The Beer Brewer

This post conlcudes our article on Port & Sherry and we’ll be moving on to Lambic Beers shortly … stay tuned at The Beer Brewer!

Australia produces port style wines, although the term port may not be applied to wines destined for the international market.

The grape varieties and production methods utilized significantly differ from those described above, although one producer (Hardys) uses Portuguese methods as outlined above. Shiraz or Grenache grapes are used, with baking or thermovinification processes used to produce the wine.

Baking techniques are very similar to those described in the Sherry section of this paper, and produce a similar wine, displaying caramelized (oxidized) characteristics.

Thermovinification involves exposing grape varieties to heat sources, typically steam or boiling water, to extract pigments. Fortification may occur after fermenting the wine dry (as occurs with Sherry); sweetness is added with concentrates. As the processes for the production of port and Sherry style wines are similar, there may be little difference between the two types of wine. Minor differences may be attributable to the characteristics of the grape variety utilized.