Port wine?

[MoneyGuy]

I'm interesting in finding out about making port wines. Is it hard? Is it done from a kit? What do I need to know to make one of these?

 

[Wade E]

What kind of port are you looking to make? There are many kits available but you dont need a lit to make a Port style wine. All you need to do is make a strong flavored wine and either really push the yeast by adding more and more sugar until your yeast gives up or make a strong flavored wine and then fortify it with a grain alc. or Brandy or something similar. Ports are almost always very sweet. Blackberry wine makes a very nice Port but when aking a Port we almost always use a lot more fruit then normal.

 

[MoneyGuy]

I don't know what kind of port I want to make. I just like drinking the stuff and thought a nice fruit port (maybe berries) would be nice. I've only used kits for wine so your advice seems good. I think I may try doing as you suggest.

 

[Midwest Vintner]

I don't know what kind of port I want to make. I just like drinking the stuff and thought a nice fruit port (maybe berries) would be nice. I've only used kits for wine so your advice seems good. I think I may try doing as you suggest.

wade is right, but i would suggest going with a spirit over going higher abv

i would find a recipe for a berry wine, use about 5-6 lbs fruit/gal and use either vodka (smirnoff works ok for this)/brandy/ bourbon (i use evan williams) to fortify the wine. i think the add spirits impart their good flavors to the fortified wine and the unwanted harshness goes away. you don't need a top shelf spirit to mix, but it doesn't hurt to use something descent. another tip, when you are fortifying it after the wine is finished, don't figure an amount of abv you want and add the spirit accordingly. go by taste! remember though, the wine and spirit will meld and be slightly more mellow with age.

don't be afraid to use fresh fruit! it's better, imo. we make a few fortified wines and wow, they are not only good, they are excellent. just gotta watch out as they'll rock you hard if you don't watch it. by figuring percentages of liquids and abv, a good percentage after mixing that we've come up with in our batches (whilst going by flavor), seems to be in the 16-18% abv range. the more fruit flavor, the easier to add more liqour. 6-7/lbs of fruit a gallon would be better suited for the 18-20% range.

 

[PPBart]

... i would find a recipe for a berry wine, use about 5-6 lbs fruit/gal and use either vodka (smirnoff works ok for this)/brandy/ bourbon (i use evan williams) to fortify the wine. i think the add spirits impart their good flavors to the fortified wine and the unwanted harshness goes away. you don't need a top shelf spirit to mix, but it doesn't hurt to use something descent. another tip, when you are fortifying it after the wine is finished, don't figure an amount of abv you want and add the spirit accordingly. go by taste! remember though, the wine and spirit will meld and be slightly more mellow with age.

...by figuring percentages of liquids and abv, a good percentage after mixing that we've come up with in our batches (whilst going by flavor), seems to be in the 16-18% abv range. the more fruit flavor, the easier to add more liqour. 6-7/lbs of fruit a gallon would be better suited for the 18-20% range.

Are there any issues with cloudiness or additional time for clearing after adding spirits?

 

[Goodfella]

The higher ABV helps them clear faster.

Port wines are awesome, and my favorite to make.

 

[MushCreek]

I'm making a small batch of elderberry, which I hear makes a nice port. I may take it that direction, depending on how it turns out. I'm using a yeast with a high alcohol tolerance, so I may keep bumping up the sugar til it quits. If I like it, I'll adjust the sugar and ABV, and then TRY to age it some.

I would think that if you're going to use vodka, use cheap domestic stuff. It seems I read somewhere that American vodka by definition has no flavor, so it won't throw off the taste of the port. I use the cheap stuff to make cordials for that reason.

I'll try to remember to report back when my elderberry wine/port is done to let you know what I did, and how it turned out.

 

[Wade E]

Use more fruit per gallon when making it into a port.