Avenue Vine

Today, the image of cheap ports in brown paper bags has all but vanished as wineries from California to New York are making exquisite, hand-crafted port-style fortified wines of exceptional quality.

Because fortified wines are lumped into the general market category of “Dessert Wine” it is difficult to track the specific growth of domestic port-style wine production. However, recent U. S. wine sales indicate that dessert wines now account for 7-1/2 percent of all U. S. wine shipments. Growth in dessert wine sales has increased 61 percent in the last five years.

Before examining the emerging trends in port-style wine production, we need to clarify the term “port” and how the term can be shown on domestic labels. The 1933 repeal of Prohibition brought with it a confusing maze of regulations under the Federal Alcohol Act (FAA). An amendment to the Federal Alcohol Act (1935) provided the right of American winemakers “to use wholly or in part the wine name or brands Port, Sherry … etc.” This action was a direct affront to the European nations agreeing at the Conference of Madrid in 1891 not to use the names of wine regions belonging to other countries. The United States was not party to that agreement so American producers could legally call any fortified wine “port”.

In March of 2006 the United States and the European Union agreed to prohibit the use of “port” on new Certificate of Label Approvals as a term to define a class of wine that does not originate in Portugal. However, a “grandfather clause” allows a domestic producer to continue to use the term for labels approved prior to March 10, 2006.

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Grape Varieties:
Grape varieties used in the production of domestic port-style wines fall into two general categories; true Portuguese varietals, and none-Portuguese vinifera and hybrid varieties.

The most widely planted true Portuguese varietals in the U.S. include Touriga Nacional, Touriga Francesa, Tinta Cao, Tinta Madeira, Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo), and Souzao. Since these varieties tend to thrive in warm, dry climates, the majority of Portuguese varietal vineyards are found in the Central Valley and Sierra Foothills of California. Small plantings of Portuguese varieties can also be found in other states including Texas and Ohio.

Since port-style fortified wines can be based on wide array of both red and white grapes, individual style preferences will often dictate which specific grape varieties are used. Winemakers wanting deep color and rich varietal character will make ports from dark-skinned varieties like Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, or Petite Sirah. In the east, winemakers will use hybrid varieties like Chambourcin, Marechal Foch, and Chelois for fortified wines. Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc are most often used for white port-style wines.

Harvest:
California port producers look for balance and maturity in the grapes at harvest. “We hand-pick when the grapes are ready – somewhere around 25-26 brix and pH at 6.5-7.0. We are looking for good balance in the fruit”, said Peter Ficklin of Ficklin Vineyards in Madera. “It’s not like we have a formula.”

Harvesting at the right time is very important to Peter Prager, winemaker at Napa’s Prager Port Works. “We don’t want to let the sugars get away from us. We want sweetness in our ports but we also need a balance of all the other components, including acid. Without acid, the wines turn brown quicker and don’t age as well,” Prager explained.

Mike Blaylock, winemaker for Quady Winery in Madera brings fruit for his “Starboard Vintage Port” from Amador County, well over 100 miles. “Being in the Central Valley, our grapes come in pretty warm,” Blaylock says. Hand-harvested at 25-27 brix, the grapes are crushed and put through a must chiller to drop the temperature 10-15 degrees prior to fermentation.

Further east, Les Constable, owner and winemaker of Bushy Creek Vineyards northwest of Ft. Worth, likes his fruit “as sweet as possible.” The high plains Cabernet Sauvignon for his Texas Port comes in at a “super sweet” 28 brix.

In the cooler areas of the eastern U. S., red varieties used for fortified port wines rarely get above 22 brix. Gary Rhodes, winemaker for Volant Mill Winery in Volant Pennsylvania harvests Chambourcin for his port at 22-23 brix. Greg Pollman, winemaker at Valley Vineyards in Morrow, Ohio says; “We usually harvest Chambourcin and Foch late in October at about 22 brix with acidity around .6-.7 and fruit temperature between 45 and 55 degrees.

