Port is often a style of wine which is overlooked, probably because of a lack of knowledge - what it is, how it is made and the different styles of port available. A common perception is that it is ‘too sweet’, or perhaps ‘too ‘strong’ - ie it has too much alcohol, or ‘isn’t it just for special occasions to have after dinner with cheese’? The image encouraged by popular English TV period dramas, of aristocratic gentlemen retiring after dinner for port and cigars, is a common one, however we would encourage you to reconsider Port and give it a try!

What is Port wine?

Port is a sweet, fortified wine, which has to be made in Portugal in order to be called Port. It is essentially, like Champagne, a blended wine of different types of indigenous Portuguese grapes. 

Where is Port made?

Port is made in Portugal’s Douro Valley wine region, in the North of the country. The grapes are grown in the Douro Valley and the big shipping companies, for example Croft, Warre, Cockburn, Graham’s and Taylor then transport the Port wine to Porto - or more exactly Vila Nova de Gaia on the other side of the river, on the Atlantic coast, to age and then ship around the world. 

Cheaper imitations are available but the quality is nothing like the true Port from Portugal.

What is the history of Port wine?

You can’t escape noticing that most of the major Port brands are British - and there's a good reason for this! The British love affair with Portugal and Port wines goes back centuries. Port was first introduced into Britain as a result of a treaty between England and Portugal, in 1703. Anglo-French relations were hostile at the time and British merchants, encouraged by the lower rate of duty on Portuguese wines, were searching for an alternative to French Claret. This laid the foundations for an entirely new style of wine. In order for the wines of the Douro Valley in northern Portugal to survive the long sea journey to London and Bristol, a bucketful or two of brandy was added for good measure! The British found they liked the taste of this and a new style of wine was born - Port wine!

The traditional way of transporting the Port down the River Douro to Porto and Nova de Gaia was in boats called ‘Rabelos’. These have now been replaced by stainless steel tanks and road transport.

How is Port wine different from regular wine?

Port is different from regular, still wines in that the fermentation process is halted when just 50% of the natural sugar has converted into alcohol, through the addition of a distilled wine-brandy. This makes it a ‘fortified’ wine. The brandy spirit acts as a natural preservative and as such, Port wines have a longer shelf life once they are opened, compared to regular wines.

How much alcohol is in Port wine?

By stopping the natural fermentation process and adding the alcohol, the remaining yeast in the wine is killed off and natural residual sugar is left in the juice.So not only is Port wine sweeter, it has a higher alcohol content - typically 18-22%

Which grape varieties are used to make Port?

Only Portugal’s local, indigenous grapes can be used to make Port wine and more than 50 individual varieties are permitted, however the main red grape varieties include:  Tinta Barroca, Tinta Roriz, Tinto Cão, Touriga Franca and Touriga Nacional. 

Port wine is a blend of different grapes, each varietal bringing different flavours and aromas.

In terms of the white port, common grape varieties include Rabigato, Viosinho, Gouveio, Folgazão and Malvasia.

What does Port wine taste of?

It depends on the style of Port wine - see below - however common flavours include dark red fruits - e.g. blackberry, raspberry, plum and cassis, as well as caramel, chocolate and cinnamon flavours.

How is Port wine made?

The grapes are harvested, mainly by hand, in the Douro vineyards, and then they are crushed in the winery, quite often in the ‘traditional manner’. The grapes are loaded into huge granite troughs called ‘lagars’ and then they are ‘stomped’ by human feet! A surprising number of Douro Quintas still practice this traditional method of pressing the red grapes for their Port wines, as they believe it produces a greater concentration of flavour and colour. However many have turned towards more modern machine methods, in a bid to control rising costs and a lack of enough people to help out!

The grapes are typically ‘stomped’ by the estate/farm workers for about 3 hours in the evening, when it is cooler and then left to macerate for approximately 12 hours. This typically lasts for 3 days and the brandy is added here to stop the natural fermentation.

The Port is then either transferred to wooden barrels or cement/stainless steel tanks in the Quinta - or is transported in stainless steel tanks by the Port shippers to the famous port lodges in Vila Nova de Gaia, where it is pumped into the wooden barrels to age there.

Read about the port lodges in Nova de Gaia (and visiting them) in our article about Porto here.

Also see here for more information about the Douro Valley wine region and our wine and travel blog about visiting the Douro Valley.

What are the different types of Port wine?

A wide variety of styles of Port have evolved to cater for different tastes, occasions and budgets. After the fermentation is halted and the brandy added, what happens next to the fortified wine and how it is aged, is key, in determining the eventual style.

There are a lot of fairly ‘average’ Ports, but there are also some absolutely superb ones, which are highly valued and collectable. 

Here’s a summary of the different styles and what makes them different from each other.

Ruby (Red) Port: 

This is what is typically referred to as ‘Port’- a deep, bright, ‘ruby’ red wine, with lots of body and strong, overripe red/dark fruit flavours. 

The basic Ruby Port is a blended Port wine which has aged for 2-3 years in either large wooden casks or cement/stainless steel tanks post-fermentation. These Ports, which are the least expensive style and the most widely produced, are not aged in the bottle and are made to be consumed young. They can be fairly ‘fiery’ and don't have excessive tannins. 

Reserve/Reserva Ruby Ports

You may see this term on the label - this denotes a better quality Port which has been matured for up to 5 years before bottling.

LBV/Late bottled vintage Port

LBV is a term which signifies a Ruby Port from a single vintage, which has aged in the cask for a minimum of 4-6 years. It therefore matures more quickly, and is ready to drink soon after bottling. It is therefore sometimes called the ‘modern man’s vintage port’.

