July 2006

A Good Port O' Call

By: Charlie Hardie (Cellar Master at Browns of Rivonia)

The Duoro Valley in Northern Portugal, home of the original Port wine, has been producing wines for over 300 years. At their best these wine can age for up to 100 years.

However, Cape Port production was started in the 1890’s, but it was only during the 1980’s that the world started to take note and acclaim critically those wines coming out of the Carlitzdorp region in the Klein Karoo.

Briefly Port is a fortified wine whose fermentation is arrested by the addition of neutral spirits, hence the sweetness. In contrast Sherry wine is fortified only after fermentation has been completed.

Port wine is made in 2 styles. Ruby Port, which is dark in colour and nearly always vintaged, spends its life maturing in the bottle. The other style is called Tawny port which ages in the barrel and is ready for immediate drinking once bottled. Tawny ports are hardly ever vintaged and are much lighter in colour.

Finally, a point of etiquette as regards the ritual surrounding the passing of the Port. Make sure you pass the wine to the person on your left. Otherwise social death awaits you.

It is sad to note that the word Port will disappear from local labels in 2010. It will now be labelled as Cape Ruby/Tawny.

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