Most wine drinkers should be vaguely familiar with port as the sweet, fortified wine commonly enjoyed as a dessert beverage. There are a lot of things about this beverage that many people don’t know however, with the one of the best examples being that real port can actually only be made in Portugal! In this article, we take a look at a few other interesting things you might not have already known about port wine
Port wine basics
A good place to start is the sheer amount of variety of port wine available on the market today. Although we did touch on the fact that port wine is only officially made in Portugal, examples of the style are produced around the world and can range from very low quality to extremely high quality, with the latter very well represented in some of the best Australian port wine. It’s not just the darker variations of port that are produced, either – the styles of port include red, white, rosé, and tawny, an aged port. In the case of white port, the attractive pale colour is made from white grapes such as Rabigato, Viosinho, Gouveio and Malvasia. Depending on the style, flavours can include tantalising things like raspberry, blackberry, caramel, cinnamon, and rich chocolate, with the lighter styles more likely to demonstrate berry flavours and the darker varieties leaning more towards the syrupy sweet flavours. Aging also has a big impact on these flavours, with time in the barrel helping create some very interesting profiles that many might be surprised to find in a port, such as biscuit, green peppercorn, hazelnut, almond and butterscotch.
The different ways of serving port wine
Port is typically served in 75ml servings in special port glasses. These smaller servings as compared to wine are due to port having a much higher ABV than wine (around 20%) and due to their incredibly rich, complex flavour (small sips are best here). Port is typically served at temperatures between 13 and 20 degrees Celsius, but it is not uncommon for ruby port to be served over ice with a peel of lime in the summer. The complexity and viscosity of port make it an ideal food pairing for similarly intense flavours, such as blue cheeses, smoked meats and rich chocolate and caramel desserts. It is also possible to use port in cooking, where its intense flavour profile does wonders for desserts and flavoursome sauces for bold savoury dishes like steak and lamb. In some cases, port is also used as an interesting alternative to brown sugar and maple syrup. If you are interested in using port in cooking, just make sure you don’t buy one that is too fancy – those are for drinking!
Ready to begin your port journey?
We think port is one of the most underrated alcoholic beverages out there, and it warrants a good amount more attention than its getting. Whether or have or haven’t tried port at some stage, knowing how many options are out there should give you some incentive to try a few varieties and see which one you enjoy the most. The different grape varieties used and aging processes mean that there is definitely something for everyone out there, so find out what your favourite style is today!
