Port and Fortified Wines Information

May 13, 2023

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What’s port?

Port has one thing of a picture drawback. Its unlucky repute calls to thoughts red-trousered gents puffing cigars after dinner and passing decanters of port to their left – a convention that allegedly pertains to protecting one’s proper hand free, in case entry to 1’s sword is required. Eye rolls all spherical.

After we do drink port it’s often solely at Christmas, downed with stilton and mince pies on the finish of the festive feast. It’s not often considered once more till the next yr. A disgrace actually, for port could be beautiful to drink all yr spherical.

Named after the town of Porto (learn our foodie information right here) on the west coast of Portugal, on the mouth of The Douro, port comes beneath the class of fortified wines. These are wines which have a bit grape spirit added to them, which stops the fermentation course of early and preserves the wine – a way relationship again to the seventeenth century, when barrels of wine have been shipped to England that will in any other case spoil on their lengthy journeys.

Classic port is simply made in years when there was an distinctive harvest, and it’s meant to be drunk a minimum of 10 years after bottling (typically for much longer). Late Bottled Classic (LBV) spends longer within the barrel earlier than bottling, whereas tawny port is aged in small barrels and bottled solely when it’s deemed able to drink. Lighter and brisker than classic and LBV ports, tawny ports have the added benefit of lasting longer after opening.

White port, because the title suggests, is comprised of white grapes and is usually bottled younger. Served over ice with tonic and a slice of orange, a sprig of thyme or perhaps a cinnamon stick, it’s the aperitif of the Douro area.

What’s Madeira wine?

Madeira is one other fortified wine, made on the Portuguese island of the identical title. Transported to the Americas and past within the 18th century, the barrels of wine have been uncovered to the excessive temperatures of the tropics, and partly evaporated by way of the pores of the oak staves. Made in kinds starting from super-sweet to bone-dry, madeira has an unimaginable complexity, and a attribute dazzling acidity that makes it a favorite amongst so many wine lovers. Sercial is the grape that makes the driest fashion, adopted by verdelho, boal and malvasia (the sweetest).

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What’s sherry?

Sherry (try our favorite sherries right here ) can also be a lot underrated by the fashionable drinker. Made within the south-west of Spain across the metropolis of Jerez (from which it will get its title), sherry is fortified wine that’s left to age in part-filled wood barrels the place a layer of yeast, known as the flor, grows on the floor and imparts its distinctive flavours into the wine. Manzanilla and fino are the driest kinds, whereas olorosos and amontillados are richer and nuttier. Search for cream sherry you probably have a candy tooth.

Fortified wines in summer season

Port and different fortified wines are usually not only for winter, they make for nice summer season ingesting, too. Hold these bottles within the fridge, serve them neat or poured over ice, or combine them with tonic water, soda or lemonade. Make free with no matter garnish takes your fancy – lemon, orange, strawberry, thyme, mint, rosemary and bay leaves can all work nicely. And unfold the phrase – these drinks are cool, in additional methods than one.

@KateHawkings