| I had a friend in college whose life's goal was to move | | | | do this, the wine is mixed with clear brandy (a strong |
| to France, don a beret, stomp on grapes, and make | | | | alcoholic spirit distilled from wine) containing a proof of |
| wine for a living. Though I tried to tell her that there | | | | 150. The alcohol in the brandy kills the yeast in the wine, |
| was more to wine-making than purple feet, and that | | | | causing fermentation to cease. The ending result is a |
| berets were so "Clinton Administration," she ignored | | | | sweet wine that is about 20 percent alcohol. It is |
| me and dreamt of grapes anyway. Though I did not | | | | typically served with desserts, cheese, and, of course, |
| share her winemaking aspirations and decided instead | | | | desserts made of cheese. |
| to dream of something much more realistic, like a | | | | |
| marriage proposal from Brad Pitt, she did get me | | | | Though there are many styles of Port - White Port, |
| thinking about the process, and she got me thirsty for | | | | Ruby Port, Young Tawny Port, Aged Tawny Port, |
| knowledge. This eventually led me to discover different | | | | Vintage Character Port, Late Bottled Vintage Port, |
| types of wine require different recipes, with one of the | | | | Traditional Late Bottled Vintage Port, Vintage Port, |
| most complex belonging to Port. | | | | Single Quinta Vintage Port, Crusted Port, and |
| | | | Garrafeira Port - most styles fall into two broad |
| Prior to actually reading about making Port, I was | | | | categories: Bottle aged or Cask aged. Because doing |
| under the impression that all it involved was people | | | | the tiniest thing different will result in a different taste of |
| stepping on grapes in bare feet. Because of this, I | | | | wine, the two Port processes greatly dictate the |
| often worried that I would be drinking Tinta Barroca, | | | | flavorful outcome. While Bottle aged Ports generally |
| and find floating in my glass a human toenail or | | | | behave like wine on Botox, keeping their color and their |
| perhaps a foot corn. But, in truth, port-making is a | | | | fruitiness well into maturity, Cask aged Ports lose |
| lengthy, complicated process. | | | | flavor quickly. They are ready to drink right away. |
| | | | |
| Port wine, also known as Vinho do Porto, Porto, or | | | | The best Ports to know, the ones to introduce |
| Porto wine, is a fortified wine that comes from the | | | | yourself to before sending them down your |
| Douro Valley in the northern lands of Portugal. | | | | esophagus, are the Taylor Fladgate Tawny Port, W. & |
| Produced in Portugal since the mid 15th Century, Port | | | | J. Graham's Tawny Port, Smith Woodhouse Vintage |
| gained popularity in England after the Methuen Treaty | | | | Character Port, Niepoort Vintage Port, Quinta do |
| of 1703. While this treaty did war-related things | | | | Infantado Single Quinta Vintage Port, and Adriano |
| reserved for history books, in regards to wine it | | | | Ramos-Pinto Late Bottled Vintage Port. |
| caused England to become an adopted family for Port, | | | | |
| with Portugal being the biological parents. | | | | As demonstrated, the process of making Port is not |
| | | | as simple as one might imagine; it involves a little more |
| There is no easy way to make Port: no kind comes in | | | | than simply visiting a vineyard, and being met with |
| a packet with "just add water" instructions. Instead, the | | | | thousands of grapes shouting, "Pick me! Pick me!" And, |
| process initially involves picking grapes, smashing them, | | | | it involves more than taking off your tennis shoes and |
| and then placing them in an automated tank where | | | | having a smashing good time. After a careful, lengthy |
| they are further chopped into tiny pieces. After | | | | process, the smashing good time will follow.Jennifer |
| remaining in this tank for nearly twenty-four hours, the | | | | Jordan is the senior editor at With a vast knowledge |
| grapes begin to ferment and their sugar climbs the | | | | of wine etiquette, she writes articles on everything |
| food chain, turning into alcohol. | | | | from how to hold a glass of wine to how to hold your |
| | | | hair back after too many glasses. Ultimately, she writes |
| With Port wine, after fermentation begins, timing takes | | | | her articles with the intention that readers will |
| over. Once half of the grape's sugar has been | | | | remember wine is fun and each glass of anything fun |
| converted, fermentation must be stopped. In order to | | | | should always be savored. |