Another is the Trousseau, which has been identified with the Portuguese Bastardo. To this selected group belong the Tinta Madeira, Tinta Cao, Alvarelhao, and Touriga. Conforming to the present tendency in the American taste, it is, on the whole, sweeter and deeper red in color than the red Port wines from Portugal.Ĭalifornia port is produced from many different grapes, only a few of which are used for the wine in its native Portugal. Conforming to the American palate, California Ports are generally more sweet, rich, heavy-bodied, and fruitier than the red Port wines of Portgual.Port has been made in California at least since the days of the Gold Rush and is one of the most popular of all dessert wines. The most common grapes include Carignane, Grenache, Petite Sirah and Zinfandel. Port wine grapes are generally characterized by their small, dense fruit with concentrated and long-lasting flavors that are also suitable for long aging.Ĭalifornia Port wine is produced from many different grapes. Conforming to the American palate, California Ports are generally more sweet, rich, heavy-bodied and fruitier than the red Port wines of Portgual. The most common include Carignane, Grenache, Petite Sirah and Zinfandel. California Port-style wine is also produced from many different grapes. These are Tinta Barroca, Tinta Cão, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca and Touriga Nacional. There are over a hundred varieties of grapes that can be used for Port production but only five are mainly cultivated in Portugal. This sweet Port wine became a favorite among the English elite and royalty and the continued interest of the English Port trade is evident in the names of many brands including Cockburn, Dow and Taylor. This addition of the higher alcohol spirit allowed for a smoother and more powerful sweet wine to evolve. They found that by adding a neutral grape spirit known as aguardente, which is something like a brandy, the fermentation process was slowed and eventually stopped. Port was more rough in style than the beloved French wine and in the early eighteenth century Portuguese winemakers discovered a way to create a smoother, richer wine that would appeal to the British palates. In the late seventeenth century, war with France deprived English wine lovers of French wine giving popularity to Portuguese wine. Port is special in several ways with a unique history. That changed in 2006 in the United States with a trade agreement, but producers who had historically been using the labels were grandfathered and therefore there are Port-style wines made in California, as well as many other areas in the world, and are still referred to as Port. For many years, however, winemakers didn’t recognize the terms set forth by Portugal and there were no legal ramifications to using “Port” to refer to wines made in the same style. Similar to the governing laws and production of Champagne and sparkling wines, Port wine technically come from the Douro Valley in Portugal and is highly regulated by the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto where the wine must be produced, labeled and marketed according to a long list of strict rules. Other recognizable terms for Port wine include Vinho do Porto, Porto and Oporto. The word “Port” is not an abbreviation of Portugal but named after the port town of Oporto where the wines are exported. Though it is typically a dessert wine, Port can also be vinified in dry, semi-dry and white varieties. The turn of the 20th century saw California Port wine as a best selling sweet wine and it continues to be a most popular dessert wine.
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