Situated in Portugal’s northern provinces, the Douro Valley is home to one of the most popular grapes in Portugal, Touriga Nacional. This grape, together with 50 (yes, 50!)or more other varieties, is used to make one of the most famous fortified wines in the World, PORT WINE. The vineyards or Quintas, are located in Hillside Terraces along the Douro river that have a unique rocky soil. Schist and granite are the secret to growing strong vines with long roots that adhere to the hillsides. The vines get so stressed out that they put all their energy on delivering nutrients to the grapes, therefore, delivering perfect grapes every harvest. This appellation dates from 1756, the oldest regulated appellation in the World. Note: Chianti is the oldest, from 1716, but it had no regulations at that time. Port was and still is an export commodity, mainly exported to England. Another Note: an appellation is a legally designated title given to a region to identify that the grapes are grown in that region or appellation are grown in a certain way, governed by strict rules for yields, alcohol level, irrigation, etc.   

The best cellars to taste port wine are in the city of Oporto. All cellars offer tours that include the origins of port wine, how it is made and fun activities like blind tasting or chocolate pairing: Taylor, Sandeman, Ferreira, Croft, Offley, Churchill’s, Graham’s, to name a few.

What is Port Wine? A Portuguese fortified red wine, dry or sweet.

What does fortified mean? Fortified means that the red wine’s regular fermentation will be stopped or halted by the addition of brandy or another high alcohol liquor.

What are the different types of Port wine? There’s white port and Rose port but mainly, there are two well known types of port: Ruby and Tawny.

RUBY: goes straight from harvesting to bottle or stainless steel bins for storage. Tastes like blackberry, cinnamon and chocolate. Ruby style is the youngest and most affordable, Late Bottle Vintage (best value! a Ruby that has been at least 4-6 years in barrels & bottling) and Vintage (expensive because it probably has the best grapes from the Quinta and could last 60 years!)

TAWNY: these wines go to a wood barrel for a long period of time before bottling. Due to this they come in contact with oxygen, therefore the flavor varies. Caramel, hazelnut, cinnamon, cloves, figs, really aromatic and flavorful. The basic one is called Tawny and it is nutty, Colheita (from a single harvest, wood barrel at least 10 years),  and finally 10-20-30-40 years (blends of vintages with lots of barrel aging and many aromas, expensive!)