Grapes and blends used in Porto

Wine types in Porto

Porto, or Port, is a fortified wine from the Douro region in Portugal. Before fermantation is finished, alcohol is added to the fermenting wine so that it reaches an alcohol level of 20%. This stops fermentation as the yeast, that causes fermentation, dies. The result is a sweet, alcoholic wine.

Over one hundred grape varieties are allowed in the blend that is used to make port. Tinta Barroca, Tinta Cão, Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo), Touriga Franca, and Touriga Nacional are the most important ones for the red Ports. Some white port is produced as well, but they never reach the level of quality and finesse that the red Ports can have.

Red Ports can be made into to two distinctive styles: Ruby and Tawny. One is not better than the other: it is just a difference in style and a matter of personal taste whether you like one over the other. Both come in a wide range of quality and price.

Tawny ports age in wooden barrels. The wood allows small quantities of oxygen to react with the wines, which makes them loose color and their fruity character. The wood itself also influences the wine, giving it flavors that resemble nuts.When the label does not mention an age, it is usually the basic quality tawny port. High quality tawny ports have an indication of the the age of the wine. This can be  the average time the wine has spent aging on barrels: 10, 20, 30 or over 40 years old. Average, because these tawny ports are a blend of several vintages. When they are made from grapes of a single vintage they are called Colheita ports; they indicate the actual vintage on the label instead of an average age.

Ruby ports have a fruity character. They are bottled when they are still young. The basic quality of Ruby Port is a blend of several areas and vintage. The goal is to make a port in a consistent style that is typical for the producer and that does not vary depending on the vintage. It does not improve with age.

The other end of the Ruby quality spectrum is Vintage port. It is only being made in exceptional vintages, that seem to occur exactly "every 3 out of 10 years", and preferably not in two vintages following each other. Each winery can decide for itself whether or not to "declare a vintage" (make a vintage port). Vintage port is bottled after a maximum of two and a half years of aging on wood. It then needs many years of aging in the bottle to mature; the best vintages from top producers can easily mature 40 years or longer. Vintage ports contribute less than 2% of all ports being made by volume, but as the flagship of the winery largely determine the image of the winery. Once opened, they need to be drunk quickly, within 1 or 2 days. Other Ruby port styles:

• Late Bottled Vintage or LBV ports are aged on barrel for 4-6 years. They are Ruby styled ports from a single vintage that do not need extensive aging in the bottle to be ready for drinking.
• Crusted port is usually a blend of several vintages and is not filtered before bottling: decanting, like vintage ports, is necessary before serving.
• Single Quinta Vintage ports. These ports are made from wines from a single vineyards in the same style as a Vintage port. They are made in vintages that have not been declared as a Vintage year. The grapes from the individual vineyards are considered to be too good to be blended into the ordinary ruby ports. Single Quinta Vintage ports are usually an excellent and much cheaper alternative to Vintage Ports. This is especially true in great years that have not been declared as a Vintage year because the preceding or following year is already a Vintage year.

The steep hills of the Douro region. Top vineyards are sometimes marked with signs.

Most wineries ("Port Shippers") are located outside of the Douro region in the city of Oporto, which gave its name to the wine.