You can spend a lifetime exploring the nuance and history of the types Port wine. But all it takes to get started is 10 minutes of reading. Start here. What is Port Wine? We asked Charles for his tips on choosing the best bottle of port, and explain what we found when we tested supermarket ports. Rather like the seven ages of man, vintage Port enjoys a short, fragrant bloom of youth before it shuts down and goes through 10 to 20 years of surly adolescence. Then it slowly emerges as an adult gaining in gravitas until it reaches its peak, often between 20 and 40 years of age. A blend of premium-quality wines often aged for slightly longer than a basic ruby before bottling: giving a rich, satisfying Port. A reserve tawny is a blended wine that has spent about seven years in wood. It can be excellent value compared to wines bottled with an indication of age. Crusted Tawny Port – After being aged in oak barrels, tawny ports are further aged in bottles for periods such as ten, 20, 40 years, etc. The name comes from the tawny colour they develop over time and they tend to be very smooth and mellow, with flavours of fruit and nuts. They go well with cheeses and some puddings.

Did you enjoy your first bottle of Port? I thought you would. Now that you’re beginning to develop a taste for Port, you can start exploring some bottles from higher up on the shelf. You can find a range of ports at most major supermarkets, as well as specialist retailers. Supermarkets that sell port wines include:

Conclusion

Tawny Port starts out as Ruby Port, but spends 10 to 40 years in the barrel, rounding out its flavors, oxidizing slightly and taking on a nice mahogany hue from the wood. There are only four ages that a Tawny Port can bear: 10 year, 20, year, 30 year and 40 year. Their long stint in the barrel allows Tawny Ports to shed their fruitiness as they take on a silky mouthfeel, rich, complex flavors and aromas running the gamut from nutty or caramel to chocolate or leathery.

As mentioned above, Ruby Port stays good for about three to four weeks after opening. Tawny Ports can be kept in the fridge for about a month, or two weeks at room temperature. LBVs can last for a week, maybe two if it’s unfiltered.

Your First Bottle of Port: Ruby Port

Single Quinta Vintage Port – These ports are produced from a port house’s best vineyards in a great year, but may not be quite good enough for a declared Vintage Port. Great with cheese. Tawny port – The name refers to the colour the wine turns after ageing. To have this label, they must be at least two years old, but you’ll also find much older examples, such as our winning 10-year-old (below). The age statement means the liquid is a blend of vintages with an average barrel ageing. Flavours here tend to be nuttier, and can include caramel, cinnamon and chocolate. Vintage ports are the top-quality red ports from a single year – and only the best years. They’re aged in wood for just a couple of years. Unlike most ports, they have the potential to develop in the bottle (more on that later). Tawnies may be bottled with an indication of age: 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50 years old. Even older wines may be designated ‘Very Very Old Tawny’. The age designations are obviously approximations and all wines have to be submitted for tasting by the IVDP for approval.

Apéritifs and digestifs are alcoholic drinks served with meals; Apéritifs are served before to stimulate the appetite, digestifs served after to aid digestion. Barrel-aged Port vs. Bottle-aged Port Crusted Port – A blend of outstanding young ports from two or three harvests, these are left to mature in the bottle, forming a “crust” (natural sediment) as they age. Rosé port – Just like rosé wine, here you can expect to find notes of strawberries and raspberries, alongside a caramel sweetness. Cheese, chocolate, fruity puddings and sorbet are all excellent pairings – serve ice cold for maximum enjoyment. It’s safe enough to drink, but if you’re sensitive to the smell, it can be offputting, and impacts the flavour of the drink. Vintage Port – Made from the best grapes of a single year, the “vintage” refers to an outstanding harvest. After being aged for around two years, vintage ports are further aged in bottles. The best ones can be aged for decades and are both powerful and elegant. They go well with dark chocolate, blue cheeses or on their own.

Good to know

Before a Port can be bottled as a vintage it must be submitted to the IVDP (Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e Porto) for approval. This can happen anytime between 1 January and 30 September in the second year after the harvest. Once the wine has been bottled it continues to evolve slowly over a period of at least 15 to 20 years or more, before it is considered ready to drink. Ruby port – These tend to be inexpensive, deep ruby-coloured, and often associated with the cheeseboard. Within this category, you’ll find your slightly more premium reserve ports, late bottled vintage port (otherwise known as LBV, these are aged for longer but still designed to be drunk young) and vintage ports. How we test port