ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, January 24, 1996 TAG: 9601240010
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 8 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: The Wine List
SOURCE: BETH CRITTENDEN
A cold winter night is the perfect time to crack open a bottle of port and think thoughts of a toasty fire and snuggly blanket to chase away the chill. No wonder port sales in the United States peak in the coldest months of the year.
I use port often, sipping a glass while preparing a special dinner or after dinner or as dessert. I also add generous amounts of Fine Tawny or Fine Ruby port when simmering a pork or beef tenderloin or venison roast, adding cracked pepper and a variety of mushrooms to the rich sauce.
Port is a frequent addition when I prepare chili and tomato-based sauces or any other dish that can use a bit of sweetness and richness. I've even soaked a chocolate pound cake in Fine Ruby port for a spectacular dessert.
The traditional classic food pairing with port is Stilton cheese at room temperature and English walnuts.
Port was created centuries ago, quite by accident, and continues to be steeped in mostly British tradition. The simple red wine of Portugal's Douro Valley was cheap and popular with British sailors coming into port in the early 17th century. Labeled as "not fit for the British gentry," it did not gain popularity with noblemen until 1660, when the upper-class wine of choice, Bordeaux, became impossible to obtain because of political tensions between France and England.
The sweet, rich product we know as port today came about in the 18th century when someone discovered that the wine shipped better from Portugal to England when brandy was added to stabilize it for the journey.
True ports come only from Portugal and the 1,000 square-mile area along the high Douro Valley in the province of Tras-os-Montes (across the mountains). Other countries produce wines in a port-style, some even labeling them as "port" if regulations allow, hence the inexpensive "ports" from California and New York and a few from Southern Australia. However, these cannot duplicate true port's complexities.
The "Larousse Encyclopedia of Wine" (Larousse, 1994) designates three general styles of port: Ruby, Tawny and a small quantity of White port. Price-wise, these could range from about $8 up to hundreds of dollars for some vintages. All red ports begin as ruby, then lose their color and become tawny over a period of years.
Rubies are richer and more intense with darker fruit characteristics. Among the following wines, the LBV, Vintage Character, Crusted, Single Quinta and Vintage ports all are considered ruby port.
Tawnies are more mellow with a buttery, caramel sweetness.
White port is made from white grapes and aged for about three years in wooden casks. It can be made sweet or very dry and is generally consumed as an aperitif.
Ruby port, or Fine Ruby, is the basic nonvintage red-colored port which has been aged about three years in wooden casks. It is filtered and needs no decanting, and is bottled for immediate consumption.
Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) has a vintage designation from a single year. It has been kept in wood for between four to six years before bottling and needs no further aging.
Vintage Character is an LBV style of port blended from several years.
Crusted port usually is made and bottled in the United Kingdom from a blend of vintages shipped in bulk. It is not filtered and requires two to four years cellaring after bottling.
Single Quinta indicates a vintage port from an individual quinta, or vineyard, which is bottled after two years aging in wood and is either sold young or held until maturity.
Vintage ports are declared two years after the harvest only when there is exceptional quality from an exceptional year and the shippers believe the wine to be highly ageable. Depending on the vintage, these wines should be cellared between 10 and 20 years. A vintage is not declared every year, as with other vintage wines, and the declaration is made only after discussion and agreement by most or all of the port shippers.
Tawny port or Fine Tawny is aged about five years in wooden casks, losing its red hue and turning to an amber, tawny color.
Aged Tawnies carry an age indication of 10-year-old, 20-year-old, 30-year-old and 40-year-old to identify the average length of wood aging, with many vintages being blended to achieve the chosen style.
Colheita Tawnies, or reserva, carry a vintage date and are aged at least seven years.
Some people prefer to drink tawnies slightly chilled in the summer months, but in January, serve any port at cellar temperature on a cold, wintry evening for a delicious and warming taste treat. Cheers!
PORT PICKS:
Dow fine ruby, $10
Sandeman Fine Tawny port, $12
Taylor Fladgate LBV 1989, $17
Warre's Vintage port 1992, $23
THE WINE LIST runs once a month in the Extra section. Beth Crittenden is a local wine wholesaler, wine educator, writer and founder of the Roanoke Valley Wine Society, which meets for wine-tasting programs on the fourth Thursday of each month. Call 992-3285.
LENGTH: Medium: 95 linesby CNB