It is a blend of twelve different grape varieties. All the grapes were harvested together and left in tank for three days before adding yeast. Very enjoyable now, it does have the structure to age for several years, but will, in time, throw a deposit and need decanting. Our current bottling of white port is a blend of several vintages and grape varieties. We have set up a blending system similar to that used in a sherry solera.
Wine is removed for bottling from the barrel containing the oldest blend.
Wines are then successively blended into the partially full barrels, beginning with the next oldest, to fill each barrel. With this method, there is the minimum variation between the different bottlings, but there will be slight variations over time. The goal is to allow the wine to become a blend of many different vintages and to have some older wines to give the blend more character and depth of flavor. The principal varieties in the white port are Chardonnay, Semillon, Burger, Palomino, Sauvignon vert and with small bits of Trousseau gris, Sylvaner, Riesling and Chasselas. All but the Chardonnay are from our 70 to 100 year old estate blocks.