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Port wine in Portugal

In the Regiao Demarcade the grapes for the Port In 1756, almost a century later, the Marquês de Pombal had the boundaries of the Douro wine region marked with boundary stones to prevent forgery of the popular liqueur wine. From then on, only grapes from this area, called "Regiao Demarcada", were allowed to be used to make the basic wine for Port.

40 grape varieties for port wine production

The Douro Valley near Porto, covering 33,000 hectares, offers the ideal climatic conditions for the grapes of Port wine. A total of around 40 varieties of grape are authorised for the production of port wine, including Tinta Barroca, Touriga Francesca, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Amarela and Tinto Cão. For white port wine, the main varieties used are Malvasia Fina, Codega and Rabigato. The vines thrive particularly well near the Atlantic Ocean. There, rainfall is higher than in the interior, temperatures are lower and the vineyards are less steep, and the soils consist mainly of slate and fertile soil.

The famous Quintas of the top producers in Cima-Corgo

In Cima-Corgo, around the town of Pinhão in Alijó county, about one third of port wine is produced. The climate is hotter and drier, the slopes are steep, rocky and barren. The famous quintas of top producers are located here. The Douro Superior region extends from São João da Pesqueira to the Spanish border. The climate there is extremely dry and therefore only a few places here produce wines for the port.

A whole cosmos of Portuguese port wines

Due to the abundance of the starting wines, there is a whole cosmos of red and white port wines and it is not easy to find your way around. As a general rule, good port wines have a fine balance of acidity and structure. Depending on their quality, they are aged for different lengths of time in barrels and in the bottle. Orientation in the port wine cosmos

These terms help you to find your way around the port wine cosmos:

1. Ruby Port is a blend of different vintages of red grapes. It is only bottled in a large barrel after at least two years of storage. Due to the large volume of the oak barrels, Ruby Port wines are wines that breathe little and therefore retain their dark colour longer. They are fruity in taste. 2. Tawny port (tawny = yellow-brown). The somewhat drier and lighter port wine is stored for two to three years in large barrels and then transferred to smaller barrels. Since the tawnies have more contact with the air there, they age faster. Their taste reminds of dry fruits, nuts and almonds. 3. Old Tawny: These wines age between 10 and 40 years in wooden barrels. Aged Tawnies have a much better taste than standard Tawnies.

4. White port is made from white grapes and is stored for about three years before it is ready and should be drunk cool. However, there are also white port wines with decades of storage and maturation. With white port wines one also differentiates between different degrees of sweetness: Muito Doce / Very Sweet / Very Sweet, Doce / Sweet / Sweet, Meio Seco / Semi dry / Semi dry, Seco / Dry / Dry and Extra seco / Extra Dry / Very Dry. 5. Vintage Character Port: This Port is made of the best wines of different vintages only from the Cima Gorgo area. 6. Crusted Port: Blending of top wines from different vintages, which are stored in the barrel for two to three years. In the bottle, a sediment (crust) is formed later.

7. Vintage wines Colheita / Reservas: These wines are made from different grapes of one vintage and are stored in the barrel for at least 7 years before being bottled. 8. Vintage Port is a rare and expensive top class port wine. Only the best grapes from one vintage are bottled for a Vintage Port. The Port is first aged for 24 to 35 months in large oak barrels and then bottled. The wine matures further in the bottle and this can take many years, if not decades. It is then bottled unfiltered in black bottles. After ten to 12 years at the earliest, the vintage is mature. 9. Late Bottled Vintage Port ('LBV') is a blend of grapes from one vintage year and is aged in casks for four to six years before being bottled.

Whether white or red, very sweet or very dry, before Portuguese port wine is put on sale, it is examined by the Portuguese Port Wine Institute to guarantee its special quality. In the end, Portuguese port wine is the perfect complement to many desserts. The almond, chocolate, coffee and citrus flavours of port harmonise particularly well with mousse au chocolate, chocolate creams or honey cake. But you should also enjoy it with cheese and walnuts.

Madeira and Moscatel from Portugal

One of the most famous dessert wines in the world is produced on the flower island of Madeira. It is also considered to be the most long-lasting wine in the world, which continues to improve with age. So it is no wonder that almost priceless vintages from the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century are still on the market today. They still promise the best enjoyment and even an opened bottle can be kept almost indefinitely. You wonder how this is possible? Very simple: It is due to the probably worldwide unique production method.

First Madeira wine from the 15th century

But let's start at the beginning: it is not known exactly when Madeira wine as we know it today first appeared. However, according to legend, it was already being drunk in England in 1478. That was the year in which the brother of the English king, Duke George, was sentenced to death for conspiracy. When asked how he wanted to be executed, he requested to be drowned in a barrel of Malmsey Madeira. It is certain that Madeira was already being produced at that time. According to tradition, the first inhabitants of Madeira cultivated wine for personal consumption from the 15th century onwards. They had the best climatic conditions and ideal soil for this. A probably unintended contribution to this was made in 1420 by the Portuguese navigator João Goncalves, who discovered the island and set it on fire. The wood ash left behind and the volcanic soil allowed the vines to flourish.

