Fortified Wine: Port Flashcards
Learn Port's history, geography, topography, climate, grapes, soil, and styles.
Port is a fortified wine.
What style is it always?:
- dry
- sweet
Port is always sweet
When is Port fortified with neutral grape spirit?
DURING fermentation so that the natural sugar remains.
In what region is Port made?
Douro region, in northwestern Portugal.
What river runs through the Douro region (and the Port wine growing area)?
Douro River
What is the climate of Port?
It ranges:
- Warm, balmy Maritime in west that’s closer to the Atlantic;
- Hot + dry in the east moving toward Spain
The Port region is:
- very flat
- sort of hilly
- steep and mountainous
Steep and mountainous
What is the main soil type found in Port?
Schist (drains well)
The single most important grape in Port is _____.
Touriga Nacional
In Port, vineyards are planted on the incredibly steep hillsides.
How are the grapes harvested?
By hand
No machine can maneuver these terraces
What are ‘quintas’ in Port?
Single vineyards
Port is almost always:
- a single grape variety
- a blend of several grape varieties
A blend of several grape varieties
In traditional Port houses, how are the grapes usually crushed?
By foot
What are ‘lagares’?
Big, shallow (1m / 3ft) troughs that are filled with grapes, where harvest workers stomp the grapes by foot and macerate the grapes.
Here’s a photo of folks in lagares.
Port’s fermentation is fast or long?
Fast
- preserves fruitiness
- maximizes flavor and color extraction
At what point during fermentation is Port fortified to stop the wine from fermenting?
When ~1/3 of the sugar has been fermented (at this point the abv is ~5%).
