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PORTS.
No wine has any right to bo called " Port " unless it
fulfils the three conditions laid down by the Portu
guese Law of 1915, namely : i. A fortified wine.
2. Produced in the Douro region as demarcated by
law. 3. Exported over the Bar of Oporto.
In the preparation of Port, after the grapes are
picked and pressed the resulting grape juice is in a
state of fermentation, but this is only allowed to
continue to a limited extent, when it is checked
by the incorporation of Brandy distilled from wine
of the country. The result is wine of which such
Brandy has become an inherent ingredient.
During the spring following the vintage the newly
made wines are sent down the River Douro to
Oporto, where they are stored in warehouses or
lodges.
If of sufficient body, flavour and quality, the
wine is shipped to England as " Vintage " Port
about two years after the vintage, to be bottled
and laid down soon after arrival by the wine
merchant for consumption several years afterwards.
In years other than " Vintage " years the wine
remains stored in cask in the lodges at Oporto.
It develops much more rapidly in cask, gradually
loses colour, is refreshed from time to time with
wine kept in reserve for that purpose, and is finally
shipped as " Tawny " or " Ruby " Port from the
wood, as the case may be.