Something Sweet for Your Valentine

Let’s talk about Valentine’s Day.  If you wait until the last minute, you’re not alone. Maybe it’s because we just keep waiting for inspiration that never comes.  So we get another boring box of chocolate or bouquet of flowers. Isn’t there something else?  If you haven’t bought your gift yet, consider a bottle of port this year to cap off your romantic dinner.

Well-made port is dessert in a bottle -- sweet but with enough acidity to balance the sugar.  It is complex and sophisticated and very satisfying.  Port is red wine that has been fortified with neutral spirits, which give it a higher alcohol content, but which also halts the fermentation process when there is still sugar left in the grape juice.  Thus, it’s a sweet wine.

Like many wonderful foods and beverages, port originated as a fluke.
  In the 1600s, the British loved red wine. They especially loved the rich red wines of France. Unfortunately the two countries regularly fought, interrupting the wine supply. 

British red wine lovers moved south to Portugal to keep their supply flowing. But because Portugal is a good bit farther from England than France, the wine quality sometimes suffered in transit.

Fortunately, somebody came up with the idea of adding small quantities of neutral spirits-- typically brandy--to the red wine.  This raised alcohol content, which helped to stabilize the wine for the longer trip.  When added before fermentation was complete, it also sweetened the wine. Pretty soon, the British came to love this new wine. Because it aged beautifully – some said, like a child -- a tradition was born to buy a bottle of vintage port from a child’s birth year to be opened at his or her wedding.  

Now that you know a little bit about the history of port, how do you select a good one?  First, understand that anything labeled “port” that does not come from Portugal is not true port.  It is, more likely, made in the port style.  True port will identify on its label that it is made in Portugal.

Port comes in many varieties.
  Vintage port is made from grapes that grew in one particular year.  It is only made when the weather conditions are such that the grapes are of a very high quality.  Wine made in non-vintage years is blended. (More about that in a minute.) Vintage port is fairly rough when young and needs years and sometimes decades to mature into something that can truly be enjoyed.  However, it’s worth the wait, and priced accordingly at $50 to $150. Some of my favorite vintage ports are Warre’s, Taylor-Fladgate and Smith-Woodhouse.

Of course this column is about Valentine’s Day this week, which means you don’t have time to wait 20 years. You need something now.

An immediate and affordable option is an “LBV” or late bottle vintage.  This is a vintage wine, but one aged in the barrel for about twice as long as true vintage port. The wood of the barrel helps to tame the rough edges of the young wine faster. I have found some good LBV for $15-20. A couple that I like are Taylor and Ramos Pinto. Like true vintage port, a LBV may be difficult to find in Prineville, but it’s easily found on the internet.

The other common types of port are blends of different vintages and are generally, though not always, fairly affordable. These are tawny ports and ruby ports. The basic difference between them is in the length of time they age in the barrel. Ruby port is younger and is aged around 3 years. Tawny port on the other hand will typically be aged 10 to 40 years.  Because it’s a blend of several vintages, the age on the bottle is an average of the age of the wine in the bottle. Tawny ports reflect the aging. The rough edges have been sanded down, and the flavors have matured and ripened.  Typically, you will taste caramel, honey, dried fruits, toffee and perhaps, chocolate. 

Tawnies give you more than a hint of what a vintage port is like at a fraction of the price.  A tawny is a wonderful dessert in and of itself but is also a great accompaniment to fruit desserts, such as pies or tarts.  Tawnies also tend to last several days, if not weeks, after opening, and they can be purchased for a relative bargain.  Fonseca makes a delicious tawny which I found in at least one local store for approximately $15.  You might also try the Benjamin tawny for about $14. (It’s not a true port since it’s made in Australia but it’s delicious.) Several other good and affordable ports are Warre’s Warrior, Graham Six Grapes and Fonseca Bin 27, which all retail for about $15.

If I haven’t convinced you yet of why port is preferable to chocolate this Valentine’s day, consider this:  It’s under 200 calories per glass, and your sweetie might just give you extra points for creativity!