Vintage Port

This is the more serious stuff - and therefore a lot more expensive! Vintage Ports are made in small quantities and only represent about 1% of the Douro’s Port production. You will recognise them simply by the shipper’s name and the year, e.g. Graham's 2003.

Essentially, vintage Port is made from grapes from a single, exceptionally good vintage - and these are only generally declared about every 3 years. So far in this century, vintages have been declared in 2000, 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2017. 

The vintage wines are aged for 2-3 years in the wooden barrel and then require significant  further ageing in the bottle to be at their best - to get the optimum richness, fragrance and flavours they need to age for a further 20-40 years! During this time these will develop a lot of sediment - known as ‘crust’ - so they definitely need to be decanted before serving.

Single Quinta Vintage Port

Made in the same way as Vintage Port, but with two differences. Firstly, it is made from a single estate/Quinta, typically owned by a shipper. Secondly, it is usually produced in years when a vintage declaration has not been made, but the grapes are good enough to make an earlier-maturing wine, coming as they do from the best vineyards. 

It doesn’t need to be aged as long - maybe 10 years or so - but can still be good after 20+ years. Essentially a Single Quinta vintage Port is excellent quality, not as great as a Vintage Port, but it will be cheaper, therefore often representing excellent value.

Crusted Vintage Port

A blend of different years/vintages, bottled early in a specified year, which can be consumed straight away. A special style of wine, which will also need decanting. 

What is a Tawny Port?

A Tawny Port is much lighter in colour than a red Ruby Port, taking on a brownish or amber hue with age. It has a nuttier, caramel flavour and more delicate taste which responds well to being served chilled. What creates this difference in colour and flavour is the fact that the Port has been aged in wooden barrels - typically smaller than the barrels used to age Ruby Port. The aged wooden barrels allow oxygen to get into the wine, creating an oxidation process which creates the brownish colour and nutty flavours. The smaller the barrel and the longer the ageing process, the more this process impacts the wine.

Aged Tawny Ports

The best aged Tawnies, usually labeled 10, 20, 30 and 40 years can cost as much as a Vintage Port, but many people prefer the mellow oak gentleness of a Tawny compared  to the fullness of a Vintage Port. 

Colheita Port

Colheita is the Portuguese word for "harvest". This is a Tawny Port made from a blend of Tawnies from a single vintage, with the year of the harvest on the label. By law, a Colheita Port must remain in cask for 7 years prior to bottling. It does not require decanting. 

White Port 

A lighter style of Port, often less sweet, with more citrus flavours. A Reserve style is made, which has aged for 7 years. 

Rosé Port 

A new style of Port wine made like a rosé wine with flavors of strawberry, violets and caramel.

How to serve Port

Port is mostly served to accompany a cheese or dessert course. However all styles of Port can work as an aperitif, especially Tawny, white and rosé.

Port serving temperature 

In general Ruby Port should be served just below room temperature, around 16 °C. Tawny Port should be more chilled - so about 10-14°C.

For white and rosé, these are great as a long drink with tonic or soda water, or as an aperitif, so cold with ice works well!

What size glass should Port be served in?

Due to the higher intensity and the higher levels of alcohol, Port should be served in a smaller glass than a typical wine glass.

Should I decant Port?

As explained above, the Vintage Ports should be decanted before serving.

What to eat with Port wine

As with regular wines, it depends what you are eating or which style of Port you wish to pair food with! Port is not just about cheese - however let’s start with that:

Cheese and Port:

Port does pair well with cheese. Our recommendation is to pair Ruby Port with most cheeses but for blue cheeses also try a Tawny Port, where the nutty flavours work really well.

Chocolate:

Pair (dark) chocolate and chocolate desserts with a Vintage/Single Quinta Vintage Port where the strong flavours of both really complement each other.

Desserts:

Tawny Ports pair really well with some desserts, especially caramel/nutty desserts, almond dishes, crème brûlée

Port also pairs well with salted and smoked nuts (Tawny especially), and sweet-smoky meats .

Can you cook with Port wine?

Yes! Port reduces really well to produce a delicious sauce for savoury dishes, similar to a balsamic glaze. We often turn to a favourite Mary Berry recipe - ‘Cottage pie with a twist’, which uses Port wine in the sauce and can highly recommend it!

Port is also often used in rich chocolate cake/dessert recipes.

How long does Port last?

A Tawny Port will last for a couple of months in the fridge once opened, whereas a Ruby Port will last about 2 weeks in the fridge. Using a vacuum preserver can help by removing the oxygen.

Port wine brands - what is the ‘best’ Port wine?

Wow this is a hard question because it’s down to personal style and each brand or ‘shipper’ has its own style. By way of example, let’s look at the brands owned by the Symington Group.

Symington owns 5 famous brands and they each have their own style - as described by our guide on a recent tour of the Graham’s port lodge in Vila Nova de Gaia - determined by their relative sweetness/dryness:

• Dows - dry, smokey, heavier

• Cockburn - very approachable, well-rounded

• Warre - more delicate/fruity

• Graham’s - a sweeter style

• Quinta do Vesúvio - fresh and powerful

So I think the message is, in conclusion, you need to find a style and brand to suit your personal tastes and to also pair with specific foods.

Conclusion

Hopefully, through reading this article, you will appreciate Port that bit more and will be tempted to try different styles. Hopefully you will have a greater understanding and respect for the ageing process, which defines the truly great Vintage and aged Tawny Ports and you will know what to look out for when purchasing.

Above all, ENJOY!  Port wines are made with tradition, love, respect and authenticity and are made to be enjoyed and savoured!