Fermentation:
The early stages of port-style wine fermentation differ little from that of dry wine. Most producers de-stem and crush into stainless steel tanks. For smaller lots, many producers will crush into open top half ton containers or bins. Usually, natural yeasts are retarded with SO2. Some warmer climate producers like Peter Ficklin will cold soak the must for 24-48 hours prior to inoculation. Some long-time port makers like Ficklin and Quady have developed “house blend” yeasts, but most producers use a healthy commercial yeast like Pasteur Red.

Port-style fermentation goes fast – between two and four days at temperatures in the mid 80s. The trick is to maximize both color and sugar. The longer the skins are in contact with the juice for extraction of color, the more sugar is used up. According to Mike Blaylock, “We may only have a day or two to get maximum extraction from a rapid fermentation.” Pumping over the juice through the cap three to four times a day is a preferred method of maximizing extraction. Small lot producers may punch the cap down into the juice at least twice daily.

Fortification:
When the fermenting wine reaches 13-10 brix and 7 to 8.5 percent alcohol, port makers will arrest the fermentation using a high proof wine spirits or brandy. Neutral Spirits, Fruit Grape or NSFG, is grape wine distilled to 190 proof (about 95% alcohol) and runs about $12-$15 a proof gallon. Some port makers like Peter Prager prefer to use “unaged”, neutral brandy for fortification because of the lower alcohol (around 80%). “It gives the wine a blank pallet on which to develop,” Prager says. Quality brandy for fortification is more expensive than NSFG and can run as high as $40 a proof gallon.

A few winemakers will use brandy that has been stored for a time in oak barrels. Ken Deaver may well have the oldest surviving Mission grape vineyard in California. The rugged, gnarly old vines planted sometime around 1858 still produce a light Mission wine Ken has distilled to barrel-aged brandy that he uses to fortify his Zinfandel, Portuguese Varietal, and Mission ports.

Mike Blaylock uses a very clean neutral spirit to fortify Quady wines because he wants the fruit character to show through. However, Quady has been experimenting with the longer carbon-chain fusel oil alcohols which Blaylock says gives the port a very unique background character reminiscent of true Portuguese ports.

When and how to fortify is a major decision point in the port-making process. According to Quady’s Mike Blaylock, “It is critical to stop the fermentation at the right level for the style wine you want to make.” Peter Ficklin says, “Sometimes we add the brandy on the skins to get more depth and sometimes we press using an old basket press before blending the brandy. The grapes dictate the style of wine we are going to produce.” Peter Prager takes the opposite approach saying, “We don’t fortify on the skins because bandy is expensive.”

Prager adds the brandy to the bottom of the fermentation tank and then pumps over the wine for about half an hour. The brandy slows down the fermentation significantly in the beginning (“slams on the breaks”) but it takes a few days to complete the blending process.

Most domestic ports finish with alcohol levels between 17 and 19 percent with residual sugars between 7.5 and 9 percent. The type and quality of the fruit often determines the final alcohol/sugar ratio. For example, Gary Rhodes Volant Mill (Pennsylvania) Chambourcin port finishes at 17.5 percent alcohol and 3 percent residual sugar while Greg Pollman’s Valley Vineyard (Ohio) hybrid blend port finishes at 19-20 percent alcohol and 7-8 percent residual sugar.

Blending, Storing and Aging:
When fermentation has completely stopped at the desired alcohol and sugar levels the new wine is racked into stainless steel tanks or wood vats and allowed to settle for at least two months. Some winemakers will then rack directly into barrels for aging. Others, like Peter Ficklin, “let the new wine settle a couple of months in the tank then rack three or four more times in the year to clear the wine.”

At this point, port-makers may be faced with another decision – what and how much to blend. Often, larger producers have the luxury of fermenting individual lots of wine from specific grape varieties. The winemaker can then blend these individual wines to achieve the desired color, sugar, acidity, and flavor. This process is most often used for traditional ports from true Portuguese varietals. Other produces like Peter Prager do a field blend crush. “Tinta Roiz ripens first followed by the Touriga,” Prager relates. “The Tinta Cao comes last and contributes more acid to the blend because it ripens later.”

Makers of varietal ports may blend in small percentage of other varieties prior to racking for storage and aging. Vintner Les Constable blends a little locally grown Tinta Madeira and Tempranillo (Tinta Roriz) to high plains Cabernet Sauvignon for his Texas Port.

