Different Types of Port Wine

There are many types of Port Wine made from over 52 varieties of grapes. Some of the most popular port grapes that go into the making of port wine include Touriga Nacional, Tinta Rorizaka Tempranillo, Touriga Franca, Tinta Barroca and Tinta Cão. Each port grape variety, they say, adds a unique flavour to the blend.

Along with the likes of Sherry and Madeira, port wine is a delectable dessert wine. Moreover, it has far more to offer than just being a digestif; after a heavy and sumptuous meal.

Different Types of Port Wine

And how do these port wines differ in taste? Which Port wines should you be stocking?

Go on to find all about Port wine, it’s vibrant history, the grape varieties, and how and where Port wine is made? Discover the best Port wines to buy in 2022. And the easiest way to buy Ports wines. like a Nevertheless Dom Perignon is the most sought-after Port wine.

What is Port Wine?

Port wine is a sweet, fortified wine exclusively produced in Portugal’s Douro Valley. Port wine is usually enjoyed as a dessert wine because of its richness. However, some types of Port wine can be served as an aperitif as well, almost like a Beaujolais Nouveau!

History of Port Wine

The word “Port” was added in the 17th century after the seaport city of Porto. Porto City is located at the mouth of the Douro River. The wine used to be transported down the river from Douro Valley in boats called ‘Barcos Rabelos’ for trading in the city of Porto.

Port wine eventually became popular in England when the war with France reduced supplies of French wine. However, it is the Methuen Treaty of 1703 that strengthened the Port wine trade. 

The Port wine trade in that era was dominated by powerful shipping families. It is why Port producers are still called “shippers.” Most of these shippers were British, and which you can amply see it reflected in the names of the many popular Port wines.

Famous Port Wine Producing Regions

Authentic Port wine is unique to Portugal. However, Port-style wine is now made in many other parts of the world as well.

Authentic Port Wine comes from grapes cultivated in Portugal’s Douro Valley. Douro became an official appellation in the year 1756. It is the third oldest protected wine region in the world after Chianti in Italy, and Tokaj in Hungary. 

Douro as such has three official Port wine production zones:

  • Cima Corgo
  • Baixo Corgo
  • Douro Superior

Port Grapes grown in Baixo Corgo are mainly used for Ruby and Tawny Port wines. Grapes grown in Cima Corgo are of higher quality and used for making Vintage, Reserve, Aged Tawny, and Vintage Port wines. But the Douro Superior is the least cultivated grapes of the three zones.

Other Regions Making Port Style Wines

Only Portuguese wine can be labelled ‘Port’ or ‘Porto,’ according to the European Union’s Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) guidelines.

Nevertheless, Port-style wines are also produced in other countries like Australia, Argentina, Canada, India, Spain, South Africa, and the U.S.A. 

However, a winemaker of Port-style wine cannot be labeled as “Port,” unless it was made before 2006. However, the wine can be named as Port style wine. 

Port Wine Grape Varieties

There are over 50 sanctioned varieties for Port wines made from a unique blend of indigenous Portuguese grapes. However, the most cultivated of these red wine grapes are listed here:

  • Touriga Nacional:
  • Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo):
  • Tinta Barroca:
  • Tinta Cão:
  • Touriga Franca:

White Port Wine, however, uses the following varieties:

  • Rabigato
  • Esgana-Cão
  • Donzelinho Branco

The Making of Port Wine

To extract the juice harvested grapes are sometimes pressed by foot. Subsequently, the juice is fermented for several days until alcohol levels reach around seven percent.

A clean, young wine neutral grape spirit is then added to the resulting base wine. It fortifies, stops fermentation, and further boosts the alcohol content to release the residual sugar that is present in the wine. While the fortified spirit is called brandy, it is nothing like the commercial brandy you get in the market.

This fortified wine is then stored in barrels or oak casks. It is then aged for around 18 months following which they are blended with other batches to create the final Port wine. This wine is then bottled or is aged for a longer period in casks.

Styles of Port Wine

Port wine comes in various styles regulated by the Institute of Douro and Port Wines (IVDP).

