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? 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. The rules governing Port lend it a clear-cut terminology that’s a far cry from the ambiguous fluff and puffery that other bottles of wine may try to confuse you with. For starters, the way to tell you’re holding an authentic bottle of Port is dead simple: look for the Selo de Garantia, a white seal that reads “Vinho do Porto Garantia.” Broadly speaking, there are two main distinctions of Port wine: bottle-aged Port and barrel-aged Port. A more apt term might be “barrel-matured” or “bottle-matured,” since all Port spends some time in a barrel. In general, bottle-aged Port tends to be smoother and less tannic. Barrel-aged Port tends to take on some of the qualities of the wooden barrels, including taste (remember “oakiness”?) and color. Further, barrel-aged Ports (or “wood Ports”) end up more viscous, due to a slight amount of evaporation. That’s barely scratching the surface of Port, but it’s certainly enough to get you started. Enjoy Port like you enjoy any other glass of wine, noting its color, aroma and the balance of its tannins, acidity and flavors. Try different styles, different producers and take notes. And after you’ve developed your own taste for Port comes the best part: introducing friends, dates, family, business associates and others to the lost arts of the aperitif and digestif. Further Port reading:

For the Love of Port– Hands-down best online guide for Port. Great beginner articles and massive archive of thoughful blog posts, interviews, features and more. Taylor's three iconic port wine estates, located in the best parts of the Douro Valley - Terra Feita, Vargellas and Junco - encompass a huge area and various different styles of wine. Each estate is distinct from the others, with different strengths and styles to complement each other brilliantly. It’s partly because of this that the House is rated so highly, often known as the one to beat when it comes to vintage ports; with their iconic blends of the very best from each estate, a bottle of Taylor’s vintage port is always unique and invariably among the best available. It is for this reason that theirs are some of the most sought-after and expensive ports in the world. Taylor's Port has a three hundred year tradition focusing solely on its port wines, finding the very best methods of production and refining them to produce some of the best examples in existence. We could go further in-depth about the differences between these two styles, but let’s not. You’ll have plenty of time for that later, when you’ve gotten your palate a little bit more snobbed up. For now, let’s talk about the first bottle of Port you’re going to buy. Your First Bottle of Port: Ruby Port

All Taylors Port Wines

RESERVE TAWNY - For each of the historic bottles in the series, Taylor’s skilled blenders have created a wood aged Reserve Port drawn from the company’s extensive reserves and matured in oak casks in its ‘lodges’ in Oporto. Fully aged, these superb limited edition blends are ready for immediate enjoyment. Taylor’s Select Reserve Port is blended from carefully selected young red wines produced in the Baixo Corgo and Cima Corgo areas of the upper Douro Valley, chosen for their depth of colour, intense fruit and full, firm palate. These Port wines are matured for about two years in oak vats, where they soften and develop without losing their fresh, intense fruity character and their deep ruby colour. This is it–the tippy top, the pinnacle of quality. Vintage Port is the only Port on this list that matures in the bottle, meaning that these bottles go straight into the cellar for oh, let’s say about 20 years. That’s because Vintage Port only spends about two years in the barrel before it's bottled, meaning it has a lot of maturing to do by the time it hits the shelf. Again, go with some of the top names in Port, like Sandeman’s or Warre’s. Graham’s makes a good one, too. Late Bottled Vintage Port

Several years of ageing in oak vat and careful blending complete the fresh fruit flavours with an elegant, complex nuttiness This Taylors port miniature gift set is an ideal introduction to the different styles of port from renowned Taylors Port. Records the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie. 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.Ruby Reserve Port (formerly known as Vintage Character Port, until the term was banned in 2002) is similar to Ruby Port in that it’s affordable, bottled ready-to-drink and blended from several vintages. The difference is that Ruby Reserve Port is blended from higher quality wines and is barrel-aged for about five years.

Except for Vintage Port, Port is relatively resilient and can be stored upright or sideways in a cool, dark place. You can buy specially made Port glasses, which are 8 ounce stemware glasses meant to be filled halfway, but eyeballing 4 ounces into a wide-mouthed red wine glass works, too. Since most Port is red wine, the rule of thumb of serving it at a cool room temperature around 64 to 66 degrees Fahrenheit applies. But aged, less tannic Ports can easily be enjoyed slightly chilled. I won’t go too much into Vintage Port, since you’ll want to do some more research, attend some tastings and talk with an expert in person before you begin investing in Vintage Port. But one thing to appreciate about Vintage Port is its rarity—most houses won’t even declare a vintage unless it was an excellent year. While many producers will have a Late Bottled Vintage for every year on the calendar, Vintage Ports may only get bottled thrice in a decade. Storing, Serving and Drinking Port Ruby Port is often filtered (or fined), meaning it’s ready to drink as soon as it’s bottled—no decanting required. This makes Ruby Port perfect for popping open and serving in a small glasses along with fruit, cheese and other desserts. LBV can be bottled filtered or unfiltered (e.g. “crusted”). Crusted/unfiltered LBV has more character, and even improves upon cellaring for up to 10 years. But you’ll want to get yourself a metal wine decanting funnel and a decanter to remove the sediment when it’s ready to drink.Port fell off the map for recent generations of drinkers due in part to its daunting complexity. It’s this very same complexity that makes Port extremely rewarding. 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 As you’d imagine, the greater the age, the greater the price tag and the more nuanced the flavors. However, most Tawny Port connoisseurs agree that a 20-year Tawny Port provides the best return for your time and money. At this stage, the tannins begin softening up, allowing the flavors to really come forward. Quinta do Portal 20 Year Old Tawny Port and Ferreira Porto Duque de Braganca 20 Year Old Tawny Port are great buys. Vintage Port

Port is a fortified wine produced exclusively in the Douro Valley in Portugal. Port is heavily regulated by the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto. Unlike Champagne, which has impostors all over the globe, Port must be produced, labeled and marketed according to a myriad of strict rules. For someone learning the ropes, this is actually a good thing. 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. This lighter style of Port has an amber colour, mellow flavours of ripe berry fruit, butterscotch, figs, prunes and spice This cookie is set by Rubicon Project to control synchronization of user identification and exchange of user data between various ad services.

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TAYLORS HISTORICAL SERIES - The Taylor’s Historical series is a collection of specially blended cask-aged Ports presented in exclusive bespoke bottles inspired by historic bottle moulds. The Historical collection Limited Edition series represents different stages in this evolution. Port is produced by adding aguardente (sometimes referred to simply as “ brandy”) to (usually) red wine. This does a few things. Obviously, it ups the alcohol content (20% ABV on average), but it also preserves more of the natural sugars from the grapes by stopping the fermentation process. Lastly, the fortification in Port brings warmth to your body. (On that note, Port is often used as communion wine for its sweetness. When I was a kid, I thought that warm fuzzy feeling was Jesus’ love. True story.)