PORTO - Portugal - page 349

also has minor components that are 10 or 20 years old. Once blended, it takes about
eight months for the various ports to “marry,” though no producer would release an
immature tawny. It's ready to consume when you buy it.
Vintageport (if you can afford it) is a ruby. Rather than being a blend from many
different years, it comes from a single harvest. Only wine from the very best years is
selected by lodges to become vintage. After port ages for two years in wooden casks,
it's tasted by the Port Wine Institute to determine whether it's worthy of the vintage
label. (If not, it may be kept in wooden casks longer to become L.B.V.) There are usu-
ally only two or three vintage years per decade, and the year 2000 was deemed as one
of the best ever. If the port is good enough to be classified as vintage, it's bottled and
aged another 10-30 years or more. Using glass, rather than wood, makes the difference
in the aging process. Sediment is common, so bottles must be decanted. And if a bottle
is really old, the cork may deteriorate—so the top of the bottle is heated up with a pair
of red-hot tongs, then cold water is poured over it to break it off cleanly. Bottles of
port can be stored upright, rather than on their side like regular wines.
LateBottleVintage(L.B.V.) was invented after World War II, when British wine-
lovers couldn't afford true vintage port. L.B.V. is a blend of wines from a single year,
which age together in huge wooden vats for four to six years. The size of the vats
means less exposure to wood, which makes it age more quickly, but without losing its
fruitiness and color. After five years, it's bottled (later than a vintage port, which ages
for only two years—hence the name) and sold. This more-affordable alternative saved
the port-wine industry.
Port's stodgy image makes it unpopular among young Portuguese. Lodges have
not escaped the multinational conglomerate game, but new owners often retain the
brand name to keep loyal customers and invent marketing techniques to attract new
ones. Many Americans consider port an acquired taste; for this reason, many port pro-
ducers along the Douro also make a more straightforward red wine. But as I always
say, “Any port in a storm...”
Cálem, the first place you see after crossing the bridge, offers a fine tour wandering
among its huge oak casks (€4.50 includes 2-4 samples—often more samples if the group
is small, 20-minute tours depart 4/hour and include 6-minute video in a cask theater, daily
10:00-19:00, last tour at 19:00, off-season closes at 18:00 and fewer tours offered, tel.
223-746-660, www.calem.pt ). They also offer 45-minute fado shows that include a port
tasting (€16.50, Tue-Sun at 18:30, none on Mon).