HOW TO MAKE YOUR

OWN PORT WINE

Port wine is usually presented with around a 20% alcohol content, which is higher than can be produced with a natural yeast fermentation.

The process of producing port wines is very similar to normal red wine production methods in that the grapes are chopped up finely and crushed, then left to begin fermentation on their own.

Obviously, as much air should be kept out as possible, along with insects, and once around half way through the fermentation, this process is stopped at a specific point by adding alcohol (and this is where the alcohol you may have saved from your poor wines can be used).  See saving  your  alcohol in 'WINE ARTICLES'.

The actual "stopping" is where the experience comes in, as this can alter the taste of the port considerably.

This adding of alcohol, to take the wine up to the 20% mark, immediately kills off the yeasts present (as the yeast does not srvive usually above 16% alcohol - it's a preservative, but you already knew that, didn't you) and stops the fermention dead in its tracks, that way leaving most of the original sugars from within the grapes (if grapes are what was used in the first place, although any red wine can be used for this purposes, with some fruits producing better port than others) to thicken the wine and sweeten it too.

Once this alcohol is added, and the must left to clear for a few days, it can be filtered, or racked, and the resulting liquor set aside to mature.

There are basically two types of port available, and both are produced by different maturing processes, and in most cases the second one shown here is the most home-used because of the storage capabilities of most home brewers.

If you mature your port in a wooden "breathable" barrel, then a little oxidation occurs, which can cause the port to become a little fierce, along with the absorbtion of the tannins from the timber, which again requires a longer maturation period.

On the other hand, if you mature your port away from oxygen and light, (as in a glass/plastic stoppered demi-john, or bottles, (plastic PEP bottles - the sort you get fizzy drinks in - are excellent for this purpose. See storing your wine) then as time goes by it will become smoother and a little more tawny coloured.

If you are interested in producing your own grapes, why not take a look at the link below?