Port Wine

Port wine is a fortified wine made from grapes grown in the Douro Demarcated Region, a region defined and regulated since 1756. Grape spirit is added to the wine during fermentation, which stops it and leaves natural sugar from the grapes in the wine.

The Port wine houses age and ship much of their wine from their cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia, across the river from Porto, and the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto regulates the designation.

How Port wine is made

• Grapes: grown on the terraces of the Douro valley, in schist soil.
• Fortification: grape spirit is added to the fermenting wine, which stops fermentation and keeps part of the grape sugar.
• Strength: most Port wines have between 19 and 22 percent alcohol, and some light white Ports have less.
• Ageing: the wine ages in wooden casks or vats, or in the bottle, depending on the style.

Styles of Port wine

• White Port: made from white grapes, from dry to very sweet.
• Rosé Port: made from red grapes with little contact with the skins, and drunk young.
• Ruby Port: red Port aged in large vats with little contact with air, which keeps a deep colour and fruit flavours. Reserve, Late Bottled Vintage and Vintage Ports belong to this family.
• Vintage Port: a ruby Port from a single year of high quality, bottled young and aged in the bottle for many years.
• Tawny Port: red Port aged in small wooden casks, where slow contact with air turns its colour towards amber and brown. Tawnies are sold with indications of age, such as 10, 20, 30 and 40 years, or as Colheita, from a single year.

Grapes of Port wine

• Red grapes: Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca, Tinto Cão and Tinta Amarela.
• White grapes: Malvasia Fina, Viosinho, Donzelinho, Gouveio, Arinto and Códega do Larinho.

Port wine cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia

Places to visit in the Douro

Douro, Portugal

Alto Douro Wine Region

Alto Douro Wine Region

Pinhão (Douro heart)

Pinhão (Douro heart)

Mateus Palace

Mateus Palace

Lamego & Santuário dos Remédios

Lamego & Santuário dos Remédios

Prehistoric Rock Art Sites in the Côa Valley

Prehistoric Rock Art Sites in the Côa Valley

History of the Douro

History of the Douro

Visiting the Douro

Visiting the Douro

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Port Wine