The global triumph of Madeira

The global triumph of Madeira as an exceptional liqueur wine is due to a rather chance discovery and the strategically favourable location of the flower island belonging to Portugal. For merchant ships on their way to Africa, Asia and South America, Madeira was the ideal stopover in the Atlantic, about 1,000 kilometres from the Portuguese mainland and 650 kilometres from the Moroccan coast. In the port of the capital, Funchal, the ships also took Madeira on board, which at that time was already fortified for the long sea voyage, i.e. mixed with brandy distilled from sugar cane to make it more durable.

Madeira wine matured at sea

Something remarkable was then discovered at sea: the longer the wine barrels remained on the ship in the hot, tropical climate, the better the wine became. The high temperatures and rocking movements helped to create the typical Madeira flavour. After this discovery, many ships were loaded with sweet wine and sailed twice across the equator. This process was called Torna Viagem (round trip). It is still documented on the labels of old Madeira bottles (abbreviation TVE).

Traditional Madeira grapes are rich in minerals and iron

Of course, it is not only the production process that makes this wine so special. The traditional grape varieties on Madeira are Malvasia, Bual, Verdelho, Serail and Tina Negra Mole. These five varieties also represent the different styles of Madeira. The dominant grape variety is Tinta Negra Mole, from which the simpler Madeiras are produced. These are distinguished by their sweetness (seco, meio seco, meio doce and doce), and the labels also include the designations pale and dark. The grapes grown on the fertile volcanic soil are rich in minerals and iron.

Madeira grapes are harvested by hand

The vines are mainly grown in the vineyards of the DOC region of Madeira. They are traditionally cultivated on very low pergolas on terraces covering an area of around 2,100 hectares. This means that the 4,000 winegrowers have to harvest the grapes by hand, either bent over or kneeling. Madeira wines are mostly produced from a single grape variety and their bouquet reflects the lush and diverse vegetation of this unique exotic island. But it is only through a modern production process that they become the unmistakable delight that Madeira still is today. ‘Estufagem’ (heating) is the name of the technique in which the crushed grapes are either heated to 40 to 50 °C in tiled tanks for at least three to six months or filled into 600-litre barrels and stored in heated rooms for six to twelve months. After ‘estufagem’, the wine is carefully cooled.

Natural maturation of Madeira through sun and cold

Some producers in Madeira rely on natural maturation through the sun and the cold at night. Wines matured in this traditional way were formerly also known as ‘Vinho Canteiro’. Whether heated in barrels or warmed in the sun, the heat causes the sugar contained in the wine to partially caramelise. This gives it its typical flavour and, due to the strong oxidation, its maderisation tone. Every Madeira wine is also fortified, resulting in an alcohol content of around 17 per cent by volume. Madeira is stored for at least three years after racking. Once racked into wooden barrels, the wine matures through estufagem for at least another three years for simple wines (‘Finest’ or ‘3-Year-Old Madeira’) and five years for finer wines (“Reserve” or ‘5-Year-Old Madeira’). The ‘good’ wines start with ‘Special Reserve’ or ‘10-Year-Old Madeira’. The next ageing stage is ‘Extra Reserve’ or ‘Over 15-Year-Old Madeira’. ‘Vintage Madeira’ is a top-quality product that matures for at least 20 years, but also 30, 40 or 50 years, and is stored in the bottle for an additional two years before being marketed.

Moscatel – white and world-famous

Like Portugal's Douro Valley and the Portuguese peninsula of Setúbal, Madeira is also the region where the famous sweet wine Moscatel is produced. It is world-famous as a white fortified wine, but is also produced in small quantities as a red variety called Moscatel Roxo. Like Madeira, the so-called Vinho Generoso is blended with high-proof brandy. The golden Moscatel de Setúbal consists of about 85 to 100 percent Muscat grapes. It is famous for its jammy fruit aromas and notes of honey and roasted nuts.

Floral citrus notes in the bouquet

Moscatel is mainly based on two grape varieties, Moscatel de Setúbal and Moscatel Galego Branco. These are particularly aromatic grapes with floral citrus notes and a high sugar content. The winemakers allow the crushed grapes to mature with their skins for at least three months. This allows all the extracts to be extracted. Finally, the must is pressed and filtered, but only bottled after three to four years of ageing in large oak or mahogany barrels. Sweet wines are the best ‘cheese wines’. Try them with Roquefort cheese, the English blue cheese Stilton or Swedish brown cheese Gjetost. You can expect an explosion of flavours. Sweet Moscatel from Setúbal and Madeira wine are also the perfect accompaniment to chocolate desserts and tropical fruits.

