I will always remember my introduction to Port wine.

I had thrown my first “Warm Up The Winter” party with my house mates at our big old Craftsman house on the bluff above downtown Santa Cruz. We were celebrating that we got our hot tub fixed and I made my first batch of porter for the occasion. 

We’d ask people to bring for a potluck their favorite food or drink to “warm up the winter.” One of my grad school friends was carrying what looked like a bottle of wine — which it was, but not what I expected: this was Port wine, she explained, and it was fortified so higher in alcohol — and it was sweet so I needed to prepare myself, and once I was ready, she would share it with me.

She made it clear that this wasn’t some drink that a drunk might have in a paper sack: this was a really special beverage, a favorite treat, and she wasn’t going to waste it on someone who wouldn’t be willing to taste it properly and appreciate it.

Well, I was really enamored with my porter, but how could I pass this tempting offer up? So I got a new, clean glass, and we took off our clothes and jumped into the hot tub.

Because really the best way to enjoy Port is naked in a hot tub on a drizzly cold night with a bunch of friends!

And, true story this, not soon after, the cops came! I had to jump out of the tub, get my dress back on, and go talk to them!

That was quite an introduction to Port. And I’ve loved it ever since, but I can’t tell you what that first one was, police at the door while practically naked and dripping wet and all. Me that is — not the police or the port…

So what exactly is Port?

Basically, Port is a wine made from grapes grown in the Douro region of northern Portugal that has had fermentation arrested by the addition of a distilled spirit which typically leaves behind sugars and so it is generally sweet and fruity on the palate.  Being fortified also allowed the wine to be shipped from Portugal to England starting in 1678; when England was at war with France a few years later, and French wine became less attainable, the sweet and smooth Port became very popular with the English. This also helps explain why so many Ports have English names: they were that involved with the trade.

By 1756, the Douro became the third official appellation, with Italy’s Chianti first in 1716 and Hungary’s Tokaj second in 1730.

While Portugal has over 2000 indigenous varieties of grapes, and over 100 varieties of grapes are grown in the Douro that can be used to make red port, most Ports include one or more of these five:

• Tinta Barroca,
• Tinto Cão,
• Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo),
• Touriga Francesa, and
• Touriga Nacional 

with the last one the most well-known and desired but also the most difficult to grow and only giving a small yield.

White ports use white grapes:

• Donzelinho Branco,
• Esgana-Cão, Folgasão,
• Gouveio,
• Malvasia Fina,
• Rabigato and
• Viosinho.

Port comes in all three colors — red, white, and rose — and several styles: ruby, tawny, late bottled vintage, and vintage:

• Ruby: Brightest and fruitiest, after fermentation the wine is aged in cement or steel and blended with other vintages to match he house style. Most affordable and easiest to attain.
• Tawny: Aged in barrels over a number of years, the wine oxidizes and turns from red to “tawny” with the older vintages more brown than red.
• Vintage: Based on growing conditions, some years are designated as vintages. Grapes may be aged in oak or steel for at least 2.5 years and then they are bottled and cellared for 10 or more years. Reports from a 1990 tasting of an 1815 Port indicate it shows well.
• Late Bottled Vintage: Sometimes they decided later to call a Port a Vintage Port — but these are more accessible for drinking earlier.

If you’re new to port, you should know that like any wine, you store it in a cool, dark but not cold place on its side to keep the cork damp to make it last longer. Exposing the wine to light and heat will cause it to deteriorate. Serve it in a small Bordeaux shaped glass at cellar temperatures around 60 degrees. In the summer, I like putting a few chips of ice in it in the evening. Once it’s open, Port will last longer than wine, but it will be best if enjoyed within a few weeks or months, and be sure to keep it in a cool, dark place with a stable temperature.

This summer and fall, I was sent several pitches for Port, including one at Halloween for Port with candy. (JUST SAY NO to Halloween candy and wine pairing ideas! But if you HAVE TO have wine with your Halloween candy, sure, Port, would be what I would recommend. And Port would be a great pairing for hanging out on a cold night opening and closing the door a bunch of times!)

So I suggested we do a port dinner: using port in various preparations AND drinking Port along with the meal.

And that’s what we did — prepared dinner with port and then paired them. Here are our results just in time to warm up your winter!

PORTS

• Taylor Fladgate Chip Dry White Port SRP $20
• Cockburn’s Special Reserve Port  SRP $18
  
• Dow 2012 Late Bottled Vintage Port SRP $24
  
• Croft 430^th Anniversary Reserve Ruby SRP $24.99
• Graham’s 10 Year Tawny Port SRP $36
  
• Dow’s 10 Year Tawny Port SRP $36
  
• Graham’s 20 Year Tawny Port SRP $50

 

MENU

• Aperitif:
  White Port Tonic
  using Taylor Fladgate Chip Dry White Port with poached pear
• Appetizers:
  Stilton Walnut Balls
  Pear Gorgonzola Bruschetta
  using Dow 2012 Late Bottled Vintage Port
• Salad:
  Rhubarb and Goat Cheese Salad
  with a Croft 430^th Anniversary Reserve Ruby reduction sauce
• Main:
  Roasted Brussel Sprouts
  with Cockburn’s Special Reserve Port reduction sauce
  Pork Wellington with Cherry Port Reduction
  using Graham’s 10 Year Tawny Port
• Dessert:
  Eaton’s Mess: Strawberries and Raspberries macerated with a touch of sugar
  using Taylor Fladgate Chip Dry White Port 

Taylor Fladgate Chip Dry White Port 19.7% ABV; $19.99 SRP
sample sent for review consideration

While Taylor Fladgate pioneered dry white apéritif Port in 1934 and Chip Dry has built a devoted following throughout the world, I’d never hear of it because it has only recently become available in the United States. After sampling it with food, in food, and as an apéritif, I think it will become quite popular and you should check it out!

