Basics about Port

by Bella for Country Wisdom and Hudson Valley Living,Arts & Entertainment,Hudson Valley,NY

answering readers questions

PORT

Its character well-known. It is stylish, chic. It is definitely for mature drinker. Traditionally port is chosen to finish a meal. It is a sweet dessert of the alcoholic kind.

WHAT IS IT? It is a fortified wine. It is sweet because it was fortified with brandy. This is killing yeast in the part fermented wine and producing a rich and sugary flavour.

WHERE DOES IT COME FROM?

Well it s in the name! Port comes from Portugal and in particularly form the North-Eastern Douro Valley. There is an area of about 1000 sq miles where the vineyards are situated.

A BIT of HISTORY

An angry Britain declared war on France in 1698 and blocked French ports, resulting in the shortage of wine. British wine merchants approached the wine renowned Portuguese but the wines weren’t the same quality as the French so the Brits took control. Brandy was added before fermentation and port was born.

DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN TYPES OF PORT

Bottle aged port keeps its colour and fruitiness when maturing while cask aged port loses some of its colour. Ruby is the cheapest-cask aged and usually drunk young. Tawny is cask aged too but spends longer in the cask developing more complicated flavour.Late bottle vintage(LBV) ports are cask aged before being bottled with some sediment to add character .Vintage ports on the Rolls Royce level of the beverage. Made from the best wines and aged for a few years before bottling, they are at their best after a long maturation period.

THIS WAY IS DONE IN ENGLAND

British naval officers passed the port from port to port-that’s clockwise to you and me. Want to play along? The host should pour for the guest to his right and then pass the bottle to the guest on the left. It’s then passed to the left all the way back to the host.

Port is making come back in today’s society. This is a nostalgic beverage and reminiscent of the time of elegance, wealth and refinement. Remember the picture of the generously proportioned gentleman in a wing-back chair with a cigar in one hand and a cordial of port in the other? Elegance is now in demand.

So Port is normally consumed after dinner. Served in cordial glass, it is sipped, rather than drunk. Sipping slows down the assimilation of alcohol into the blood stream. What about food? The wonderful rich flavors of port enhanced by serving nuts, dried fruits and cheese. I simply insist you try it with pecan pie, with hot apple strudel and cheesecakes. Chocolate is a good match, but nice rich dark chocolate is better than milk sweeter chocolate.

Glancing through old photos, scrap books…Pour a bit of port for you and friends! What a way to toast old memories and the dreams of the future.

Here is a few suggestions for a superior quality port wines:

Delaforce vintage 2000

Quinta da Roueda 1995

Taylor Fladgate 1995

Delaforce Reserve 10 years old

Fonseca Bin 27

May the good fortune and positive spirit come your way through the Holiday Season and year round…remember, Life is a Matter of Taste!

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