Porto Travel Guide
Port Wine Explained
A clear guide to port: how it is made, the difference between ruby, tawny, vintage and white, how to choose a lodge in Gaia, how to taste, and when to head upriver to the vineyards.
Port is Porto's gift to the world, and understanding it will transform your visit. It is a fortified wine, made in the Douro Valley and historically aged and shipped from Vila Nova de Gaia, across the river from the old town. A visit to a port lodge is the essential Porto experience, but it is much more rewarding if you know what you are tasting. Here is a short, practical guide.
How port is made. The grapes, mostly native red varieties such as Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and Tinta Roriz, are grown on the steep schist terraces of the Douro Valley, where summers are extremely hot. After picking, the grapes are crushed and fermentation begins, but before all the sugar has been converted to alcohol, a neutral grape spirit is added. This stops fermentation, leaving a wine that is naturally sweet and higher in alcohol than table wine. The young wine is then aged, either in the valley or in the lodges of Gaia, where the cooler, damper Atlantic climate slows maturation. Historically, the barrels were carried down the river on rabelo boats, which you can still see moored in Gaia.
A little history. The trade grew in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when wars with France pushed English merchants to seek wine in Portugal, and many of the great houses, such as Taylor's, Croft, Graham's and Cockburn's, have British origins. In the eighteenth century, the Marquis of Pombal created a company to regulate the trade and demarcated the Douro wine region, one of the first official wine regions in the world. Today the region is a UNESCO World Heritage landscape, and the trade is a mix of historic British and Portuguese houses, large groups and small family producers.
The main styles. Ruby port is aged for a few years in large vats, keeping its deep red colour and fresh flavours of red and black fruit; Reserve rubies are richer. Late Bottled Vintage, or LBV, comes from a single year and is aged longer in wood before bottling, making it a good-value taste of the vintage style. Vintage port is made only in the best years, declared by each house, and is bottled young to age for decades, developing great complexity; it needs decanting. Tawny port is aged for years in smaller casks, where gentle oxidation turns it amber and gives flavours of nuts, caramel, dried fruit and spice; aged tawnies are labelled 10, 20, 30 or 40 years old, an indication of the average age and style. Colheita is a tawny from a single year. White port, from white grapes, ranges from dry to sweet, and is delicious chilled or mixed with tonic water as a summer aperitif; rosé port is a newer, light and fruity style.
How to taste. Look at the colour, from deep purple in a young ruby to amber in an old tawny. Swirl and smell: rubies smell of fruit, tawnies of nuts and spice. Taste slowly, noticing the sweetness, the alcohol and the length of the finish. In a lodge tasting, you will usually try two or three styles side by side, which is the best way to learn the differences. Port is sweet and strong, so pace yourself, and drink plenty of water.
Choosing a lodge in Gaia. Most lodges offer a tour and a tasting, with standard and premium options. For a first visit, Taylor's is our first choice: a historic house founded in 1692, a self-guided audio tour through its vaulted cellars, a tasting of its wines and a garden terrace with a view of the whole city. Other houses offer guided tours with a more personal touch, and several are right on the waterfront, easy to combine with a walk from the Ribeira. Book ahead in summer and at weekends, eat beforehand, and limit yourself to two lodges in a day. The WOW cultural district, next to Taylor's, has museums about wine, port and cork, and places to eat.
Port at the table and at home. In Portugal, white port and tonic is a popular aperitif, rubies and LBVs go well with chocolate desserts and cheese, and aged tawnies are wonderful with nuts, dried fruit, custard tarts and blue cheese. Vintage port is traditionally served after dinner. Once opened, ruby and tawny ports keep for some weeks; vintage ports should be drunk within a few days. Buying at the lodges lets you taste first, and some houses can ship.
Going upriver. To see where port begins, take a day trip to the Douro Valley, either on a guided tour with tastings at several producers and lunch among the vineyards, or independently by train from São Bento to Régua or Pinhão. Go from mid-September to October for the harvest and autumn colours. Standing on the terraces, looking down at the river, you understand why this wine is like no other.
A simple port plan. On your first day, order a white port and tonic as an aperitif on a terrace by the river. On your second, take a lodge tour in Gaia and compare a ruby, a tawny and, if you can, an aged tawny or an LBV. On your third, head up the Douro to see the terraces. By the end, you will know your favourite style, and you will taste Porto in every glass you pour at home.