How is Port Wine Typically Made?

If you have ever tasted Port, chances are that you are already a fan of this famous dessert wine that is rich, sweet and a little viscous than the traditional red wines. Along with its intense flavor, the added spirits (77% ABV Brandy) which stabilize this wine for long aging also account for the reasons because of which this wine is considered a perfect complement to dinner. But do you have any idea how your favorite wine is actually made? No? Well, in that case, come let’s do some research.

What is Port Wine?

Port wine is actually Portugal wine, a unique blend of grapes that are native to this place. This wine is made in Douro Valley by mixing 52 types of grapes to lend it a variety of flavors.

How is Port made?

For making Port, the first step is to harvest the grapes in the fall from the Douro Valley vineyards. Once the grapes are collected than in the next step these grapes are pressed to extract the juice. Most people still use the classic way of traditional foot treading in open lagares to achieve that, however, some people have now begun using mechanical treaders as well.

Now once this step is completed, then the grape juice is left to ferment for several days until the alcohol level in it reaches 7%, at which point the wine is fortified with brandy. This is done because adding brandy to the wine stops the fermentation process at once which allows for the young wine to capture the new wine’s youthful fruit nuance. This fortification also leaves the residual sugar levels higher.

In the last step, this batch of young wine is then pumped into large oak casks for a year and a half (18 months) for aging. At the end of this time, the wine is blended with other lots of Port wine to find complementary components. After that, the wine is transferred into bottles or back to cask for further aging.

So, this is how Port is prepared to appeal to your taste buds and to charm your senses!

References

https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-is-port-wine-3510911