Warm your spirits with port
By Susan De Carlo, Regency Wine Sellers
When I think of winter and sitting by a cozy fire, I think of port, which is perfect for warming your spirits on a cold winter’s night. Port is a fortified wine produced in the Douro Valley of northern Portugal. A fortified wine is one to which some type of distilled spirit, typically brandy, has been added. Other fortified wines include sherry, Madeira, Marsala, and vermouth.
Port is typically sweet, but there are white varieties that are drier.
While many port-style wines are produced outside of Portugal, only wines made in Portugal are allowed to be labelled “port” under guidelines established by the European Union’s Protected Designation of Origin. The Douro region of Portugal, by the way, is the third oldest protected wine region in the world, behind Tokaj in Hungary and Chianti in Italy.
Port came about when Portuguese winemakers began shipping to England only to discover that their wines—stored in wooden barrels—would be ruined by the heat. The addition of a distilled spirit protected the port, which is already oxidized during the winemaking process.
There are two styles of port—ruby and tawny. Ruby is fresher and similar to a sweet red wine. Tawny, however, is aged in oak, so it has characteristics of caramel, hazelnuts, and raisins. Traditional port pairings include bleu and other cheeses, as well as desserts like a nice crème brulée.
Port has a reputation as an expensive wine because of the labor-intensive manufacturing process and the length of aging. You can find a nice 10-year port for around $40, while a 20-year port will be closer to $70. Here at Regency we have a Graham’s 40-year port priced at over $200. The good news is port can last for months without refrigeration so you can enjoy your investment for a long time. Other well-known and reliable brands include Dow’s, Kopke, Cockburn’s (pronounced co-burn’s) and Warre’s.
Regency Wine Sellers & Wine Bar is located at 115 Ghent Road (Merchants Square) in Fairlawn. For more information, call 330-836-3447 or visit RegencyWineSellers.com.