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The Family | Meet The Family | Winery Factoids | Our Story | Tasting Room | Wine Awards | Wine 101 | Commercial Filming
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Port 101...Here is a shortened version of why we now have a wine called Port, derived from an old wives tale of how port was "discovered". It is plagiarized a bit of this from The Wine Bible. Once upon a time... it all started in the 1670's when England and France had one of their spats which led to punitive import and export duties. Now, because many of the English back then were sophisticated lushes, the decreased wine from France really hurt the English. So the thirsty English went further south to find wine to make up the difference; to Portugal. But the wine from Portugal had a higher sugar content, because the climate was hotter. England did an end-around to France, but the French laughed as the British found the oak barrels of wine exploding in the hulls of the merchant ships on the voyage to England. Here's the apocryphal short story: A couple of English merchants walked around Portugal to figure out a solution to their exploding barrels. So two young British merchants, maybe seeking divine inspiration to their dilemma, found themselves at a monastery outside the town of Lamego, near the Douro River in Portugal. The abbot there served them a wine that was smoother, sweeter, and more interesting than any they'd tasted. When the young men pressed the abbot to tell them more, he confided that he'd added brandy to the wine as it fermented. Story over, but maybe this is what they thought at the time: "Hmmm, barrels of wine exploding in the hulls of our ships is not an effective way to transport wine. And those French sissies are mocking us. Let's see. I remember; wine ferments as sugar combines with yeast and releases Carbon Dioxide gas. Maybe the wine is fermenting again in the barrels as a bit of left-over yeast in the wine is feasting on the sugar in this Portuguese wine (editor's note: DUH!). But, brandy and scotch never ferment like this, why? Oh, yeast cannot survive in anything over about 15-16% alcohol. Hey, what if we spike this stuff so it kills all those tiny yeasts that are ruining our wine and our business? Remember, like we did to the punch in preparatory school? Ya, let's fortify this with Tequila! Nah, how about Brandy like the abbot here did? Ya, perfect! (note: this is not your usual brandy, but a clear, grape brandy that is about 150 proof.) But will people like a sweeter wine with a higher alcohol content? Of course, we English are lushes. Perfect. Let's drink to that! Hey abbot! Did you patent this thing?" And guess what the name of the port was out of which this new way of transporting Port originated? Yep, the city and port of Oporto, Portugal. So a true "Port" can only originate from that particular area where the Douro river (the river of gold) enters the Atlantic in Portugal at the city of Oporto. The U.S. Government allows wineries to use the name "Port" even though it may not have come from Oporto. Now jump a few centuries later, to a few more lushes with the British name of Wilson (although we are Scandinavian — go figure) who found some amazing Old Vine Zinfandel from Cucamonga Valley, added the high proof brandy to arrest fermentation, then got even more decadent and put a splash of chocolate in it (The abbot would like it, I bet).Then to make it even more decadent, drank it out of dark Dutch chocolate shot glasses (hey, let's be multi-cultural, right?). The judges agreed in the decadence of the fortified wine by giving Decadencia Chocolate Port numerous medals and accolades. The Wilson family and their extended family smile as they enjoy drinking to a bit of history and drinking a bit of history. Here's to the ingenuity of the English and the Portuguese!
So how is Port made?Here's a simplified version of a complicated process: Add one part grape spirits (clear brandy, 150 proof) to four parts red wine while it is fermenting. The brandy is added when about half of the natural sugar has been converted to stop fermentation. The alcohol in the brandy causes the yeasts in the wine to die, stopping fermentation. The result is a sweet wine with about 10% residual sugar, fortified to just under 20% alcohol.
Opening our portThe wax seal makes this Port look intimidating to open, but it is actually easy. No need to cut the wax with a knife or use a sledgehammer or blow torch. Just open it as if there was no wax. Simply ignore the wax, and use your bottle opener as normal, and the cork breaks through the wax as you pull the cork out. If you have problems with this method, use the blowtorch or the "over the head" process noted above. |
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