Wine of Portugal

• Portugal like Spain is famous for its fortified wine than its table wines.

• Portugal is the fifth largest wine producing country in the world after Italy, France, Spain & Argentina.

• The yield per year is 1363 million liters of wine, which is acquired from3366 sq. km. of vineyards.

• Per head consumption is 125 liters of wine. Here more table wine is produced than port.

• All wines exported from Portugal must get the sanction of an official body called Gremio dos Exportadores.

Classification

• D.O.C- Denominacao de Origen Controlada.- Similar to AOC wine of France

• I.P.R- Indicacaode Proveniencia Regulamentada.

• VINHO REGIONAIS – like Vin de Pay of France

• VINHO DE MESA - Table wine

Grapes Used

White Grapes• Azal • Alvanrinho• Arinto• Bastardo• Dourado

Red Grapes• Azal• Amaral• Bastardo• Tinta Carvalho• Tinta Pinheira

Regions

Wine of Mountains• Minho• Doura• Dao

Wine of Plain• Torres Verdas• Ribalejo• Alcobaca• Almeiri• Cartaxo

Wine of Ocean• Colares• Carcavelos• Bucelas• Setubal

Wines of MountainsMINHO – The wines of Minho comes from provinces of

Entre Douro-e-Minho from the north west of Portugal.• The wines of this region are called Vinho Verde or Green

Wines. • High acid, young and invigorating nature of the wine. • These wines are bottled after 5 months of maturation and

contain a lot of mallic acid. • After bottling mallic acid gets converted into lactic acid and

carbon dioxide. • This carbon dioxide contributes to the characteristic

frizzante nature of the wine.

Brand Names

White Wines• Casal Mendes• Casal Garcia • Pinafel Verde

Red Wines• Barrocal• Espadeiro• Vinho Tinta

DOURO • The best Douro wines are made near

the Spanish border. • Around two-third of the area produce

is used for the production of table wine and one-third for the production of port.

• The best wine produced in this region is Mateus Rose.

• It is a medium sweet carbonated rose wine, which is sold in flagon shaped bottle called Bocksbeutel.

DAO

• The red wines of this area are velvety due to the high glycerine content.

• The red wines are the predominant produce of this area.

• The red wines like Grao Vasco and Dao Caves Alianca are not unlike burgundy.

• The whites are similar to Chablis

Wines of Ocean

• COLARES – The red wines of Colares are considered to be the best in Portugal.

• The law strictly regulates the use of the word Colares.

• The red wines are much better than the white. The reds are much stronger, smoky and full of tannin.

• The whites are quite dull and flat.

CARCAVELOS

• Both red and white wines have good lasting power.

• Carcavelos was once upon a time famous for fortified wines, which was sweet but has now become dry, pale, less in alcohol with distinct nutty flavour.

BUCELAS

• They are at first white wines but as they grow older they change colour and upon being given more time they change to golden colour.

• Once upon a time in England they used to be marketed as Lisbon Port.

SETUBAL

• The vineyards around the port of Setubal is famous for only one wine that is “Muscatel de Setubal” which is a sweet fortified wine, golden in colour.

Wine Terminology

• Quintas- Vineyards• Adegas- Cellars• Lagares - Troughs of stone used for pressing

of grapes. The lagars are 1m deep and 5m squires.

• Garrafeira- Mature inside the bottle before the sale.

• Vindima- Indicates that the wine is being sold as soon as it has been bottled.

Port

• “Claret is for boys & Port is for Men” declared by Samuel Johnson.

• Port has been the official drink used for toast by English royal family for two centuries in Portugal.

• Douro is the world’s second legally demarcated wine region after Italy’s Chianti Classico region.

• In 1756 during the era of Marquis de Pombal, the Doura region was defined to protect the quality and good name of port (known as Porto in Portugal).

Cont..• The production of port is limited to a strictly defined

area of approx. 1500sq. miles along the river Douro in the northern Portugal.

• Port takes its name from Port Oporto. Romans used to call Oporto a Portus Cale, which eventually got changed to Portugal.

• Port started as a table wine and was being exported to England as early as the 14th century but this wine used to be very harsh and did not travel well.

• Grape spirit is used to be added to keep it alive on its voyage.

Administration

In 1933 three bodies were formed to protected quality of it: -

• PORT WINE INSTITUTE – which looks after the administration, sale, alcoholic strength, lodges and demarcated area.

