So what is Port?.....port is a fortified wine, produced in the Demarcated Region of the Douro, Portugal. Real port wine comes only from Portugal.
There are several styles of port, but there are essentially two aging styles: reductive aging and oxidative aging. Ports that are aged using the reductive process are sealed in their container and have no exposure to oxygen. They are smoother and less tannic. The ports that are aged using the oxidative process are matured in wooden barrels and are slightly exposed to oxygen. Oxidated ports are more viscous and intense.
Ruby Ruby is the label given to younger wines that display a deep color; they are fairly fruity and are usually aged for between three and five years. This port is aged using the reductive process and it is stored in concrete or stainless-steel containers. It is the cheapest and most readily available port in production and it is often blended to match the style of the distributor.
Tawny Blended tawny types vary considerably and they are aged using the oxidative process. Tawny Reserve port ages for a minimum of seven years in wooden barrels, where it takes on a nutty flavor. Other tawnies are a blend of several different vintages and the average age is printed on the label.
Port wine with an indication of age Such wines are often tawny and are blended from wines of different years, expressing the nature of the wine as regards to characteristics that are given to it through oxidative aging in wood. Connoisseurs understand, then, that a 20-year-old wine has the color, texture, aroma, and taste of a wine that has aged in wood for 20 years. The age indicators are 10, 20, 30, and more than 40 years.
Dated port Wines from a single year can be sold after they have aged for at least seven years. These uniform types are labeled "dated port."
Late bottled vintage (LBV) LBV port is also from a single year, only it's borne from years of excellent quality and is aged longer in wood barrels than is the case with vintage port. Generally, it is bottled between the fourth and sixth year after it is made. It is red in color, full-bodied and smooth. Traditionally, it's gentler and more full-bodied than vintage port wine (of the same year).
Vintage port Vintages, as the name suggests, are wines of superior quality, produced in exceptionally great years from distinct areas within the region. Vintage port is kept in wooden barrels for two to three years of oxidative aging before it is bottled. Vintages are very full-bodied and deep-colored. Once they are in the 10- to 30-year aging process, they get a smoothness and elegance that gradually takes over from their initial bitterness. With age, the bouquet becomes balanced.
Sweet port Port wine range from very sweet, semi-sweet, semi-dry, dry, and extra dry. The wine maker will determine its sweetness based on when and how he interrupts the fermentation process.
White port The color of port wine ranges from deep red to light gold, but variations in between exist. White port (pale, straw and golden white) gets its shade through the methods by which it is made. White port that has been aged for many years in wood obtains the same golden color that very old tawnies have.
