Getting ready to make a port

[Tom_S]

I'm getting ready to make my first ever port. I've got a gallon of red Concord juice, and I was wondering what yeast makes a good port wine? I was thinking of using either Montrachet (which I really like) or possibly Pasteur Red. The PR tends to foam up a lot but is great for full-bodied wine.

Also, which is a great brandy to mix in with the wine? I know what wine, whiskey, rum, or beer I like but I'm not very knowledgeable about brandy.

 

[Deezil]

E&J VSOP is a good brandy for ports

Never made concord though, so I'm not sure what yeast is best

 

[Thig]

From the charts I have read the Montrachet peaks at about 13%. The Pasteur Red is supposed to be good up to about 16% so depending on how much Brandy you want to add I would probably go with the PR. It will get you to a higher abv and require less Brandy. I have used the E&J VSOP before with good results.
The Premier Curvee might be even better, it will go all the way to 18%.

 

[Tom_S]

My plan is to make a gallon of wine, minus 750 mL, then add a 750 mL bottle of brandy at the right time to boost the alcohol and stop fermentation. It's my understanding that a fifth of 80 proof brandy will boost the ABV of a gallon of wine up to where it needs to be for a good port. I'd just make the whole gallon but I'm going to have a fifth left over after adding the fifth of brandy, and don't really want to waste anything.

 

[sour_grapes]

Here is a previous post where I have made an excel spreadsheet to assist timing the fortification process.

Well, I put this into an Excel sheet, which you are welcome to (if I can figure out how to attach it). There are two sheets: one you input the sugar in g/l, the other you input the SG of the must instead. In both sheets, you input parameters in the yellow boxes, and the answers come out in the blue boxes.

 

[Tom_S]

I've been thinking of starting my wine using Montrachet, mainly because I love the flavor of it, fermenting out to about 12-13% where Montrachet maxes out at, then adding more sugar and fermenting up to ~18% with EC-1118. That way I'll get the Montrachet flavor and the higher alcohol content needed before adding the brandy. I need to use up some of my yeast, anyway.

 

[Tom_S]

At what SG level should I add the brandy? I think I read 1.030, and I'm aiming for sweetness so I'm guessing that's the level I should shoot for, but prefer to ask the "professionals."

*edit* I've found online where sweet wines typically have an SG of about 1.010 or above is considered sweet, so I might shoot for that.

 

[ColemanM]

Hope I'm not late to the party Tom but I think you should aim for 1.02 just in case the yeast doesn't die right away. Just a thought.


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[Tom_S]

Sounds good, plus if the yeast do die out then it will be a tad sweeter. Going to go buy a bottle of brandy tonight and will probably start the port this weekend.

 

[Tom_S]

I started fermenting the juice last night. Put the juice into my 2 gallon bucket along with about 1 2/3 cups of sugar to get the SG up to 1.090. Added the Montrachet and it's fermenting nicely. Once it ferments out dry I'll add a bit more sugar and allow the Montrachet to ferment out to its max of 13%, then add a bit more sugar and EC-1118 to get the alcohol level up to about 17% or so, then add the fifth of brandy once the SG gets down to 1.020. Then rack to a 1 gallon jug and age for 6 months to a year before bottling.

Not sure what I'm going to do with the extra 750 mL but might put it in a wine bottle to age short-term and drink as the main gallon ages.

 

[the_rayway]

Hey Tom,
the kit ports I've done all end up around the 1.030-1.045 range. The sweetness needs to be increased somewhat to counter the high alcohol content.

Just my $.02 Looking forward to hearing how this goes.

 

[Geronimo]

I must be the only one that doesn't like mine so sweet. I gauge everything from the beginning on fermenting to dry, or 0.994. For me that means a OG of not more than 1.120. I only add enough sugar to get it there, and nothing more. I also add nutrient and energizer at the beginning, and more energizer at about 1.030.

I let it sit in primary for a few weeks (3 weeks typically). Then I rack to secondary and clarify. Finally after 2-3 months, I rack to the bottling bucket, fortify with brandy (or rum) and add the f-pack. This brings the FG to about 1.010. I don't know if I could drink it above 1.020.

 

[Thig]

1.010 is actually rather sweet, I guess for a port though it is a little on the low side.

 

[Geronimo]

It's a matter of taste. I had a batch of chocolate raspberry that was 1.020 and it was all the rave by everyone that tasted it.

 

[Tom_S]

Maybe I'll split the difference and shoot for 1.015. I don't know that I'll be able to catch it just at the right time anyway but i sure hope to.

 

[vacuumpumpman]

Maybe I'll split the difference and shoot for 1.015. I don't know that I'll be able to catch it just at the right time anyway but i sure hope to.

Yes that is always a problem !
I can remember waking up every 2 hours to hopefully hit the window of opportunity and sometimes still miss out

 

[Geronimo]

Maybe I'll split the difference and shoot for 1.015. I don't know that I'll be able to catch it just at the right time anyway but i sure hope to.

The thing is, you add an F-Pack before bottling and the FG goes up ~20 points. You actually want to hit 1.000 or even a little lower. The real trick is to get the OG at 1.120 (as close as possible) and coax the yeast to ferment it all the way down. You don't have to catch anything... the yeast will stop when they get drunk

 

[Tom_S]

F-pack? I'm doing this from scratch and not using a kit. I'd rather stop fermentation at the right SG and not have to worry about backsweetening, but I suppose if I miss the mark I'll have to. If I get the fermentation to stop anywhere near 17% or 18% I think I'll be doing good.

Right now the Montrachet is fermenting away happily, so stage 1 is well underway.

 

[vacuumpumpman]

F-pack? I'm doing this from scratch and not using a kit. I'd rather stop fermentation at the right SG and not have to worry about backsweetening, but I suppose if I miss the mark I'll have to. If I get the fermentation to stop anywhere near 17% or 18% I think I'll be doing good.

Right now the Montrachet is fermenting away happily, so stage 1 is well underway.

Question - How are you planning to get those high of %

Are you fortifying to get those #

 

[Tom_S]

I'm starting out with Montrachet to give the wine some good flavor, and plan to ferment that yeast out to around 13% at the top if its tolerance. Before I pitched the Montrachet, I put in enough sugar for 12% potential alcohol, and will add a bit more sugar and yeast nutrient when it gets down close to 1.000. Once the yeast max out around 13%, then I'll check SG again and add more sugar to get around 17% which should be good enough, more nutrient and then pitch EC-1118. And then when it's doing its thing and ferments down to about 1.015 I'll pour in the brandy to fortify, stop fermentation, and preserve its sweetness.