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Port Wine - The Wine of Portugal

Wednesday, November 5th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed

How much do you know about Port Wine?

You must have heard the name of ‘Port Wine’ off and on as a special type of wine. However, do you have any idea as to what it is all about, what type of wine this is, and why it is called “port” wine?

Demystifying The Port Wine

The history of this wondrous wine can be traced to the Douro Valley wineries in Portugal. It is commonly served with dessert because of its sweetish qualities. The properties of this wine are richness, full-bodied and more sweetness compared with other wines. There are many variations of this wine, but two tower above the others, i.e. port wines that are oxidative aged and reductive aged.

There are five grape varieties that go into the making of the port wine and these are, the Tinta Roza, Touriga Nacional, Touriga Fanacesas, Tinot Cao, and Tina Barroca all of which are grapes that grow in the Douro Valley (Portugal).

The port wine which has been matured within the barrel with very limited exposure to oxygen is known as wine that is oxidative aged wine while the wine that has not been exposed to oxygen at all is known as reductive aged wine.

Some Great Port Wines

The name port wine encompasses a vast number of different types of wines of all color and taste. White Port is aged for about three years and it has a dry type flavor. Then you have the Colheita Port which is aged for about seven years. This wine is made from only one year’s harvest grapes unlike others which use grapes across different years’ harvests.

Among the more expensive one are the Tawny Port which is aged for a very long time – anything between ten and forty years and the Vintage Port which can be aged for about 50 years in the bottle itself; the Single Quinta Port is another wine that is aged for about 50 years as well. These wines are very much sought after all over the world, and rightly so.

The Crusted Port is another type of wine that needs mention. There are always sediments in the bottle as the wine is not filtered when it is bottled.

To learn more about different wines go to Understanding About the Different Types of Wine and Red Wine Is A Wonderful Beverage