  • Ruby Port Wine: It is the most produced and least pricey Port wine type. Ruby Port wine is usually aged in steel or concrete tanks. This is to prevent oxidative aging. And to preserve the fruitiness and bright red colour of wine. The Ruby Port wine is then refined, and cold filtered before bottling. Ruby does not generally improve with the aging process.
  • Reserve Ruby Port Wine: It is a premium Ruby Port wine. And is typically aged for about 4-6 years in wood. Reserve Ruby Port Wine must be approved by the Câmara de Provadores, the IVDP’s tasting panel to be termed ‘Reserve’.
  • Tawny Port Wine: It is a very sweet, barrel-aged Port wine that is made from red grapes. Tawny Port wine has ‘nutty’ flavours gained from exposure to oxygen while it stays in the barrel. It is golden-brown in colour. Tawny Port wine is labelled without an age. This category is a blend of Port wine that has been barrel-aged for three years at least. Reserve Tawny Port wine on the other han is aged about seven years. Older Port wines will have its age stated on the label, like 10, 20, 30 or 40 years respectively.
  • Colheita Port Wine: It is a single-vintage tawny port wine. It is barrel-aged aged for seven years at least. Unlike Tawny Port wines with an age category, Colheita Port wine has the vintage year labelled on the bottle. But don’t get confused between Colheita Port and Vintage Port. Vintage Port spends about 18 months in a barrel after harvesting. It then continues to mature in a bottle. Colheita Port wine can spend years in a barrel before bottling.
  • White Port Wine: It is made from white wine grapes and comes in various styles. From dry to sweet, White Port wine is produced from a single grape harvest. It aged in huge tanks to obtain the colour of a straw. Reserve White Port wine requires seven years of aging at least to gain a nutty flavour.
  • Rosé Port Wine: It is a new style of Port wine that was first released in 2008 by the Croft Port house. Rosé Port Wine is made like a rosé wine. With limited exposure to grape skins that give it a colour of the rose.
  • Vintage Port Wine: This wine is produced from grapes of a ‘declared’ single vintage year. It is sourced from different Quintas. Vintage Port Wine is then aged in barrels or stainless steel for up to two and a half years at least before bottling. Vintage is then aged for another 10-40 years in the bottle while it continues to gain complexity as grape solids slowly decompose in wine.
  • Single Quinta Vintage Port Wine: This Port wine is made the same way as Vintage Port wine. But it is produced from a single vineyard. Single Quinta Vintage Port wine comes in years that Vintage is not declared.
  • LBV or Late Bottled Vintage Port Wine: LBV Port wine spends four to six years at least in a barrel before bottling. Whereas Vintage Port wine is bottled after two years of time. LBV Port during this period matures and settles down, unlike Vintage Port wine that is ready to drink when bottled. LBV Port wine, does not need to be decanted and comes at a lower price.
  • Crusted Port Wine: This Port wine is sometimes also called Vintage Character Port wine. It is a blend of wines that’s spent a minimum of four years of aging in a barrel. Crusted Port wine is bottled unfiltered and cellared for at least three years before being let out in the market. It can often take a decade or more for the ‘crust’ to form in the bottle. This indicates that the wine will keep on improving with age.
  • Garrafeira Port Wine: This Port wine is rare and unusual. It is vintage-dated Garrafeira and as per the IVDP standards, it is required to spend about 3-6 years of aging in wood. It has to then spend another eight years in glass. Demijohns that are large, narrow-necked bottles before bottling. As of now only the Niepoort family produces this style of Port wine. Many describe Garrafeira Port wine as tasting like bacon due to oils that may form across the glass. It usually happens during the second phase of maturation. 

Vintage Port Wines

‘Vintage’ has a very distinct meaning for Port wines. Let’s explore here what that means in the context of Port Wines.

While most Port wines are bottled and released as non-vintage wine without any year on its label, Vintage Port wine is made only in the best years. It may be only a few per decade in contrast to the ‘second wines’ of Bordeaux producers. These are released as year-labelled top wine almost every year alongside wines of lesser quality in some years.

