Education
Sonoma County Port - 2002
Here is a bit of background on Port. Port is a fortified, sweet wine. We say fortified we mean that there is an increased alcohol content (usually 18% - 21%) achieved by the addition of neutral grape spirits or brandy of approximately 75% alcohol (150 proof). This brandy is added at a critical stage during fermentation. This causes the yeasts in the wine to die (the ones that have been eating the natural grape sugars and producing alcohol and CO2 as by-products) and the remaining natural sugars to be kept. A typical port will have between 6 to 10% residual sugar.
Once this initial process is completed, the maturing and aging of Ports begin. Ports can be generally characterized as either a wood or bottle port (think of where the port is aged). Additionally, there are ten different styles of Port: Ruby, Young Tawny, Aged Tawny (including Colheita), Vintage Character, Late Bottle Vintage (LBV), Crusted, Traditional LBV, Vintage, Single Quinta Vintage, and Garrafeira.
In Portugal, the most important traditional grapes used for red Port (yes - there is a white port) are: Touriga National, Touriga Francesa, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Cao, Tinta Almarela. Blending is important and gives Ports great complexity.
Here at St. Francis, our 2002 Sonoma County Port is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, and Zinfandel from our Nuns Canyon Vineyard and Alicante Bouschet from the famed Pagani Ranch Vineyard. Fermentation was stopped by the addition of brandy made from our own wine by St. George Spirits of Alameda, California, one of the nation’s premier distillers and makers of Eaux de Vie.
Lori Knapp, Winemaker at St. Francis writes: "I send wine for distillation to St. George Spirits to make what I call my "Saintly Spirits" for port fortification ("St. Francis" wine plus "St. George" Distilled = "Saintly Spirits"). At St. George, they are doing a traditional Alembic distillation. An alembic still is the traditional hand-hammered copper still with a copper pot, a traditional onion-shaped reflux dome and a condensation chamber. Alembic stills are typically much smaller, but produce brandy of much greater quality because the fruit esters, other aromatics, and unique flavor components are not lost in the distillation process. Brandy makes up anywhere from 15-17% of the volume in a traditional Port, therefore it is critical to have a good quality brandy for your fortification."
Lori continues: "I have now accumulated enough brandy in barrels for aging, so that I am now fortifying the current vintage Port (2002) with 1-2 year barrel aged, custom distilled brandy."
Our St. Francis Sonoma County Port is most similar to a Ruby Port and is a bottle port. However, unlike traditional ports from Portugal, our port is blended from grapes from a single year. These grapes have been in 4-6 year old French Oak barrels for about two years after fermentation and fortification. It receives little bottle aging before release, but could be aged in the bottle for 20 years or more.
Because Port is both fortified and sweet, it will last longer than an opened bottle of regular wine. You should still store the opened bottle in a cool place, a refrigerator is okay but you should let the Port come back up to room temperature before serving. In general, a Ruby Port should last from 2 weeks to 3 months once opened.
You should drink a Port much as you would a regular wine. Avoid small aperitif-type glasses. Instead, use a glass that is large enough for the port to be swirled. Pour two to three ounces (remember, it is stronger than normal wine) and let the magic begin.
Our 2002 Port has notes of berries and plum, dried fruit, hints of leather, caramel, vanilla, spice and figs. It can be served on its own as an aperitif or after a meal, or as an accompaniment to dessert, cheeses (especially blue cheeses like Stilton and Gorgonzola), dried fruit, and roasted nuts.
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