Page 40 - Uncorked Magazine - Winter 2017

STORY OF PORT

Port is Portugal’s great export, fortified red wine made in the
The magic match of Douro Valley in the north of the country that’s invariably served as
sweet tasting port and
salty blue cheese is also a dessert wine. Ruby Port is non-vintage with a three-year ageing
a magic gift idea. in bottles. Reserve Ruby Port is matured for five years and Late
Bottle Vintage (LBV) Port is similar to Reserve but uses a harvest
from a single year. None of these styles require decanting as they
have been filtered before bottling, however, Vintage Port, which
uses the very best grapes from a single, exceptional harvest, are
long-lived and require decanting to remove deposits. Tawny Ports
are a lighter style made by including white port in the mix and
can be an excellent value. However, reserve Tawny ports can be
aged for up to 40 years, and unlike all other ports, Tawny should
be served lightly chilled. If you’re having brandy butter with your
Christmas pudding then the nutty flavours of a Tawny Port will
stand up to the big flavours of both the butter and the pudding.

STORY OF VERMOUTH
Vermouth was the great invention of Italy, and Turin in particular, some
time in the eighteenth century, where wines were fortified with big
flavoured botanicals including herb leaves and bark, seeds, roots, fruit
peels and spices. Originally served as a medicinal drink, as alcohol was
used to suspend the oils and flavours of healing plants, Vermouth grew in
popularity when bartenders began to use it as an ingredient in cocktails.
From Cinzano to Martini & Rossi, their names are now globally famous
have a sweeter flavour as well as and have given us innumerable cocktails from Manhattans to Negronis
high alcohol levels, sometimes and even the Zaza, Queen Elizabeth’s favourite drink, usually made using
as much as 18%. By adding the one third gin and two-thirds Dubonnet or even Martini Rosso, over ice
alcohol early in the process you with a slice of orange. ‘Cause that’s how a 91- year old queen rolls.
get a higher sugar level but if it’s
added much later, near the end
of fermentation, you get a drier
result. This latter method is used
in sherry making, sometimes after
the fermentation is complete.
This magic interaction between
sugar, alcohol and yeast is also
used in styles known as ‘late-
harvested’, as the naturally high
levels of sugar in late harvest
grapes act as a damper on the
yeast, stopping fermentation.
Strictly speaking, liqueurs
are not fortified wine, they’re a
spirit, like brandy or gin, or even
a neutral spirit, flavoured with a
sweetened liquid made up of any
number of ingredients from fruits
or nuts to herbs, and even cream,
milk or eggs. Think Advocaat, the
Dutch liqueur made from eggs, Vermouth with
whiskey: cocktail à la
brandy and sugar, or indeed our Louisiane.
own beloved cream liqueurs such
as Bailey’s Irish Cream or Coole
Swan.

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