Port wine to age well

[steddyj]

So I'm taking a bit of a leap here. I did search the forum and I see a lot of discussion about port wine, a handful of recipes and very few agreements. I also couldn't find anyone making a port looking to do what I plan on it.

So my fiancee and I enjoy port. I've been making beer for a few years, and recently started making some wine. Our wedding is coming up at the end of June. Something I thought would be nice would be to make a Port for us. Not for the wedding, but for us to enjoy each year on our anniversary. I plan on making a 6 gallon batch, bottling in 375ML bottles, synthetic corks and waxed. This should net us a bottle a year for the rest of our lives, and likely will result in a few bottles left over for our children to enjoy and remember us after we're gone.

The idea here is that our marriage should age like wine (yes I'm a sap like that), and I expect a Port would be able to hold up to that sort of extended age if handled properly. I expect to put a lot of time into this batch, I don't expect to bottle for probably a couple of years to let it bulk age and mature with plenty of exposure oak. So while I'm down for a long game here, I want to make sure that I have a good recipe that will stand up to long aging and won't suck. This is a one-shot deal, I won't have the opportunity to tweak the next batch to make it better, and I haven't tried anything like this before. I'm really hoping to find someone who has a good Port recipe already, preferably something they've known has aged at least a few years and taken to it well.

So... any thoughts? Am I asking too much here?

 

[robie]

Welcome to the forum. I have never made a port from a recipe, so I can't hep there.

A good place to start is to become familiar with the processes behind making port and the different styles of ports available. There are some excellent videos on the internet of making ports in Portugal. Just do a search and you will find them.

Try:
http://vinoenology.com/
Look under video section.

Good luck

 

[s0615353]

First off I wanted to congratulate you on your upcoming wedding, because I am also getting married at the end of June. Second of all I wanted to admit that I have never made a traditional style before, but I have drank plenty of traditional port. Although ports do last a long time in bottle, planning on a batch improving over the next 50+ years is no simple task. Vintage ports are picked based on having top quality grapes from outstanding growing seasons, and they are usually stored in cellars where they can age slowly over decades and even centuries. If I were planning on undertaking a project like this I would want to find the highest quality GRAPES that I could and try to extract every last speck of color, tannin and flavor out of them before fortification (varietals like Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Malbec and Merlot would suit the task nicely). Although I am sure I am going to get shot down for this, I would probably wait for the California season to come around because in my opinion the quality of fruit is much better from Cali. than Chile (plus you have a choice of vineyards and region). Good luck, and may the port and your relationship both improve with age.

 

[robie]

I might add that synthetic corks may not be the right choice. Do a study comparison of the different types of corks. You may find that a really good natural might be best.

Realistically, you might be stretching it a bit to hope you port will still be good in 50 years. There are so many factors that determine how long a wine/port will last; storage temperature being a big factor with tannins being another huge one, not to mention that actual variety of grapes you use. 10 is a much more realistic number for a home made batch. But again, there are no absolutes, here, so you might surprise us all.

 

[Deezil]

Congrats on the wedding!

Ports are one of a few types of wines that can stand the test of time, more so than others

If theres a particular Port that you two enjoy, do some research into the types of grapes they use in their product. I'm assuming you're talking about making a more traditional port as opposed to a fruit port or something.

You might want to consider Old Vine grapes - they generally bear less grapes per plant, but have more profound flavor characteristics, and because the roots have had more time to dip deeper, they can express more minerality and terrior.. It should also have better tannin structure & enough sugars to get you into the 14-16% ABV-range without much manipulation

I would suggest something like Lallzyme EX-V - an enzyme used for wines destined to be "forgotten about" (long-aging wines) - coupled with a cold maceration (i'd do some reading on how to do this properly) to help extract everything possible from the grapes skins prior to pressing.

I wouldnt suggest one of the "Basic 5" wine yeasts, and might even suggest multiple yeasts (D80 + D254 + D21.. for an idea) for a final blend but seeing as you'll only do this once, i dont know how confident you could be on getting the blend right - especially because the early-alcohol, high-tannins and general greenness will throw the senses for a loop, when trying to blend... Unless, you aged the different fermentations separately for a few years before attempting a blend, then you might have a decent shot..

And i would still load the batch with tannins, regardless of how inky the must is... Something like 'FT Rouge' pre-fermentation.... Then something like 'Uva`Tan' post-fermentation... And 'Tannin Riche' or something, later on during bulk aging..

You'd most definitely benefit from an oak barrel as well - both for the introduction of additional oak tannins, and for the micro-oxygenation.. If an oak barrel is possible, you'll want to aim for 8-10 gallons pre-barrel because extended evaporation/concentration could bring it down to 6-7 gallons... But you'll want to have a way to monitor your SO2 levels because they'll plummet & oxidation would ruin the whole fiasco...

