Indulge in Life in America

By the Douro River~

The moon reflected on the river, the night was slightly cool, and the evening breeze was intoxicating.

At the small round table by the river, Pinto personally put a bottle of Port wine on the table and said, “The grapes used to make Port wine are different from Bordeaux. They are usually small and rich varieties with rich and concentrated aroma. Among them, 5 species are the most widely planted: National Du Lijia, Du Lijia Franka, Red Barroca, Tempranillo, Red Kao.

When choosing a grape variety, fruit growers will seek the matching of terroir to balance the differences between the varieties. A single variety of Porter is very rare.

Although the fruit is small and thick, National Du Lijia is still the most irreplaceable among them.

After the grapes are picked, the high-quality tannins, pigments and flavor substances in the grape skins are extracted in the shortest time and the fruity aroma of the grapes themselves are preserved, so that the Port wine can retain as much as possible while retaining the rich fruity aroma. The condition of aging is the key to making red port wine.

For various reasons, the Port wine merchants did not have as much time as Bordeaux to fully macerate the grapes.

The way of stepping on the grapes can make the grapes more fully broken and the maceration is completed efficiently, so it has been continued in the Douro Valley.

This is a traditional brewing method. The harvested grapes are poured into a cement or granite square tank called Lagar to be crushed and impregnated by manual steps. Nowadays, it is more stainless steel. "

He paused, "By the way, you live in the Six Senses of the Douro Valley? You will know when you visit the winery tomorrow. The volume of this kind of Lagar is between 8000-14000 liters. The grapes after the stems are poured into Lagar. Up to a depth of 15-20 cm from the upper edge.

A group of men lined up side by side, stepping back and forth in Lagar, stepping on the grape skins, extracting tannins, colors, and phenols. A 12,000 liter Lagar requires more than 20 people to handle it together. "

Yang Cheng was startled, "Is it a man? Why not a woman?"

He suddenly felt nauseous. Although it was all feet, relatively speaking, women's feet were more acceptable.

"The relationship between manpower. In the 1960s, the traditional Lagar process was greatly challenged due to manpower shortage and efficiency. At first, it was young women. Later, it was released to all women. Later, men joined in, and because of the weight of men. Bigger and stronger, it can make the grapes more thorough, so they are gradually replaced by men.

However, this kind of open fermentation, which is impregnated with pure artificial skins, is now rare. It is only used in the production of some high-end or flagship wines. Large-scale production has been mechanized.

At that time, wine merchants tried different techniques such as hot maceration. Due to the steep terrain, many wineries in the Douro Valley were not very convenient to use electricity. Therefore, an automatic fermentation method that does not require electricity is popular.

This method originated in Algeria. The fermenter of the system has a specially designed structure. The carbon dioxide produced in the alcohol fermentation increases the pressure in the fermenter, and transports a part of the fermented liquor to the upper wine tank through the pipeline. The liquid level in the tank also decreases.

When the liquid level drops to a certain level, it cannot cover the delivery pipe connected to the outside air pressure, and the carbon dioxide in the fermentation tank begins to be discharged into the atmosphere, so that the pressure in the tank is reduced, and the wine in the upper tank returns to the container. Continuous circulation can realize automatic circulation without electricity.

There is also a third dipping method that uses a pump to send grape juice to the top of the tank and spray it down to cyclically wash the grape skins and grape seeds in the stainless steel tank, but this was achieved after the Douro Valley had electricity support. .

Before entering the fermentation tank to start the fermentation, the grape mash needs to be added with appropriate sulfur dioxide.

Many winemakers tend to use tartaric acid to adjust the acidity of the grape mash at this stage to bring the pH to 3.6-3.7.

In the process of stepping on the skin, when the temperature reaches about 20 degrees Celsius, the yeast entering Lagar from the air becomes active and starts the process of alcohol fermentation.

Depending on the sugar content of the wine to be made, the fermentation time ranges from 1.5 days to 3 days.

When the fermentation reaches a certain level and the remaining sugar in the grape mash drops to the required sugar content, add brandy with an alcohol content of 77% to the wine to stop the fermentation. Note that the ratio of brandy to grape juice is 1:4, and strengthen After the Port wine has an alcohol content of 16%-22%.

After being strengthened, the wine is poured out of the wine outlet of the fermentation tank to remove the skin residue.

Then it is matured and the fortified wine is stored in stainless steel tanks.

The winemaker examines and analyzes the physical and chemical indicators of the wine, and decides what type of Port wine it is suitable for through tasting. When the next spring comes, it will be transported to the Villanova Gaia wine cellar for maturation, which is located in Doro The lower reaches of the river are warm and humid.

Wait until the appropriate time to evaluate and grade Port wine, UU read www.uukānshu. com will then start from maturation, and will adopt different oak barrel maturation and in-bottle maturation processes depending on the porter required to be produced.

This is the whole process of brewing~"

Yang Cheng said admiringly, "You actually understand everything, amazing~"

"You also have a winery? You must also understand the vinification process of Bordeaux, it makes no difference."

"No~Port is more complicated~"

"Well, I admit it~"

After teasing a few words, Pinto pointed to a few bottles of wine on the table. "There are as many types of Port wine as the shadow of the tie in the men's store, but from the color, it can be divided into four categories: Ruby Porter, Brown Porter, White Porter, Pink Porter.

White Porter and Pink Porter are relatively rare, while Ruby and Tawny Porter are the main force in Port, with many family members.

For example, the rubies in this bottle of Port usually refer to those Port wines with deep ruby ​​red, rich fruit aroma and youthful vitality. "

After speaking, I poured a little bit out for Yang Cheng and Liu Junyu to taste.

Sure enough, looking at the moonlight and admiring the fascinating ruby ​​color, the direct and fresh red fruit aroma is tangy. After the entrance, the medium structure and body, and very little tannins, people can immediately experience this The youthful and energetic style is inseparable from the brewing method.

Pinto also took a sip and squinted his eyes contentedly. "Ruby Port is usually made from a mixture of wines of different vintages. It is aged in large oak barrels or stainless steel tanks for two to three years, after which it is still very young. Time for filling.

In order to avoid excessive exposure to oxygen, the operation of changing barrels will not be carried out, so when buying a bottle of ruby ​​port, it is normal to find some scum in it. "