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How to keep my port wine in a good shape?

J

jepe

New Member
Joined
Oct 20, 2008
Messages
847
I'm not a big drinker but I love Ports,I usually buy a good bottle every now and then for a special occasion.

I was gifted a bottle of Quinta Da Cavadinha Vintage Port 1996.
Never heard of it,but after I goggle it I find out its quiet good.

I have a wine cooler but it is full of cigar boxes ;)

Where should I keep it ?
If I'll decide to open it someday, will I have to finish it up on the same day or I can save it for another day?
 
Honestly, I keep my port like my wine. Room temp for now, and it rarely fluctuates in my house (constant 68-70 degrees).

As far as opening it, I have heard in the past it's good to finish it the same day, which is why I wouldn't break it out unless there were a few friends to share it with.
 
Port is just like any other wine and should be kept between 55-65 degrees with minimal fluctuations in temperature preferably someplace dark but at least out of direct sunlight.. If you can't keep it in those condition keep it as cool closet. Ideally it should be drank within the same sitting/evening; however, it should be good for 7-14 days after opening depending on how much is left in the bottle, if it was decanted, and what not.

And ignore Jon's advice, its like asking a cigarette smoker advice on a cigar. :laugh:
 
I'm not sure if they have them over there where you are, Jepe, but I've found that those lever type stoppers can help a bottle stay drinkable a little longer than just sticking the cork back in a little. I'm the only one in our house that drinks wine, so I use them every once in awhile. I use something similar to THIS.

I usually just go ahead and drink the bottle that night, but sometimes I've got other things to do. :laugh:
 
souldog said:
LilBastage said:
I usually just go ahead and drink the bottle that night, but sometimes I've got other things to do. :laugh:
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Like deep-conditioning your beard?
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Just for you, Jon, just for you.

I was trying to get the beard long enough to hide crullers in this year, but I had to trim it to a respectable length for the family Christmas picture. I'm back to October levels in beard growth right now. :(
 
Imo, you need to post a photo of your sweet beard. If I posted my Porn Stache' of Awesomeness, I say its only fair that you post the Beard of Glory. Embrace your true warrior.
 
souldog said:
Imo, you need to post a photo of your sweet beard. If I posted my Porn Stache' of Awesomeness, I say its only fair that you post the Beard of Glory. Embrace your true warrior.
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It's not so sweet right now. I'll think about it in February or so.
 
Needs to be stored at a constant cool temp. I'd use your wine fridge. Once you open it, if you recork and keep in your refrigerator it should keep it good for a bit longer. I don't let an opened bottle of Port sit around for longer than a week.
 
Also, see if you can find any information on that vintage. Although you can drink at any time, some get better, 10, 20 or more years later.
 
I keep my port in a barrel. Actually it is a port blend and it has been going for almost two years now. I just topped the barrel off with a little red wine, brandy, bourbon, and a bottle of Tawny Port.

Check out my blog. It has not been updated, but the info is good. Back Room Bourbon

Johnny
 
First of all, for any red wine or port, I would suggest a vacuum stopper, sort of like this....

41qNGRub3TL._AA260_.jpg


...instead of a plain stopper. You can get these almost anywhere.

Ports are a little different in that the higher alcohol and sugar content help to preserve them longer than a typical red wine might last. I've had them keep for several weeks (I was very surprised) but I wouldn't recommend it. One little taste will tell quickly if it is OK, but no worries about getting sick. It'll just get bitter.

The vacuum stoppers work because oxidation is only your friend for a short while (hence the need sometimes to let a wine 'breathe'). After that, it is definitely the enemy. A vacuum stopper removes much of the air, and thereby slows the rate of oxidation significantly. I've actually managed to keep some red wines a few days with the vacuum stopper where they wouldn't keep for more than a day without it.

The stoppers are cheap and well worth the money.

G-
 
Jepe, find a nice girl, get her drunk. Problem solved.

Doc.
 
Also, along with what sonuvabum said about oxidation . . . the older the bottle of wine, the quicker the oxidation will happen, which means the wine won't last as long once opened. Learned this lesson the hard way, at the cost of about 1/3 of a bottle of a really nice 10 year old Bordeaux.

Now we own a couple of the vacuum stoppers! They work great!
 
There was a TV show on a while ago that reviewed different methods for keeping wine, and which worked best. The review panel were the 2 hostesses, and 2 or 3 sommeliers. They opened 4 bottles of the same wine and the 4 methods tested were re-corking and keeping in the fridge, re-corking and keeping in the freezer, a vacuum stopper, and using a canned inert gas.

Basically, they said the two best were the vacuum stopper and the freezer method.
 
Wish I could help. But when I open a bottle of Port, I just drink it, problem solved......
 
Port is essentially red wine that was taken from the barrel early in the fermentation process so it has an incredible ability to age. You can find a nice Porto that is drinking nicely from the 60-70's if cellared properly. IMO, Porto is the best (and Pinot Noir) wine to enjoy with a cigar. Store it like your other wine in a cool setting 55-60 degrees, and you will have years of pleasure!
 
thecatch83 said:
Port is essentially red wine that was taken from the barrel early in the fermentation process so it has an incredible ability to age. You can find a nice Porto that is drinking nicely from the 60-70's if cellared properly. IMO, Porto is the best (and Pinot Noir) wine to enjoy with a cigar. Store it like your other wine in a cool setting 55-60 degrees, and you will have years of pleasure!
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I think you might be missing a step in there... port isn't just taken from the barrel early, it's fortified with brandy part way through the fermentation process. The increased alcohol content creates an environment that stops the yeast from consuming the sugar left in the wine, and it acts as a preservative so the wine won't go bad during the long sea voyages.

You are right though about some ports having incredible aging potential. Some brands have lists that indicate whether or not the different ports they produce are best kept for cellaring, or consuming immediately.
 
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