Whenever a Port house considers its wine to be good enough for vintage, they send samples to the IVDP for approval. Only then the house declares the vintage, and the year appears on the bottle.

‍Port wine is a sweet wine. It is full-bodied and usually lacking in acidity. Port wines can have aromas of dried fruit, plum and spice with flavours of blackberry, caramel, and chocolate sauce. However, this depends on the style of port.

Here are the flavour profiles for different types of port wines: 

  • Ruby Port: It is red Port wine and tastes of berries, spice and chocolate.
  • Tawny Port: These wines offer more caramel and nut flavours with dried fruit.
  • White Port: These wines have bright flavours like apple, citrus peel, and toasted nuts.
  • Vintage Port: Excellent wines that have a wide array of flavours, including almond, butterscotch, graphite, and green peppercorn.

Stocking Port Wine

Only Vintage Port wines and not LBV are designed for aging in the bottle. They can typically be aged for up to 30 or 40 years. Few of the most prized Vintage Port wines are over a century old. However, most of the Port wines with a plastic-top cork cap are bottled for immediate drinking. Only Vintage Port wines are meant for aging and will have a regular, long cork.

Best Port Wines to Buy in 2022

Some of the finest Port wines tend to be Vintage Port wine. But there are other great choices too that are great.

  • Niepoort Garrafeira Port Wine: This wine house was established by Dutch immigrants in 1842. It is a family-owned maker of table and Port wines in the Douro Valley. They are well known for their Vintage, Colheita and tawny Port wines. The Garrafeira Port offers a fine, complex, yet balanced notes of spices, plums, red fruits, chocolate, and cigar box. It goes soft on the palate, is elegant, with silky tannins. The wine blends wonderfully to an acidity, alongside giving freshness and a long, pleasant finish. Niepoort Garrafeira Port Average Price – $600+
  • Taylor Fladgate 40-Year-Old Tawny Port Wine: This wine house is a renowned Port producer noted for its wide range of ports from Vintage to Tawny Ports of varying ages. But mostly well-known for creating the LBV Port wine style. The wine is produced at the famed Quinta de Vargellas estate. It offers a structure, depth and complexity that is unique when compared to other Vintage Port wines in the region. This wine with notes of dried apricot is an aromatic, sweet, aged tawny. It is balanced and round. And finishes with acidity and tension. Taylor Fladgate 40-Year-Old Tawny Port Wine Average Price – $200+
  • Quinta do Noval 40-Year-Old Tawny Port Wine: Quinta do Noval was established in 1715. It is one of the few Port houses to be located within Douro Valley. Named after its most famed vineyard, the Quinta do Noval, this winehouse is best known for its Nacional Vintage Ports. The Quinta do Noval 40-Year-Old Tawny Port wine aged tawny is full-bodied. It is rich and sweet, alongside offering a complex nutty bouquet reminiscent of mint and almonds. Quinta do Noval 40-Year-Old Tawny Port Wine Average Price – $160+
  • Real Companhia Velha Royal Oporto Quinta das Carvalhas Vintage Port 1970: Founded in 1756, Real Companhia Velha is the oldest wine company in Portugal. Quinta das Carvalhas in Pinhão has existed since 1759 and has some wines that are over 100 years old. This 1970 Vintage Port wine is firm and fruity. It is a very full-bodied Port wine with great flavour and texture, and rich with good fruit. Real Companhia Velha Royal Oporto Quinta das Carvalhas Vintage Port’s Average Price – $150+

Van Zellers VZ 40 Years Old Tawny Port Wine: Van Zellers has been trading Port wine since the early 18th century. However, it was officially established as a Port Wine shipper in 1780. Their produce was sold to other wine merchants in the mid-19th century, Eventually, the company was reacquired by the Van Zeller family in the 1930s. Aged Tawny displays a softened, mellow texture with a complex nose of dry fruits, such as nuts hazelnuts, and almonds, blended with the aroma of white chocolate, and tobacco. Van Zellers VZ 40-Years-Old Tawny Port Average Price – $100+