Port wine


Port wine, or simply port, is a Portuguese fortified wine produced in the Douro Valley of northern Portugal. It is typically a sweet red wine, often served with dessert, although it also comes in dry, semi-dry, and white varieties.
In the European Union as well as in the United States, only wines from Portugal are allowed to be labelled "port".

History

In 1678, a Liverpool wine merchant sent two new representatives to Viana do Castelo, north of Oporto, to learn the wine trade. While on a vacation in the Douro, the two gentlemen visited the Abbot of Lamego, who treated them to a "very agreeable, sweetish and extremely smooth" wine, which had been fortified with a distilled spirit. The two Englishmen were so pleased with the product that they purchased the abbot's entire lot and shipped it home.
Port became very popular in England after the Methuen Treaty of 1703, when merchants were permitted to import it at a low duty, while war with France deprived English wine drinkers of French wine. British importers could be credited for recognising that a smooth, already fortified wine that would appeal to English palates would survive the trip to London.
The continued British involvement in the port trade can be seen in the names of many port shippers and brands: Broadbent, Cockburn, Croft, Dow, Gould Campbell, Graham, Osborne, Offley, Sandeman, Taylor, and Warre being amongst the best known. Shippers of Dutch and German origin are also prominent, such as Niepoort and Burmester. The British involvement grew so strong that they formed a trade association that became a gentlemen's club. A few port shippers and producers were also established by native Portuguese families: Ferreira and Quinta do Crasto are among the best. Both Ferreira and Quinta do Crasto can be credited for pioneering the Douro as a table-wine-producing region, Ferreira making Barca Velha since 1952 and Quinta do Crasto becoming the second producer of note, starting in the early 1990s.

Region and production

Port is produced from grapes grown and processed in the demarcated Douro region. The wine produced is then fortified by the addition of a neutral grape spirit known as aguardente to stop the fermentation, leaving residual sugar in the wine, and to boost the alcohol content. The fortification spirit is sometimes referred to as brandy, but it bears little resemblance to commercial brandies. The wine is then stored and aged, often in barrels stored in a lodge as is the case in Vila Nova de Gaia, before being bottled. The wine received its name, "port", in the latter half of the 17th century from the seaport city of Porto at the mouth of the Douro River, where much of the product was brought to market or for export to other countries in Europe. The Douro valley where port wine is produced was defined and established as a protected region, and the name Douro thus an official appellation, in 1756, making it the third oldest wine after Chianti and Tokaj.
The reaches of the valley of the Douro River in northern Portugal have a microclimate that is optimal for cultivation of olives, almonds, and especially grapes important for making port wine. The region around Pinhão and São João da Pesqueira is considered to be the centre of port production, and is known for its picturesque quintas – estates clinging on to almost vertical slopes dropping down to the river.
The wine-producing Douro region is the third oldest protected wine region in the world after Chianti, in 1716, and Tokaj, in 1730.
In 1756, during the rule of the Marquis of Pombal, the Companhia Geral da Agricultura das Vinhas do Alto Douro, was founded to guarantee the quality of the product and fair pricing to the end consumer. The C.G.A.V.A.D. was also in charge of regulating which port wine would be for export or internal consumption and managing the protected geographic indication.
Other port-style fortified wines are produced outside Portugalin Argentina, Australia, Canada, France, India, Italy, South Africa, Spain, and the United Statesbut under the European Union Protected Designation of Origin guidelines, only wines from Portugal are allowed to be labelled "port".

Wine regions

The demarcation of the Douro River Valley includes a broad swath of land of pre-Cambrian schist and granite. Beginning around the village of Barqueiros, the valley extends eastward almost to the Spanish border. The region is protected from the influences of the Atlantic Ocean by the Serra do Marão mountains. The area is subdivided into three official zones: the Baixo Corgo, the Cima Corgo, and the Douro Superior.
  • Baixo Corgo – The westernmost zone located downstream from the river Corgo, centred on the municipality of Peso da Régua. This region is the wettest port production zone, receiving an annual average of of precipitation and it has the coolest average temperature of the three zones. The grapes grown here are used mainly for the production of inexpensive ruby and tawny ports.
  • Cima Corgo – Located upstream from the Baixo Corgo, this region is centred on the town of Pinhão. The summertime average temperature of the region is a few degrees higher, and annual rainfall is about. The grapes grown in this zone are considered of higher quality, being used in bottlings of vintage, reserve, aged tawny, and late bottled vintage ports.
  • Douro Superior – The easternmost zone, extending almost to the Spanish border. This is the least cultivated region of Douro, due in part to the difficulties of navigating the river past the rapids of Cachão da Valeira. This is the driest and warmest region of the Douro. The overall terrain is relatively flat, with the potential for mechanization.

