Wine Club Insider back on a snowy December 27th, and I’m trying a different font here today… what do you think?

As I mentioned, port wine is one of my favorite vices… We actually have 93 different ports on our wine list, ranging from aged vintages, to tawny’s, Cloheitas, LBVs (Late Bottled Vintages), white ports and many more.

There’s little that finishes off a great meal than a glass of port, and I try to do my best to support the port industry, if you know what I mean…

Here’s a bit about how port is made:

For starters, all true port (often called Porto, to distinguish it from the many other port-style wines around the world) comes from a relatively small area in Portugal, centered around the Duoro river and the town of Oporto.

Using several different black grape varieties, the most important of which is Touriga Nacional, the wine is racked into barrels containing brandy about half way through fermentation, which kills the yeast. Besides leaving the wine sweet, this also fortifies the wine to 20% alcohol.

There are several grades of port, starting at the rare and expensive Vintage Port, which is aged in the barrel for only two years, and then placed in the traditional opaque black bottles for as many as 5 or 6 decades, or even longer. Vintage port is only produced in exceptional years, so is quite rare. The sugars, tannins and high alcohol will preserve it almost indefinitely… at least as long as you will have the patience for!

Vintage port is always ruby, and contains a rich sediment which should be strained or decanted away before serving. It is interesting to note that several of the top wines from the last century were ports. Great ports can run between $60 and $600 per bottle or more, depending on the vintage and the age. Smith Woodhouse, Grahmas, Taylor Fladgate, Churchills, Cockburns, Delaforce, Dows, Feist, Fonseca and Warres are just a few of the great port houses.

Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) are aged longer in wood, throwing much of their sediment. They are much more affordable, usually ranging in the $18 – 30 range, and are great bargains.

Tawny port is port aged in barrels for a long time (from 10 to 50 years!) and then bottled just prior to release. It turns a light tawny or caramel brown, and are delightful. They range from $24 – 150/bottle. Tawny port goes great with chocolate!

Ruby port is a blend of vintages aged for 2 – 3 years, and can be a real bargain.

Many other countries make port-style wines, using the traditional port grapes or even other varietals such as zinfandel, cabernet, petite syrah and more. Australia makes several award winning tawny ports. Ports can also be mixed with other flavors such as Vanilla and chocolate. Deco and Knipprath cellars (Spokane) make excellent chocolate ports. I would be hard pressed to name something better than a glass of good port and a small wedge of English Stilton cheese after dinner, or even FOR dinner!

Okay… tomorrow, I’m going to tell you about a very unique port wine club that I think you’ll enjoy!

Cheers,

Wine Club Insider