Terra d'Oro Zinfandel Port spends its first few days in the cellar being treated very similar to the rest of our zins, but the finale of the fermentation is quite dramatic. The grapes are crushed, destemmed, and sent to stainless steel tanks to be inoculated and fermented. Billions of yeast dutifully convert sugar to alcoholfor energy all the while extracting ripe juicy fruit flavor as well as tannin and color from the grape solids…unaware of their impending doom. When the tank reaches a carefully chosen sugar level, we introduce hundreds of gallons of unagedgrape brandy. After fortification, the alcohol level is high enough to create an inhospitable environment for the billions of faithful yeast and they die. Despite the wines ingratitude, the yeast leave behind a wealth of residual sugar. The sweetness balances out the higher alcohol and leaves the port velvety smooth. The higher alcohol solution extracts even more flavor from the solids for a few more days and then is pressed and sent to a combination of French, American, and Hungarian oak. Using a traditional “solera” method of aging, the newest vintage is blended with high-quality brandy and several previous vintages to create this harmonious dessert wine.