    Grapes

Over a hundred varieties of grapes are sanctioned for port production, although only five are widely cultivated and used. Touriga Nacional is widely considered the most desirable port grape but the difficulty in growing it, and the small yields cause Touriga Francesa to be the most widely planted grape. White ports are produced the same way as red ports, except that they use white grapes – Donzelinho Branco, Esgana-Cão, Folgasão, Gouveio, Malvasia Fina, Rabigato and Viosinho. While a few shippers have experimented with ports produced from a single variety of grapes, all ports commercially available are from a blend of different grapes. Since the Phylloxera crisis, most vines are grown on grafted rootstock, with the notable exception of the Nacional area of Quinta do Noval, which, since being planted in 1925, has produced some of the most expensive vintage ports.
Grapes grown for port are generally characterized by their small, dense fruit which produces concentrated and long-lasting flavours, suitable for long aging. While the grapes used to produce port made in Portugal are strictly regulated by the Instituto do Vinho do Porto, wines from outside this region that describe themselves as port may be made from other varieties.

Sales

In 2013, there were 8.7 million cases of port sold, 3.6% less than the previous year, at a value of $499 million. Port sales have been declining since 2005 and in 2014 were down 16% from that year. In 2023 about 7.2 million cases were sold, with a value of €364 million. Declining sales are attributed by some to increasing prices, due to the increased cost of alcohol used in the production process. Declining sales have also been attributed to the global rise in alcohol levels of table wines. As of 2014, the leading brand in Portugal is Cálem, which sells 2.6 million bottles annually.

Transport

Port is produced from grapes grown in the Douro valley. Until 1986 it could only be exported from Portugal from Vila Nova de Gaia near Porto, Portugal's second-largest city. Traditionally, the wine was taken downriver in flat-bottom boats called 'barcos rabelos', to be processed and stored. In the 1950s and 1960s, several hydroelectric power dams were built along the river, ending this traditional conveyance. Currently, the wine is transported from the vineyards by tanker trucks and the barcos rabelos are only used for racing and other displays.

Properties

Port wine is typically richer, sweeter, heavier, and higher in alcohol content than unfortified wines. This is caused by the addition of distilled grape spirits that fortify the wine, but also halt fermentation before all the sugar is converted to alcohol, and results in a wine that is usually 19% to 20% alcohol.
Port is commonly served after meals as a dessert wine in English-speaking countries, often with cheese, nuts, or chocolate; white and tawny ports are often served as an apéritif. In continental Europe, all types of ports are frequently consumed as apéritifs.

Styles

Port from Portugal comes in several styles, which can be divided into two broad categories: wines matured in sealed glass bottles, and wines that have matured in wooden barrels.
The former, without exposure to air, experience what is known as "reductive" ageing. This process leads to the wine losing its color very slowly and produces a wine that is smoother on the palate and less tannic.
The latter, being matured in wooden barrels, whose permeability allows a small amount of exposure to oxygen, experience what is known as "oxidative" aging. They too lose color, but at a faster pace. They also lose volume to evaporation, leaving behind a wine that is slightly more viscous.
The IVDP further divides ports into two categories: normal ports and Categorias Especiais, special categories, which include everything else.

Ruby

The most common type, ruby port is stored in tanks of concrete or stainless steel after fermentation, to prevent oxidative aging and preserve its bright red color and full-bodied fruitiness. The wine is usually blended to match the style of the brand to which it is to be sold. The wine is fined and cold filtered before bottling and does not generally improve with age, although premium rubies are aged in wood from four to six years.