• PORT WINE SHIPPERS GUILD – Looks after the export formalities, standard of lodges and stocks etc.

• DOURO DISTRICT DEPARTMENT – Which looks after the agricultural aspects like planting of new wines, tillage etc.

CLIMATE

• The winter can be extremely cold and the main rainfall is about 127mm during the month of December.

• The summers are hot and temperature varies between 27 0C to 44 0C.

SOIL

• Granite and schistose stone are present but it is the latter, which produces grapes of high quality.

• It is brown, slate and rich in minerals.

Grape Used

For red Port• Bastardo• Tourigo• Mourisco• Tinta Francisca• Tinta Cao

For White Port• Muscatel Branco• Mourisco Branco• Rabo de Ovelho• Malvasia rei• Gauveio

Production

• HARVEST – The grapes are harvested in late September to early October.

CRUSHING

• Crushing of grapes takes place in Lagar.

• It takes two men to work in a four-hour shift to work a pipe.

• The result is known as “Corte” meaning first trading after which the men dance around the must for another four hours.

• The treading may continue for 24 to 48 hours.

Fermentation• Usually the fortified wines are fermented till

all the sugar is fermented to alcohol and carbon dioxide but in case of port it does not happen.

• During the fermentation the alcohol is suddenly increased to 16 degree G.L by the addition of the grape spirit while there is still some natural sugar left in the must.

• The quantity of brandy added to 100 liters to every 450 liters of wine.

• Port wine is the only fortified wine in the world, which has its own natural sweetness.

FORTEFICATION

• The wine is then transferred to the lodges where more brandy is added to further increase the alcoholic strength.

• Port has an alcoholic strength of around 21 G.L.

• Then the wine is given sometime before being tasted for quality and characteristics.

• After being tasted the wine is blended in huge vats called Balselros.

AGEING

• The wine is now transferred to vats where the wine remains till the wine gets matured.

• In between the racking takes place 3 to 4 times in the one year.

• The frequency decreases the following year onwards.

Bottling

• With the exception of vintage, crusted and very old tawny port all the other ports have to be clarified using either isinglass, egg white or filtration, refrigeration etc before bottling.

Types of Port

Aperitif Port –

• It’s white in colour and the fermentation is allowed to go on till all the sugar is converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide.

• It should be served chilled with a slice of lemon.

White Port • These tend to run from dry and

slightly tangy to medium sweet. • Generally the must is allowed to

ferment long but not as much as aperitif port.

• Although some appear to be slightly oxidized, the dry ones are perfect aperitifs for a Portuguese dinner.

• Served chilled with some crackers or cheese during warm weather, may also enjoy them.

Ruby Port • Traditionally they are the

youngest of ports, which take their name from the ruby colour.

• Rich and fruity they are best consumed when they are young.

• No cellaring is necessary.

Tawny Port

• The name is derived from the tawny colour of the wine, which comes from long aging in the barrel, which causes the wine to lose some of its redness.

• Much smoother then ruby port

• Spends a minimum of six to eight years in the cask

Late Bottled Vintage (LBV)

• These wines were destined to be bottled as Vintage wine but due to lack of demand was left in barrels.

• They are ports of a single vintage year from March 1 to September 30 declared by the shipper during the fourth year after the vintage.

• The port is bottled between July 1 of that year and December 31 of the sixth year after harvest.

Vintage Port

• These are by far the greatest ports. • Vintage ports are made only in the years that are

declared by the shippers• Three to four vintage in a decade• Aged for two years in wooden casks. • Vintage ports are very difficult to be drunk in its

youth because of the high acid, alcohol and concentration of fruit and sugar.

• However those who are patient enough to wait for fifteen to twenty years will be rewarded with one of the world’s greatest fortified wine.

Crusted Port • A blend of young wines of

several years shipped in cask and then bottled.

• It gets its name because it throws a crust on the bottle.

• Similar in colour to vintage port and often referred as “Poor man’s Port”.

Brand Names

• Cockburn’s Smithes and Co.• Croft and Co. Ltd.• Genzalez Byass and Co. Ltd.• Macenzie and Co. Ltd.• Sandeman and Co. Ltd.• Leacock and Co. Ltd.• Cossart Gordon and Co.• Rutherford and Miles Ltd.

