Some questions about making port

Somewhere around 6 grams per liter for a grape wine.

I normally press at the end of the extended fermentation when using Zinfandel. But, that might produce too much astringency with grapes containing lots of tannin.

I have used concentrate before. It worked OK but didn't seem to provide any particular benefit. Using inverted sugar or regular sugar (sucrose) makes little difference. The yeast produce an enzyme that hydrolyses sucrose into fructose and glucose.

It depends on the style of Port you are trying to produce. If you are making a tawny Port, then you want some oxidation and would use little or no SO2. On the other hand, normal amounts of SO2 would be used if you are producing a ruby Port. At 18 to 20 percent alcohol, the wine will be biologically stable in any event.

Good luck with your Port, Lum Del Mar, California, USA

Thanks, Lum. One more question: what is a typical amount of residual sugar (%) in port wine?

Lum Eisenman wrote:

Franco, When I was a kid, the standard for California Port was 10 by 20, meaning 10% RS and 20% alcohol. These days the RS in Port seems to range anywhere from about 8% to 12%. My experience is that sweeter Ports sell better.

I have only made port by fortifying so can't answer your questions beyond what Lum has already done concerning questions that would apply whether fortified or not.

Just wondering if anyone has tried port made from both methods? Assuming one used grape brandy to fortify would there be a taste difference in distilled alcohol vs alcohol produced strictly as a byproduct of fermentation?

miker:

Search older posts on this newsgroup on the subject of port. Jack Keller wrote a post where he commented about a trip he made to Portugal and he talked about the differences in taste between both methods.

miker wrote:

I have made Port both ways several times using 190 high-proof brandy for fortification. In general, Port made by fortification has a stronger alcohol taste when the wine is young. But after a year or so, the brandy seems to integrate into the taste profile of the wine and for the same alcohol content, I see little difference between the two methods. But, 17 or 18 percent alcohol is about the limit using fermentation, so if you want to produce a Port with higher alcohol content, you had better use the fortification method. Lum Del Mar, California, USA

Thanks for the comments Lum, and Franco I did the search you suggested and found Jack Keller's comments from 1999 where their club compared ports made from both methods. Hope Jack doesn't mind me re-posting part of his post:

"All of these were relatively young ports, 2-6 years old. In my opinion, the port made without brandy had a much deeper and richer flavor, while the ports made with brandy fortification were fruitier, more complex and somewhat more interesting."

Not sure from this which style he actually preferred. Maybe Jack will see this and comment more.

Port wine can be made by fortification using different variations.

(1) To minimize the amount of brandy needed, most commercial Port is made by fermenting a couple of days, running off and then fortifying the liquid. The juice is exposed to the solids for just a couple of days, so extraction is limited. (2) Small producers often ferment for a couple of days, fortify the _must_ and then press a few days later. In this case, the liquid is exposed to the solids for a much longer time. The alcohol level is high so there is much more extraction. But, unfortunately, some brandy is discarded with the pomace.

Note that the second method of making fortified Port more closely duplicates the extraction conditions that naturally exist when the extended fermentation method is used.

Lum Del Mar, California, USA

I was also wondering what the effect of all the sugar additions used in the non-fortified version would have on the flavor outcome. Not only are you possibly adding sugar to get the gravity up to begin with (this might be done whether you are fortifying or not, of course) but then more sugar additions later to get the alcohol up even further.

The two times I made port (both with Merlot grapes by the way) I was lucky to get late-harvest grapes with very high brix so didn't need to add any sugar to start, and of course didn't need to boost alcohol by adding more sugar later since I fortified. I was also able to obtain high-proof brandy so all additions were minimized. Both batches came out pretty darn well I think, but I am interested in possibly trying the non-fortified method.

You are confused, ted.

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote:

Ted has a point, though IMHO an unnecessarily restrictive one.

The original Port, made in Portugal, was made by fortifying a sweet wine with distilled grape alcohol, i.e. brandy. Back in those days in Portugal, there weren't yeasts available that were capable of delivering

In today's understanding, a port wine is more broadly taken to mean a sweet dessert wine with high alcohol content. We have available yeasts that can deliver that high alcohol in the primary fermentation. We no longer have to depend on distilled grape spirits to achieve the desired product.

Gene

Franco wrote: