WineXpert How about some of ur feedback on Port kits?

[rshosted]

I have just fell in love with a couple of 10 year old ports I bought at the store. I have thought of trying a port kit, but not sure if they would compare. So please tell me about your experiences.

I also have a few questions:

The bottles I bought said aged for 10+ years and angel share had reduced them for half. Would one want to do that with thier port kit?

Does angelshare increase alcohol content?

What is ABV on Ports from kits?

Do they have F-packs?

How do they get the wine so sweet by removing water from the grape juice or picking grapes that have produced a lot of sugar?

Thanks, I have a million more questions but I'll stop here.
-Ryan

 

[Waldo]

I became introduced to Ports while on a dinner cruise out of Boston Harbor , specifically it was a Taylor Fladgate 10 Year Old Tawny and I have been on a quest since to make my own. I have made a couple from the WE kits which were very good and am now on a quest to make my own which is still fermenting. The kits do have an "F" pack and you need to fortify with Everclear or a good unflavored Brandy before bottling.
Want to know all about Ports...Here is a great link to get you started
http://www.portwine.com/what-is-port/index.php


I have no illusions about ever being able to create a true Port but I am going to get as close as I can

Edited by: Waldo

 

[Dean]

I can help to answer some of these questions:

The port kits are designed to be "port-like" much quicker than 10 years! Thank goodness too, as I don't have the patience for 10 years! BTW: 10 years is about the youngest port you will be able to find. Port is also not made every year. If the grapes have a bad year, port makers will not vint those grapes. Most port is a blend of many different years to produce the final product. Of course certain ports are single vintage, but those are very rare and expensive.

There are 2 type of port. Tawny and Ruby. A Ruby port, which is what most kits make, is a port that is sweet and young. By young, I mean less than 20 years. After that amount of time the fruitiness of the grape will have left the port, and will cause it to turn tawny, or brown with oxidation. Most tawny ports are blends, and if they have a young age (10 years), most likely what has happened is that they used some 10 year old port, but it would mostly be a blend of 20+ year vintages. Tawny ports are usually quite oxidized.

Port stays sweet as about 1/2 way through the primary fermentation, they use VERY high alcohol brandy (95%) to halt the fermentation and kill the yeast. This is how they maintain the residual sugar. After it is placed in barrels, some of the high alcohol will evaporate (the Angel's share) as well as some of the water content to concentrate the port. So Angel's share actually decreases the alcohol content.

The ABV on port from kits can be as low as 15% and as high as 18%. Some kits call for fortification, and others do not. Some will have you feed corn sugar (dextrose or glucose) to the yeast at intervals to get up to the 18% mark. Others will have you ferment to dry, fortify, and then F-pack it for additional sweetness and "port-like" flavour.

If you can tell, I LOVE port! If you can find a good port, usually what will happen as you try to open it, is that the cork will disintegrate as you try to open it. and you will also see wine diamonds and other "crust" as you try to get the port out. Those are all GOOD signs that the port you are about to enjoy is a good one.

Hope this helped.

 

[rshosted]

That is interesting, thanks guys. I bought a 10year tawny. Then I got another 'ruby' port (I assume because it was still red).

So, Waldo. What S.G. do the kits start at? Do the kits actually tell you to fortify?

Dean and Waldo, what do you think... if I were to get a port kit, which one would either of you recomend?

I would be willing to age it for 5-10 years (I would just hide it, then hit myself on the head to forget. Then email myself a letter with a 10 year delay.... Or just hid it). If I were to age it that long, do you think bottle age, or bulk age in a glass carboy?
I was thinking Carboy as it would have a poly cap and glass wouldn't break down like a cork would....

The Ruby port I got it good, but not as good as the Tawny...mmmm Tawny. Is that pretty typical?

I am so intruiged by Ports now....!!!

 

[OilnH2O]

Tim V. had a great article on ports using WE's kits in the June 2006 issue of Winemaker Magazine. I just checked on-line and can't seem to find an on-line link to that article, but if you can find it, it has a lot of great info.

 

[Dean]

One of my local U-Brew suppliers makes his own Tawny ports as there are no commercial kits for it. His are VERY good tawny ports. However, his methodology is quite scarey.

He takes 2 premium kits of red wine, non port style, and mixes them together. Then he dilutes them to get a SG of around 1.130. Then he innoculates with a few packages of yeast and lets the port sit in the primary for about 9 months to 1 year. If the yeast did its job properly, he has residual sugar and high enough alcohol that mold and other nasty growth doesn't start in it. Then he transfers to a neutral oak barrel and ages it in his hot garage for 2-3 years, essentially "cooking" the wine. What comes out however, is an awesome tawny port.

I have a couple of bottles that he gave me because he knows I love port. I treasure those bottles as he doesn't make port that often, and when he does it takes a few years to be good.

His tawny tastes like a 20 year old tawny port, and he does it under 5 years, which is remarkable!