“Chip Dry” is made from selected dry white ports produced from white grapes grown in the eastern area of the Douro Valley in Portugal and that is fermented longer so it is less sweet.

No Chips seem to be involved but I can assure you the wine is “dry” compared to a traditional red port — even if it is still a port. Perhaps it is called “Chip” because it is so crisp.

Traditionally served chilled as an apéritif with ice or two parts tonic with fresh mint or lemon with salty foods like olives or almonds, we found it a refreshing and lower alcohol alternative to gin with or without the tonic water.

Color: Golden, buttercup

Nose: Minerals, herbaceous

Palate: Nice and light for a port

Pairing: Went great with the Humboldt fog cheese, great with fresh fruits. Great with our rhubarb salad, the tart rhubarb loved the lemon citrus notes.

With our dessert, Sue had to go back to the white port for the perfect pairing. the light citrus sweetness of the port went so wonderfully with the fruit cream and meringues.

 

Cockburn’s Special Reserve Port  SRP $18
sample for review consideration

A blend of younger ports aged five years in oak, it’s bright and fruity but still smooth, rich, and mellow.

Color: Very ruby, super pretty

Nose: Cherry and alcohol

Palate: Bright fruit, rich, you don’t taste the alcohol as much as you can smell it. Somewhat simple.

Great for cooking or cocktails because of the intense flavor and character.

Pairing: Awesome with the poached pear and gorgonzola brochettes, liked the Stilton, pâté is out of this world, fantastic with the espresso coated Toscano cheese– we were surprised and impressed by how well this port went with food.

Croft 430^th Anniversary Reserve Ruby 20% ABV; $24.99 SRP
sample for review consideration

Founded in 1588 and celebrating its 430^th Anniversary this year, Croft Port is the oldest Port house in the world. The label displays a reproduction of the work “Sinking of the Spanish Armada in 1588” by the Dutch artist Jan Luyken, which is part of the collection of the Rijks museum in Amsterdam. This would make a great holiday gift or hostess present because of the presentation and the quality.

Color: Ruby with a tinge of purple, dense

Nose: Caramel, caramel apple, candied apple, alcohol.

Palate: Bright fruit, sweet up front, caramel apple on the back side.

Pairing: Great with the Stilton cheese balls, great with the bruschetta, not fantastic with the Humboldt fog, really brings out the espresso crust in the Toscano.

 

Dow’s 2012 Late Bottled Vintage Port SRP $24
sample for review consideration

Late Bottled Vintage Port is a single vintage Ruby Port that may spend up to six years in the barrel before being bottled and released. Dow’s produces Late Bottled Vintage Port from only the best years. The 2012 LBV comes from the Quinta do Bomfim and Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira vineyards. A very dry year with cooler than average summer temperatures offset effects of drought and provided a gradual and balanced ripening of the grapes.

I’ve bought this before a few times and I like it in the summertime with a few ice cubes. It’s great for camping and on ski trips. I think it offers a lot for the price.

Color: Garnet

Nose: Smells like brandied cherries and black currant jam

Palate: Nice bright fruit, cherry and black currant, balances out the sweetness.

Pairing: Great with our poached pear bruschetta, but a bit too sweet for the pâté. It  likes the smoked gouda, great late night snack – have a smoked gouda grilled cheese sandwich with this wine.

Graham’s 10 Year Tawny Port SRP $36
sample for review consideration

Aged in seasoned oak casks in Graham‘s historic lodge in Oporto, two miles from the cool Atlantic Ocean where the moist ocean air imparts a freshness and vibrancy resulting in a Port that’s balanced with just enough acidity.

Color:  Cherry cola without the bubbles

Nose: Smells like tawny port…

Palate: Sweet caramel and candied apple, amber, sandalwood, musk.

Pairing: Great with the pork Wellington, brussels sprouts, and potatoes. I especially liked it with the brussels sprouts, Sue liked the herbs in the Wellington with this wine and the cherries as well. Sue made a rice pudding the night before with some left over rice and brought it over because she thought it would go great with the port– and she was right on the mark. We poured a bit of the 10 year port over the top and it was just perfect. The spice in the pudding set off the richness of the wine.

Dow’s 10 Year Tawny Port SRP $36
sample for review consideration

Dow’s is known for its characteristically drier house style.

Color: flat Dr. Pepper

Nose: Brandied cherries, caramel.

Palate: While not dry, it does have a drier finish over the Grahams.

Pairing:  So good with the Stilton balls! We felt that the Graham’s was better with the brussels sprouts, good with the potatoes; this wine wants a fair bit of salt to set it off so think about salted caramel with nuts.

Graham’s 20 year Tawny
I was sent a sample last winter which I wrote about here; I purchased this bottle at the Ventura Wine Co.