Wine Lesson #9: What Is Port Wine And When Do You Drink It? (Part 2/3)

WINE LESSON #9: WHAT IS PORT? (Part 2/3)
Unlike dry red or white wines, Port is a versatile product with numerous styles

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Colheita Vintage Port
It is not often that we come across a Colheita but when you see one, it is almost always a super-value buy. Colheita is a Tawny Port made from a single vintage which is stated in the label. It ages for at least 7 years in barrel giving it depth, complexity, that attractive nutty flavor and flavors of dried fruit.

Most Colheita's are zapped up once they hit the wine shelves because it is perhaps the closest thing to the KING of Port — The Vintage Port — at probably half the cost.

Vintage Port
Well, well, well, this is what PORT is all about, the top of the line, ultimate luxury but alas almost always expensive Vintage Port. To start with, producers don't make Vintage Port every year. As a matter of fact, they "declare" — term used in the trade to mean announcing that a Vintage Port will be made for this year — a Vintage about 3-5 years in a decade.

That decision is based on how great the vintage is. Vintage Port accounts of about 1% of Port made so it hardly makes or breaks a producer's financial disposition either way. A lousy Vintage Port can seriously damage a producer's reputation.

Vintage Port is made from one single vintage year and only the best grapes are chosen. It is bottled after 2-3 years in barrel, unfiltered of course and is expected to improve with bottle ageing for many years, a century even, for the best vintages such as 1955, 1963, 1977 for example.

Many argue that Vintage Ports are one of the finest wines in the world. After a sip of these, one might be at a lost for words to disagree. We can always expect a thick sediment in Vintage Port and so decanting is absolutely required.

Single Quinta Port
Now that we know how sensitive a decision to "declare a vintage" is, for lesser-quality vintages, producers may opt to produce a "Single Quinta Port". It is practically the same as a Vintage Port but it comes from a single vineyard.

But the mere admission that it is not "Vintage Port" means two things: (1) it is less expensive and (2) its quality is not up to the standard of Vintage Port. Along with Colheita's, Single-Quinta's can be excellent value for your money. Always decant a vintage port.

Now before we end this week's lesson on Port, let's quickly explain how Port gets its sweetness. Except for really bad Ports where cheating takes place, there is no sugar added to make the wine sweet. Instead, the sweetness comes from the (red) base wine.

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Source: Wine Lesson #9: What Is Port Wine And When Do You Drink It? (Part 2/3)