Wines of the region : The Douro Valley
Port wines
If France is the biggest consumer of Port wine, it's Port wines are essentially at the bottom of the range. So forget the small Porto served with melon, allow us to introduce you to an exclusive
part of Portugal that produces authentic and vintage Port wines rich in flavour and with real complexities. Fruity, dense and powerful, they mainly come from local vines: Touriga Nacional, tinto
cão, rang roriz, rang barroca, touriga franca for reds, sercial, verdelho and many others for Port whites.
These vineyards have been cultivated since millennia on the steep hills and valleys of Douro, its only at the end of the 17th century however when wine production in this region saw real growth. Portugal owes this growth and popularity to the British love of Port wines! The birth of Port wines came about during the transportation of wines by merchants from the then upper Douro valley through to south of Oporto to a town called Vila Nova de Gaia near the mouth of the Douro river.
Mutage and ageing : How is this exquisite wine made?
After a manual grape harvest, grapes are pressed, treaded (sometimes on foot by people) in shallow stone troughs also called lagares. Its then stored in tanks for fermentation. This fermentation process is stopped before complete processing of the sugar in alcohol by adding some brandy with at least 77% of alcohol, this process is called mutation. The length of ageing more or less depends on the type of Port wine. To date this process takes place in wine store houses in "Vila nova de Gaia" in front of the city of Porto. This is because weather conditions in the valley with cold nights and hot very dry days doesn't favour this delicate ageing process. Thereafter, the wine is transported from Vila Nova de Gaia's warehouses to "Barcos Rabelos", famous flat-bottomed boats which we can be admired from the banks of the Douro river.
The two big families of Port wines:
Tawny Porto: Is aged for a long period of time in wooden barrels. During this phase the contact of the wine with air causes the colour of the wine to change from a deep red to a "tawny" reddish transparent hue. Powerful aromas of coffee, walnuts, dried fruits, fig and cedar get more refined in the premier years. This Tawny Port wine needs a minimum of 3 years in wooden barrels, Reserve Tawny Porto wine (atleast 7 years), Tawny Porto respective of time has age indicated (10,20,30,40 etc) and finally Tawny Colheita (7 years minium, decanted and bottled the same year). Excepted for Colheita, which is a vintage Port Tawny which may have been stored in barrels for over 20 years and is subject to strict procedures to merit this label. This applies to all Port wines which are must be produced with the strictest highest standards relevant to each category.
Ruby Porto: is aged in bottles mostly without coming into any contact with air. This "restricted" environment allows them to keep their young "ruby" colour. Apart from their colour, they also retain these very complex very fruity aromas. The Ruby, and Ruby Réserve are young wines with exuberant, intense, fruity aromas and characters. An LBV Port wine (Late Bottled Vintage wine) is a wine produced in one year and bottled for at least 4 and 6 years. The category given to a Port wine. Vintage Port wines are aged over long exceptional years and bottled 2 and 3 years after harvest. They possess the ability to age over several decades improving their fine elements with time. These Port wines, like the Ruby Port must be quickly consumed once the bottle is opened.
Do not worry if all these classifications seem too confusing. Tasting them will give you a better understanding and appreciation of their unique premium qualities !
These vineyards have been cultivated since millennia on the steep hills and valleys of Douro, its only at the end of the 17th century however when wine production in this region saw real growth. Portugal owes this growth and popularity to the British love of Port wines! The birth of Port wines came about during the transportation of wines by merchants from the then upper Douro valley through to south of Oporto to a town called Vila Nova de Gaia near the mouth of the Douro river.
Mutage and ageing : How is this exquisite wine made?
After a manual grape harvest, grapes are pressed, treaded (sometimes on foot by people) in shallow stone troughs also called lagares. Its then stored in tanks for fermentation. This fermentation process is stopped before complete processing of the sugar in alcohol by adding some brandy with at least 77% of alcohol, this process is called mutation. The length of ageing more or less depends on the type of Port wine. To date this process takes place in wine store houses in "Vila nova de Gaia" in front of the city of Porto. This is because weather conditions in the valley with cold nights and hot very dry days doesn't favour this delicate ageing process. Thereafter, the wine is transported from Vila Nova de Gaia's warehouses to "Barcos Rabelos", famous flat-bottomed boats which we can be admired from the banks of the Douro river.
The two big families of Port wines:
Tawny Porto: Is aged for a long period of time in wooden barrels. During this phase the contact of the wine with air causes the colour of the wine to change from a deep red to a "tawny" reddish transparent hue. Powerful aromas of coffee, walnuts, dried fruits, fig and cedar get more refined in the premier years. This Tawny Port wine needs a minimum of 3 years in wooden barrels, Reserve Tawny Porto wine (atleast 7 years), Tawny Porto respective of time has age indicated (10,20,30,40 etc) and finally Tawny Colheita (7 years minium, decanted and bottled the same year). Excepted for Colheita, which is a vintage Port Tawny which may have been stored in barrels for over 20 years and is subject to strict procedures to merit this label. This applies to all Port wines which are must be produced with the strictest highest standards relevant to each category.
Ruby Porto: is aged in bottles mostly without coming into any contact with air. This "restricted" environment allows them to keep their young "ruby" colour. Apart from their colour, they also retain these very complex very fruity aromas. The Ruby, and Ruby Réserve are young wines with exuberant, intense, fruity aromas and characters. An LBV Port wine (Late Bottled Vintage wine) is a wine produced in one year and bottled for at least 4 and 6 years. The category given to a Port wine. Vintage Port wines are aged over long exceptional years and bottled 2 and 3 years after harvest. They possess the ability to age over several decades improving their fine elements with time. These Port wines, like the Ruby Port must be quickly consumed once the bottle is opened.
Do not worry if all these classifications seem too confusing. Tasting them will give you a better understanding and appreciation of their unique premium qualities !
D.O.C Douro
Produced from the same vines as Porto, vineyards of Douro valley grow grapes with intense flavours sure to grab your attention. Produced and aged over a long period of time, from harvest surpluses
for Porto wines or lower quality grapes, today Douro wines are greatly pampered by its producers. Douro valley wines are a great gift to portuguese wines, they offer an alternative to Porto wines
in a market mostly dominated by big international brands. Visit beautiful Douro and taste their enchanting wines waiting to reveal their unique personalities and sun kissed flavours without
reservation!