Sweet wine in South Africa

Sweet and dessert wines South Africa's great diversity South African liqueur wines, like sherries, are generally classified as sweet wines. What they all have in common is the addition of either distilled, high-proof alcohol from brandy production or neutral wine distillate from wine production. The alcohol content of a South African Muscatel, Haneepoot, Jerepigo or Cape sweet wine is between 15% and 22%. As you may have guessed, the name “Port” is also subject to licensing, just like Champagne.

The grape varieties

The most common grapes used for Cape liqueur wine, even in South Africa, are actually grapes of Portuguese origin such as Tinta Barrocca, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Cao, Touriga Nacional, Touriga Francesca and Souzao. The art lies in harvesting the grapes at the optimum ripeness. If overripe grapes are used, the result is an undesirable raisin character. The names are as varied as the production methods and the grape varieties used. Basically, this depends on the following factors:

The grape variety
The time at which the distillate is added
The type of distillate – brandy or neutral wine distillate
The blend

Subsequent storage, maturation process

The addition of sugar is prohibited in the production of Cape sweet wine, and the addition of sweet grape juice is considered immoral, i.e. a faux pas. There are a variety of liqueur types and styles – which can be found under various South African Cape liqueur classifications in red and white varieties, but are based on Portuguese standards. There are dry Cape dessert wines that are often enjoyed as an aperitif, or sweeter varieties that can be recommended for dessert and as an aperitif. Both should always be enjoyed slightly chilled. White Cape liqueurs are mostly made from Chenin Blanc – not from the Muscat grape, as some might think.

Cape White

The white wine, known here as Cape White, is aged in oak barrels for at least six months.

Cape Ruby

Cape Ruby takes its name from its rich ruby red colour. Only grapes with freshness and a high fruit character are aged in large wine barrels for at least six months to produce Cape Ruby. The biggest consumers of Cape Ruby are the French, who like to enjoy it chilled, served over ice. The storage time is about 5 years. Serving suggestions: Mature and spicy cheeses, salami, smoked ham, grilled lamb, game, medium-spicy Indian dishes and dark chocolate.

Cape Tawny – a multi-talented wine

Cape Tawny is made from grape varieties with lots of character in old oak barrels – every winemaker has their own recipe when it comes to grape varieties. The influence of the degree of oxidation caused by contact with the wood in the barrel gives Cape Tawny sweet wine its brownish colour, hence its name. Tawny means ‘yellow-brown’. The older the Cape Tawny, the lighter it becomes. This typical brownish-yellow colour is a sign of quality, and the taste, which brings out aromas of dried fruit, nuts and dried orange peel, unfolds pleasantly on the palate. This commercial Cape Tawny has already been aged for 7 years. Serving suggestions: Sirleon steak with Café de Paris sauce, tapas, decadent chocolate desserts and spicy cheeses.

Aged Tawny – Complex explosion of flavour

Aged Tawnies usually consist of different vintages, which are calculated in 10-year increments. Blending different vintages is permitted as long as they are from the same year. A 20-year-old aged Tawny offers a unique taste experience and is the best value for money. The long ageing period makes it very complex and produces an opulent nose of jam and nut aromas. Orange blossom and wood aromas are much more prominent here than in a Cape Tawny. Serving suggestions: All kinds of pâtés, Parmesan, Manchego, but also crème brûlée or almond cake make it a perfect accompaniment to food.

Cape Vintage – New favourite discovery

Cape Vintage can only be produced from a single vintage year and is aged for 1 to 2 years in old oak barrels. Vintage sweet wines are bottled unfiltered and leave fine traces of sediment in the bottle after several years, which is a natural process. Vintages are for wine lovers who appreciate the young, aggressive character, tannic structure and grippy alcohol content of a young red wine. It has a deep, dark colour with primary flavours of black fruits, prunes and spices. After further ageing in the bottle for several years, it also takes on a brownish to yellowish colour, thus increasing its complexity. Serving suggestions: Cape Vintage can be enjoyed on its own or with very strong blue cheeses such as Gorgonzola, Stilton, mature Gouda or vintage Cheddar.

LBV – Late Bottled Vintage – King of fortified wines

LBV has the longest barrel ageing period of all fortified wine varieties, 4–6 years. Here, too, various vintage blends are used. There are two variations, a filtered and an unfiltered, the latter being rarer and maturing further in the bottle. The filtered LBV is ready to drink immediately after bottling. In terms of taste, it offers a good balance of fruit and tannins from a vintage year and has a distinctive flavour intensity. A dark violet-red colour with forest fruit aromas, black cherries and plum and cocoa notes from wood ageing. Serving suggestions: As this LBV is already a treasure in itself, it is recommended to enjoy it slightly chilled as an aperitif or digestif. Perhaps with some good quality salted nuts.

Port & Sweet wine - Enjoy harmonious moments