Different way too a port

[havlikn]

I know that you additional way of making part is arresting fermentation with I alcohol at desired sweetness. Can a person make a port by fermenting a wine to dry and then backsweetenint to desired flavor and then adding Brandy?

 

[cmason1957]

Technically, this isn't a port, but it is a port style. I make them this way all the time, since anything not made in Portugal isn't technically a port.

Someone once said that is a vermouth, but I don't know if that's true either.

 

[sour_grapes]

What Craig said. Only chiming in to say that I also do this.

I have an Excel sheet with exact calculations, but it may interest you to know that if you take an empty one-liter brandy bottle, fill it with 750 ML wine, then top off with brandy, you get about the right ABV. And if you add ~3-5 Tablespoons of sugar to this, you get about the right sweetness. Easy-peasy.

 

[salcoco]

another method is to take a high tolerance yeast such as EC1118 and do a step feed of sugar on the wine. you can achieve numbers equal to 18-20% abv with this technique. your last addition does not get fermented giving it a sweetness level, this can be increased if desired.

 

[NorCal]

Here is my recent thread, doing this very thing.

 

[mainshipfred]

Technically, this isn't a port, but it is a port style. I make them this way all the time, since anything not made in Portugal isn't technically a port.

Someone once said that is a vermouth, but I don't know if that's true either.

I think it's called a fortified wine but Port Style probably works. Not that we as home winemakers care.

 

[Stevew1]

I have been making a port style wine. I use either a red berry brandy or a peach brandy added to a bottle of red wine. I have tried several but I like to use zinfandel the best. I also age it in a 1 liter oak barrel for several months.

 

[user 36973]

Can a person make a port by fermenting a wine to dry and then backsweetenint to desired flavor and then adding Brandy?

I prefer to make the port-style wines (aka, dessert wines) this way. You end up with far less dilution of the wine and I feel the end flavor profile is better. As a side note, I'm using neutral grape spirits (95% abv) for the fortification and I'm not convinced the distillation of these spirits are of the highest quality. After all, one doesn't send their top-shelf wines off to the distillery.

 

[salcoco]

I would think adding brandy first then bench trial for sweetening would be more beneficial as taste can change quite a bit with brandy after sweetening

 

[Ole]

Ferment untill 4-6 abc, then add everclear untill 18-20 abv.

https://winemakermag.com/article/313-fruit-port