The Port Tasting Masterclass

Port wine is a sweet, fortified wine originating exclusively from the Douro Valley in northern Portugal. It is made by adding grape brandy to the wine during fermentation, halting the process to leave high natural sugars and increasing alcohol content to around 20% ABV. It is generally served as a dessert wine.

Ruby Port is aged briefly in large casks, preserving a deep red colour and fresh dark fruit flavours.

Tawny Port is aged for longer in smaller wooden barrels, where controlled oxidation transforms the colour to amber and develops nutty, caramel, and dried fruit flavours.

Vintage Port is made only in exceptional declared years, bottled young, and designed to age for decades in bottle — it is the most prestigious and complex style.

Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) Port is a high-quality, single-year ruby port aged in wood for four to six years before bottling, rather than the two years typical of vintage port. This extended maturation allows it to be ready to drink immediately upon release, offering a fruit-forward profile with soft tannins at a lower price point.

The age on a Tawny Port label (10, 20, 30, or 40+ years) represents an average, approved profile of a blended wine, not the minimum age of every component in the bottle. It indicates the style and maturity, showing that the wine has matured in wooden casks long enough to adopt the characteristic flavours and colour of that age.

Port is far more versatile than its Christmas reputation suggests. Aged Tawny and White Port are delicious served slightly chilled in summer. White Port with tonic, ice, and mint (a ‘Portonic’) is a refreshing aperitif. Richer styles like LBV and Vintage suit cooler evenings. The masterclass covers the full range of styles and when to enjoy each one.

White Port is made from white grape varieties rather than red, and can range from dry to very sweet.

Younger styles are crisp and fresh, while wood-aged White Port develops rich, complex honeyed flavours.

Served chilled with tonic water, it makes an excellent aperitif — a very different experience from the richer red styles most people associate with Port.

Crusted Port is a high-quality, typically blended ruby port that is bottled unfiltered and sealed with a traditional driven cork, allowing it to mature and throw a sediment (or “crust”) in the bottle. It acts as an affordable alternative to vintage port, offering rich fruit flavours, requiring decanting before drinking, and improving with age.

It depends on the style. Vintage and Crusted Ports are unfiltered and develop sediment, so they benefit from decanting. This helps separate the wine from the deposit and allows it to open up. Tawny and most LBV Ports are filtered and can be poured straight from the bottle.

Opened bottles of Port generally last between one week and two months, depending on the type and storage, as their high alcohol and sugar content offers protection against quick degradation. Store opened Port in a cool, dark place (preferably the fridge) and use a stopper, with Tawny lasting longest.