And some have already touched on synthetic corks.. But going a step farther, when aging wines for this long... It'll benefit from atleast several years without wax - the cork will continue to breahe and allow the tannins to relax over time but if you wax it while its still unbelievably harsh - it wont be able to breathe and will extend the aging time considerably, in a bad way... And i dunno about synthetic corks myself, but 1+1 agglomerate corks would work fine.. Either way, you'll probably end up recorking the batch atleast twice over the years, even the best corks (pure cork, corks) only last so long (10-12 years)

Anyway... Some food for thought... Hope this helps..
It's kind of.. my "niche"

 

[steddyj]

Wow, a lot of information in this thread, I really appreciate it. I hadn't really considered doing this wine from whole grapes, but for something this important it's not out of the question. I'll have to see what I can get my hands on in my area.

I'm unfortunately no closer to a recipe now though, and that's alright. I figured it would be a long shot that anyone had tried to do something similar. Does anyone know of any winemaking books that cover ports specifically? If I can research some techniques I should be able to come up with something passable.

I might try to look at this project differently too. I wasn't too concerned about the overall time this wine would live, but putting the plan on paper and reading some of your gasps about the prospect of a 50year wine has raised some doubts for me. Maybe I'll try to do something as an annual tradition, tasting and aging over the years and picking some flights to drink on our anniversary. That way if I do screw up this batch, or the wine spoils in 20 years, I'm not SOL.

Besides... It's an excuse to make more wine.

 

[Deezil]

I'd be more than happy to help, in whatever way i can - if you fire off some questions, it'll get me started (careful whatcha wish for )

Guess i could start with the theory behind Ports
Keep in mind, as home winemakers we cant copy this process 100%

Traditionally Ports are made by taking a batch of to-be wine / must, and allowing it to ferment down, roughly speaking, until its almost finished... They'll then, siphon off a portion of the must and distill it (a part we cant replicate, but we substitute brandy additions normally) before returning it to the original must.

What this does, is boosts the alcohol level above the tolerance of the yeast strain, effectively killing it off, while in the same stroke, retaining some residual sugars (they dont backsweeten) enough to balance the alcohol / acidity / tannin levels - through trial & error they've been able to pinpoint how that balance should appear "green", in order to be "balanced" in time (hope thats understandable..)

Thats the basic theory..

'Recipes' are mostly a false sense of security, honestly... They apply better to some fruits than they do to other, but if you're working with wine grapes, a recipe is more-so a set of guidelines than it is "do this, then do this" like in baking...

Sorry if i went so far over your head that it intimidated you, that wasnt my intention.. But i also (still dont) have any idea what kind of medium you're considering working with.. If its not whole grapes, is it fruit? is it a kit?..

I've definitely tried something similiar though, its still aging - i made a Blackberry-Cherry Melomel & fortified it with brandy.. Also put the finishing touches on a Gold Raspberry Port & a Red Raspberry Port - and have tucked those away for 5 years...

I also have a thread, Banana Melomel Port, detailing my research & process for my up-coming project - i'm hoping this project will see 20-25 years no-problem... You can see my "recipe" there, along with a mass of other tweaks i'm doing to the poor thing...

The thing with making a "50-year wine".. It's not that its any harder than making any other wine - you still have to know what you're aiming for in the end.. You just have to be On-Point when it comes to cleanliness, you have to REALLY want it (patience obviously lol), and you have to be prepared for it to be ready to drink earlier than your target-age (keep checking it, but you built that in annually)..

And understand that it'll probably taste horrible for the first 5-8-10 years, but that doesnt mean you screwed up... Overloaded tannins, higher than average acidity, higher than normal alcohol levels, add in the over-oak flavors... It'd be pretty rough, but it all takes time to come together and smooth out

I better shut up, i just scrolled up and this is another long post

 

[John Prince]

You could marry my exwife and you wouldn't have to worry about port aging 25 years. Just kidding congrats.

 

[JohnT]

Just to agree with most of what others have said..

1) Even the best of synthetic corks are really only good for 6 years. This is (of course) for your standard wine. For port, with the higher alcohol level, you would be good for longer than 6 years, but see as you want to age much longer, I would strongly advise that you go with a natural cork.

2) look up anything having to do with the "Pearson's Square". It is a mathmatical tool that I find very handy when making port. This tool allows me to judge how much fortifier (given it's strength) should be added to how much wine (given its strength). With this tool, I do not ever need to follow a recipe. I can make port out of any good quality grape. I simply wait until the must has fermented to the desired strength (and residual sugar), then add my fortifier to bring the must up to 22% apv. The rest is simply a matter of racking and aging.

 

[seth8530]

I have an interesting "port" thread that goes through my whole decision making process. Mine is made from black currants, a berry that shares a lot of characteristics in common with grapes. Mine has just reached the 11 month mark and is finally starting to taste great.

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f6/black-currant-port-30246/