback chair with a
cigar in one hand and a cordial of port in the other? Elegance is now in
demand.
So
port is normally consumed after dinner. Served in a cordial glass, it is
sipped, rather than drunk. Sipping slows down the assimilation of alcohol into
the blood stream. What about food? The wonderful rich flavors of port are
enhanced by serving nuts, dried fruits, and cheese. I simply insist you try it
with pecan pie, hot apple strudel, and/or cheesecake. Chocolate is a good
match, but nice rich dark chocolate goes better than the sweeter milk
chocolate.
Glancing
through old photos and scrapbooks, pour a bit of port for you and friends! What
a way to toast old memories and the dreams of the future.
Here
are a few suggestions for superior quality port wines:
Delaforce
vintage 2000
Quinta
da Roueda 1995
Taylor
Fladgate 1995
Delaforce
Reserve 10 years old
Fonseca
Bin 27
May
the good fortune and positive spirit come your way through the Holiday Season
and year round…remember, Life is a Matter of Taste!
Posted by Chris Hewitt
on 11:44 AM.
Filed under
Beer & Wine,
Feature,
Food & Restaurant
.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0
