Port is a sweet, fortified wine made from the Touiga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Cão and Touriga Francesa grapes. Its name is derived for the city of Oporto which was the original center of the Port Wine Trade. They are typically heavier, richer, and sweeter and contain a higher level of alcohol than traditional still wines. Commonly served after meals as a dessert wine, White and Tawny Ports can be served as an aperitif.
The production of Port is similar to traditional wines with a few differences. Once the fermented must (juice and skins) reaches an alcohol level around 6%, the process is stopped by the addition of a clear, distilled wine brandy. This process allows the wine to retain its sweetness while raising the alcohol level to around 20%. The wine is transferred to wooden casks and aged for the length of time required to produce the specific type of Port it will become.
The most common Ports are Vintage, Late Bottled Vintage, Colheita, Tawny and Ruby. Of these, Vintage Ports will complete their aging process in the bottle, while the other ports will complete their aging process in casks prior to bottling.
Declared only during the greatest of vintages, Vintage Ports are bottled between the 2nd and 3rd year of cask aging and are sealed with a long cork. These are meant to age in the bottle and will age for 15 to 30 years or longer if properly stored. Vintage Ports are unfiltered and will create sediment in the bottle, so it is recommended to stand the bottle upright for an hour and decant prior to serving. This is a red port with sweet flavors of ripe fruit, plum, cherry, nutmeg and pepper.
Late Bottled Vintage Ports are not produced from the greatest vintages, but from a single good vintage. They are aged in casks longer than Vintage Ports, which is why they are called “late bottled” and are ready to drink at release. Sealed with a “T” cork to designate it is ready to drink, this Port will also have sediment, so decanting is recommended.
Colheita Ports are vintage dated Ports aged in wood casks until they are fully mature and tawny in color, at least 7 years. Lighter in style and color than Vintage Ports, these Ports are bottled as they are ordered and stamped with the bottling date. They are meant to be consumed within two years of the bottling date and will have no sediment. Look for flavors of dried fruit, caramel, honey, hazelnut and butterscotch.
Tawny and Ruby Ports are also aged in oak. The age in oak determines whether the Port is Tawny or Ruby. Ruby Ports are a lovely medium purple hue while Tawny Ports have a caramel brown hue. These Ports will age 3 or more years in wood casks prior to bottling and are filtered and ready to drink upon release.
Tawny Ports with an age designation, 10, 20, 30 or 40 years old, are a blend of wood aged vintage Tawny Ports. These Ports contain juice that is the average age designated on the bottle. For Example, a 10 Year Tawny Port will contain juice that is an average of 10 years old. Some juice may be older, some juice younger, but will have a consistent character from year to year. These Ports are filtered and will show a bottling date on the bottle to indicate the length of development and time in the bottle.
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