Service of port• When served as an aperitif it

should be served either 30 or 60 ml in a port wine glass or an A.P wine glass. It should be served chilled with a slice of lime.

• When served as an accompaniment to the desert, it should be served 30 or 60 ml in a port wine glass or an A.P glass at room temperature.

MADEIRA

• In 1418, one of Henry Gonzalves Zarco discovered an island around 560k.m to the north of Portugal capital Lisbon.

• The island was completely wooden in its entire length of 50k.m and width of 23k.m.

• He named the island as Madeire, meaning wood or timber in Portugal language.

Cont..

• Zarco was eventually appointed as the Captain General of the island.

• He established his base at the site, which is now the island capital of Funchal.

• Zarco saw that the trees are an obstruction to the growth of colonialism.

• So Zarco set fire to the forest.• It is told that the forest kept burning for seven

years and the wood ash enriched the soil.

Grape Variety

• Sercial

• Verdelho

• Bual

• Malmsay

Production

• Harvesting- • The grapes are generally harvested in the mid-

August and the harvest continues till the late October.

• The grapes at sea level (Verdelho and Bual) are harvested first.

• Then the Mamlsay and finally the Sercial is harvested.

• The grapes are harvested manually.

Pressing of Grapes

• Pressing of grapes takes place in lagar, a wooden trough in which barelegged people crush the grapes.

• The must is then immediately transferred to the lodges at Funchal.

Fermentation

• The must is transferred in lorries or 65 liters goatskin by hardy labourers.

• Fermentation starts in the fermentation tank• wines which are intended to be sweet fortified

wines will have the fermentation terminated at a very early stage by the addition of grape spirit.

• The drier form of Madeira that is Sercial and Verdelho are fermented much longer.

Maturation

• When the fermentation is complete the fortified wine is given a resting period in the cool lodges. Now these wines are known as Vinho Claro.

• Journey to tropic but now uneconomical.

• The wine are mature through ESTUFAGEM OR ESTUFA SYSTEM

ESTUFAGEM OR ESTUFA SYSTEM

• The Estufa is simply a heated room or a stove. Now day’s two types of heating systems are in use

• In its earliest form it used to be known as “Estufa de Sol” or a glasshouse where natural sunrays used to heat the wines kept in pipes (casks having a capacity of 418 liters) but the cold air during the night used to adversely of the wine.

Types

• The central heating system where hot water pipes run along the walls of the room, which heats the Madeira.

• Hot water pipes run through the walls of the cement tanks in which the wine is matured. The capacity of the cement tanks is around 4000 liters.

Operation of Estufa system

• maximum temperature is fixed between 43 0C to 66 0C

• 50 0C is optimum temperature. • It is increased very gradually and is never more than

2.75 degree centigrade per day. • When the required temperature is reached it is kept 3

to 4 months, sometimes up to 6 months. • Then the temperature is gradually reduced to the

normal temperature. The temperature is never reduced more than 2.75 0C per day.

Cont..

• The wine is called “Vino Estufado”. • It must have become a little darker and developed

slight burnt taste. • After being given a good resting period it is ragged

into new casks. Now the wine is called “Vino Trasfegado”.

• In these new casks the wine is added with 10% alcohol.Now the wine is known as “Vino Generoso”.

• Now the wine enters into the Solera system for blending and slight maturation.

Types

• SERCIAL – Sercial Madeira is an amber coloured aperitif wine with a crispy taste. It varies from dry to not so dry. Served chilled.

VERDELHO

• It is golden coloured Madeira, almost rose and not so dry as Sercial. This can be an excellent accompaniment to soups or can be enjoyed at any time of the day.

Cont..

• RAINWATER – The wine was believed to have been created by Mr. Habisham, a local Madeira shipper from Savannah Georgia.

• Mr. Habisham made a very special blend of Sercial and Verdelho that were lighter and quite a bit paler (almost like rainwater) then most of the Madeiras.

• It used to be consumed during the early 19th centuary.

BUAL OR BOAL

• The Bual or Boal Madeira is deep golden rich and heavy bodied Madeira. It has a nice balance of sugar acid and tannin It has somewhat smoky taste and goes well with sweet dishes.

MALMSAY

• It is dark brown in colour and the most renowned and expensive form of Madeira. Truly a dessert wine and can also be drunk after the coffee.

Brand Names

• Blandys

• Cossart Gordan