A date with port

I remember every detail of my trip to Porto, Portugal's second city after Lisbon. I checked into the Yeatman Hotel next door to the legendary Taylor's Port Wine Estate, looking forward to what would be an intensive three days of port wine tasting. And it sure was intensive, more than living up to my expectations, except that I was amazed to find a whole new world of wines – other than PORT!

Port wine as a term has been largely misrepresented much like Champagne. In order to protect the legacy and history that is Port, the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e Porto, the regulatory body of Port wine in Portugal, is protecting the appellation of 'Port Wine' in that any wine that is made in this unique style outside of Portugal is well not Port. So, no, Vinocola, which is probably one of the worst misuses of the Port wine style in our own little Portuguese influenced Goa, is not Port... far from it.

What was the fuss all about? You will understand this the moment you set foot in the Duoro region. Its vine-filled valley is classified as a world heritage site, the river was named Ouro (gold) because it brings the water that the sun-drenched vines rely on to produce the world-famous Port wine. Wines in Portugal are planted in the form of firm terraces in an almost geometric style and the contoured lines are completely different from anything I had seen before. Spread over unending hectares of vineyard along steep granite slopes, some vines defy the very laws of nature.

Every quinta or estate has a story to tell and the wine styles and variety are not limited to just Port; contrary to what people may believe, Portugal makes some delectable still wines and aperitif wines too.

So what is Port wine? It is, in a nutshell, fortified wine. This fortification is accomplished by adding a neutral grape bandy to the fermenting grape juice. This brandy will interrupt the fermentation process prematurely, thereby leaving the sweet unfermented natural sugar in the wine. All Ports are higher in alcohol content than table or still wines. The alcohol percentage is approximately 20, making them fairly robust. They are best served cool.

Port wine is divided into three big families — White, Tawny and Ruby. The first made from white grapes and the other two from red grapes. White Port offers a range of colours that can vary from pale white to amber. The Ruby family is primarily in red tones that extend from light to very dark red, almost black. You can really taste the sweet ripeness of the hot sun of the Douro Valley in this style of port. The Tawny family usually extends to colours like auburn, copper and amber.

Major styles of Port include Porto Blanco Whites, Tawny (from 10 years to 50 year olds or Colheita), full bodied or Ruby or Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) and, of course, the Vintage that is only declared in the best years. Most port wines are classified based on ageing with white Port being the exception. Port wines are usually blended wines with the exception of Colheita in Tawny style and the LBV or full bodied or Ruby and the Vintage.

Ports are typically aged in vats or barrels with the exception of Vintage wines that bring out the best ageing in the bottle after spending two years in the vats.

It is the ageing process that lends the wine its versatile character and flavours. This makes Tawnys more complex with barrel ageing and maximum interaction with wood giving it a nutty, spicy character and amber colors.

The full bodied (LBV) wines or Rubies aged in vats are fruitier. And Vintage wines are extremely complex wines with unparalleled elegance and delicacy due to its next to nil interaction with oxygen and ageing in the bottle itself.

When it comes to Ruby Port, there are numerous more modest categories, like Crusted, Late-Bottled Vintage (LBV), Late Bottled, Reserve, Premium Ruby and Ruby. These are also very versatile wines and pair well with bitter chocolate or coffee desserts. Some make a great match with cheese. The French drink this style of port as an aperitif while the English tend to have it as a night cap. Colheitas and aged Tawnies can be served as an aperitif, or drunk at the end of the meal. Older vintages make for sumptuous dessert wines with a voluptuous nose, oodles of jammy nutty aromas and concentrated flavours. Whether as an aperitif or a digestif, cool temperature is an ideal accompaniment for Port wines but nothing warms you better on a nippy winter evening than a good old Port!