The sweet taste of a port wine is something that many people love. It is one of those wines that is perfect for enthusiasts and connoisseurs as well as those who are new to wine, because of the inviting flavor. Understanding how to choose the perfect vintage port can help you to better serve your guests at your next dinner party or to fill your wine cellar with the best examples possible.
A Little About Port Wine
Port wine comes from the Douro Valley in Portugal. Ports can be produced around the world, but under guidelines of the European Union, only those from Portugal can be labeled as port. Others may be labeled something similar, such as Porto or Vinho do Porto.
The traditional flavor of a port was sweet and it was classified a red wine, but today you can find it in dry and even white varieties. Port wine is most often served along with dessert. The flavor comes from the unique process used to make it. After harvesting, the wine is fortified with brandy, which stops fermentation, leaving sugar behind and boosting the alcohol content.
Vintage ports have a heavy sediment in the bottom. This comes from the wine being aged in the bottle. To serve a vintage port you must know how to use a decanter so to get the sediments out and preserve the flavor.
Choosing the Port
When you go to choose a vintage port to serve to your guests, you will want to know a little more about the different tastes and varieties that are available to you. In general, it may help you to know that tawny ports have less sediment and ruby ports are usually clear since they are a blend of young wines. Many people also believe that the best ports, just as with most other forms of wine, can only come from a declared year ordinarily based around when grape harvests were at their peak . You may find, though, that there are many great tasting ports that come from undeclared years. However, if you want a true vintage that has a very defined taste and is of the highest quality, researching the best years will certainly help.
There are two particular types of vintage port wine late bottled vintage and true vintage.
Late bottled vintage ports are made for restaurants. They do not have sediment and unlike a typical port, they will retain their flavor longer after being opened. They are pre-aged, so they cannot sit around and must be drunk soon after purchase. It will only last about two weeks before losing flavor once opened.
A true vintage port is a high-end port wine. They are from the best declared years. All of the grapes used in this form are from a single harvest. The port is aged in oak and then continues in the bottle. Whenever you buy this form of vintage port you should consider letting it age for another 10 to 30 years before drinking unless of course it has already been through this process and has been bought ready to drink.
There are many ways to go about choosing the perfect vintage port wine. If you are truly looking for that unique flavor, though, you should expect to wait quite a while. Without proper aging, the flavor will not be at its fullest potential. So its best to buy quality examples early and reap the rewards in the years to come.
Derek Rogers is a freelance writer who writes for a number of UK businesses. For wine merchants & importers he recommends Alexander Hadleigh, a leading supplier of some of the worlds Finest Port.
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