When I make my fortified elderberry every 3 years or so I use the High
alcohol tolerant yeast and the coaxing method. By adding sugar in small
amounts encourage the yeast to ferment the must out to at least 16% abv
usually a bit higher than that. I then add the highest abv clear spirit I
can find ( I have used spirit with 85%abv once) to adjust the abv up to 20%
( Pearson Square). It is important to use a high alcohol spirit because you
want to add a little as possible to your well balance wine.
I then adjust sweetness by adding sugar ( it won't ferment due to 20% abv)
and then bulk age it forever! I am down to my last 12 bottles of my 1996
Fortified elderberry which has a "tawny Port" appearance but a taste
character all of its own. (There are only 3 bottles of my 1991 vintage left
for my grandsons 18th birthday in 12 years time)

--
Trevor A Panther
In South Yorkshire, England
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"Mike R" > wrote in message
om...
> I am toying with the idea making some port but I have my usual points
> of
> confusion.
>
> 1. What type of reds make good ports? I was going to draw off a
> gallon of a new batch of Merlot. Does it make a difference?
>
> 2. The Portugese method seems to be to ferment for 3-4 days then hit
> it with 77 percent abv brandy. Other instructions say to use high
> alcohol tolerant yeast, and coax the sugar level up as well as the
> alcohol content. If the desired abv is ~20 percent, why can't one
> simply chaptalize a finished red (13 percent) up to the desired RS
> level and then hit it with some 190 proof grain alcohol to raise it to
> 20 percent abv? There must be something else going on in the wine that
> I am missing. What would be the effect if I do as described above?
>
> 3. Once done (sugar and additional alcohol), should oak be added for
> extended aging?