Once the wine has settled, the majority of producers rack the young port into used, neutral barrels for storage and aging. Most producers want to avoid the influence of oak in their ports so use well maintained older barrels to allow the wine to slowly develop character. The old adobe winery building (circa 1947) at Ficklin Vineyards is filled with all manner of aged redwood and oak vats, casks, puncheons and barrels used for storage. All of Ficklin’s wooden containers are neutral, well seasoned, and rarely empty.

There are however, some port producers who like a little oak in their wines but prefer to age in neutral barrels. Doug Welsch, winemaker and owner of Fenn Valley Vineyards on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan uses heavy toast American oak chips to add a little smokiness to his Chancellor/Chambourncin “northern grown port.” Another example is Les Constable who uses medium-toasted Hungarian oak cubes for his Texas Port.

Port-makers barrel or bottle age their wines relative to traditional port styles. Ruby ports typically receive two to four years barrel aging before bottling, which preserves the wine’s red color. Tawny ports are barrel aged up to 10 years exposing them to gradual oxidation and evaporation causing color to mellow to a golden or reddish brown. Vintage port is aged in barrels for a maximum of two years before bottling. They often require another 5 to 15 years of aging in the bottle before reaching what is considered proper drinking age.

Here again it is often decision time for the winemaker. He/she may elect to bottle straight from the barrel, or blend in wines from other varietals and other vintages to reflect individual style. “We usually blend three or fours years of our Tawny port so we add some fresh youthfulness to the wonderful aged character of the mature wine,” explained Peter Prager.

Some producers including Doug Welsch in Michigan and Peter Ficklin in California use a more sophisticated blending technique call the Solera system. Ficklin’s non-vintage Old Vine Tinta Port and Aged 10 Year Tawny Port programs use a 160 barrel Solera system to blend of all four estate grown Portuguese varieties. “Using this system, we have some very old wine in each bottle”, Peter said.

While specific data is sketchy, port accounts for between 5 and 20 percent of total production for the estimated 300-400 wineries nationwide making fortified wine. According to Prager, hand-crafted port-style wines tend to be expensive because of the cost of production. “Not only does the extended aging of the wine tie-up resources but we typically lose 20 percent of Tawny port to evaporation over 10 years.” Federal, state, and local taxes add to production costs. Current Federal Excise Tax on wines in excess of 14 percent alcohol is $1.57 per gallon, 50 percent higher than for wines under 14 percent. Similar taxe rates for higher alcohol wines are imposed by most states and some local jurisdictions.

Port producers across the country are experiencing increased interest and acceptance of fortified wines. Peter Prager says, “What we need is to educate the consumer that port wines are delightfully versatile, easy to pair with a wide variety of meals, and fun to drink any time.”

To that end, several dessert wine producers across the nation have formed the Sweet and Fortified Wine Association. The organization’s mission is to educate the wine drinking public and provide support for the producers of American-made sweet and fortified wines. More information about the association can be found at www.sweetandfortifiedwine.org

About SFWA:
SFWA is a non-profit organization of vintners, growers, producers, distributors, retailers and consumers whose Mission is the education and creation of awareness within the wine drinking public. The association also provide a support system and promotion vehicle for the producers of American made sweet and fortified wines. Our vision is to provides a forum for industry participants and the public to share ideas and learn about sweet and fortified wines. The ultimate goal is to build the reputation of American sweet and fortified wines as truly world class.

Sweet and fortified wines are what has been generally refered to as “dessert” wines. Sweet wines include the broad range of wines with residual sugars of one percent or more including Muscats (Muscatel), Muscadine, Ice Wine, flavored wine (Vermouth) and “late harvest” wines. Fortified wines are made by adding a high alcohol spirts or brandy to stop fermentation and retain sweetness. These include Port, Sherry, and Maderia.

Vintners, growers, suppliers and consumers can get membership and organizational information by visiting the SFWA website at sweetandfortifiedwine.org or by calling the association at (916) 543-6712, or visiting the SFWA website at: www.sweetandfortifiedwine.org

After: Wines & Vines Magazine, "AMERICAN PORT," June 2007

ST. HELENA, CA–January 18, 2008