Wines of Portugal & Madeira

              Wines of Portugal & Madeira

Wines of Portugal

Known and sold under Port Wine. The southern part of Portugal is known for good climate, which is favourable for viticulture many red and white and rose wines are produced annually. They are most common in quality and enjoy a universal reputation.

Principle regions of Portugal

Principle regions of Portugal:

Porto e Douro: Famous for Port, produces Table wines, [red, white and rose wines]    

Setúbal: famous and well known for fortified wines, Moscate De Setúbal. Also home for the best two wines produces in Portugal.

e.g: João Pires

       José-Maria Da Fonseca


Some famous wines of Portugal are:

E.g.:  Sparkling rosé Lancer

Muscat Branco---white wine

Quinta Da Anfora—red wine

Quinta Da Bacalhôa—red wine

Port: They are an established, fortified wine. All wines labeled as port come from port producing area of Portugal. 

Harvesting of Grapes:  picking starts in the end of Sep., or beginning of Oct., When they are fully ripe. These fruits are transferred into a large stone trough called, “Lager’ holding, 1 thousand -2 thousand gallons of grapes and is 3 feet deep

Pressing: In these lagers grapes are crushed by treading, without crushing skins or stalks to prevent excess tannin, and is left to ferment together.

Fermentation: Natural fermentation takes place, and the correct amount of sugar is tested. [50% of sugar is converted into alcohol].The must is strained off into tunnels into large vats called ‘Tonets’, and a little Brandy is for fortification and to stop further fermentation.

Racking: The wine is left to rest through out the winter and is racked in the spring season, for transport to the shipper’s lodges [shipper’s warehouse] at Oporto to be matured, and blended with other wine in some cases
The name Port has been originated from Oporto and not Portugal as is a common belief.

Port is shipped for export and contains high % of alcohol. Port is blended by shippers

                                      Types of Port

Vintage port                                                  Wood Port

 Matured in Bottles                               Matured in wooden casks     

Matured in wood

          

Rose wine

                         
Vintage port: Vintage port is not made every year, only when the shippers think that the quality of a particular wine is good enough, they will declare it a Vintage. Port is declared only 3-4 times a decade.

This is a wine of 1yr only and bottled after 2 yrs of maturation, and allowed to mature in bottles for at least 15yrs.  It leaves sediment and needs to be decanted. Vintage port deteriorates rapidly after decanting and should be consumed immediately.

Vintage port is deep purple or ruby in colour, sweet and full bodied, alcoholic content of 20-22% abv.

Late Bottled Vintage:   [LBV], Port of a single year, but bottled for 5yrs.reading for drinking after bottling. It has the date of vintage and year of bottling on the label.

  

Vintage Port

Wood Port:    Crusted Port,   Ruby Port,   Tawny Port,   White Port.

Crusted Port: It is blended wine of more than 1yr., matured in wood for 2-3yrs.,bottled and matured for another 2yrs. It throws a crust [sediment] requires careful handling and decanting, like Vintage port

Ruby Port: A blends of young red Ports, left in casks for about 4-8yrs., finned with egg white or isinglass, this process takes 3 weeks and leaves clear bright port. Ready to drink at an age of 5yrs, not expensive as other port, has a fruity flavour, don’t improve in bottles, should

Tawny Port: A blend of Port wines left for 7-20yrs, ready for drinking as soon as it is bottled, they get a Brown hue due to being left in a wooden cask for many years.   

Cheaper versions are made from young red and white wines of not great aged, which gives the colour, but not the quality and flavour of old tawny.

White Port: Made from white grapes, is sweet, popular as an aperitif.

Lisbon Red:  Produced out side the Douro district, Douro banks, slope towards the Douro River, soil is rich in potassium and poor in nitrogen and lime, having a hard schist of the mountain side, the best port is produced from the harvest with a small produce.

A considerable quantity is exported to Britain and is known as ‘Aslibson Red’

Some Port wines are bottled and left to mature for 10-20yrs or even up to 40yrs.
Some wines need at least 8-10yrs to mature and drink. As wine ages it gains character and distinction

 Ports are excellent with cheese and sweet course, also used in the kitchen to make sauces, jellies etc.

Name of Port Shippers and Producers:

Cockburn

Graham

Mackenzie

Sandeman

Dow’s

CroftWood Houes etc.

Madeira: a volcanic island off the coast of Morocco. It has a unique character having fruitiness of Port and a tonic tang of sherry.. Madeira means’ wood’, referring to the thick layer of fertile potash soil, ash from the burnt tress 500yrs ago.

madeira

Madeira involves a process which is unique in wine making, i.e.: ‘Baking the wine’, once fermentation is finished the wine is placed in the warm rooms called ‘Estufas’ [like ovens] .Where the temp. Is to 56º C, this process was discovered during shipping Madeira; it improved its flavour due to exposure to high temperatures.

Varieties of Madeira wine: Madeira wines are named after the grapes they are being produced,

Sercial: Light, white wine, with distinctive sharp flavour, ranges from golden to pale colour.

Verdelho: Golden, medium dry, soft dessert wine.

Bual:      It is rich, fruity, full bodied wine, sweet like desert wine.

Malmsey: A soft rich, luscious wine. 

Uses: Can be served as an aperitif
Sweet ones can be served as dessert wine,

Popular as Tonic wine, because of presence of minerals,

Asubstitute for sherry,
As an accompaniment with soup and Madeira cake.

Producers and Shippers

Producers and Shippers: 
Blandy

Cossart Gordon
Leacock,
Poewr Drury,
Rutherford and Miles.