Oaked cab sauv port

[tradowsk]

I have a WE Lodi Cab Sauv that's getting close to bottling, and I was toying with the idea of taking 1 gallon off and making a port out of it. My family loves port wines, and this cab sauv has some great flavors that I think would do well in a port style.

My only concern is that I oaked this cab pretty heavily. This was so after 2 years of bottle aging, there would still be some oak flavor left, though in a much more balanced way. But I'm concerned that it might not age the same way with the additional sugar in the port and that the oak won't integrate well.

So do you think I will end up with a decent port, or will I just have a sweet oaky mess?

 

[salcoco]

if making a port by blending with grape spirits the oak aging should not be affected.

 

[tradowsk]

Would it be better to fortify with brandy or Everclear?

I was planning to sweeten with inverted sugar and maybe add some cocoa nibs for a month for a hint of chocolate.

 

[salcoco]

you can use either but Everclear can be quite harsh do bench trials