We find it easier to fortify after pressing. If you start with high brix must and ferment slightly cooler you can get good skin contact time and color before reaching your desired sweetness level. If you reach this level before you'd like, move fermenter to a garage or other cold area to arrest fermentation until you're ready to press. Then fortify as usual.
I'll give you that grain spirits have the least amount of flavor, but the distillates from fruit sources that I have tried do not have a huge concentration of flavor. They may have an underlying flavor of the original fruit, but I wouldn't say the are overpowering. This excludes those that have been "doctored" post distillation either through addition of flavors or just through aging in barrels.
A significant difference if tasted side by side, but after mixing 1 to
4 with a strongly flavored, sweet, high tannin, acidic wine?This is assuming straight, unaged, never saw a barrel, brandy. If we're talking brandies that we buy in a store that spend years picking up flavor from wood (or worse with artificial flavors added), I think it could impact the flavor.
Agree completely. Andy
Freeze concentrate.. It's the cheapest, and IMO produces the best tasting port!
LG
snipped-for-privacy@epud.net (StarrFarms1) wrote:
To clarify.. because you're freeze concentrating, and not fortifying with "harsh" distilled alcohol, it's my opinion that port made this way doesn't need nearly the aging that fortified port does. Also, the flavours are double-concentrated, since you're doubling the alcohol, as well as everything else (flavours, acids, sugars, etc.) If you don't want such concentrated flavours in the end product, you can water down your starting batch and add a little more sugar -- but some of us like all that flavour. :) Some friends have said a burgendy/elderberry port I made is some of the very best port they've ever had!
LG
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