Today is National port day. Woo Hoo!!! I’m talking about the stuff you drink…not the place where ships come in and load and unload. What? you’ve never had a glass of port wine? You’ve heard the terms tawny port and ruby port but have no idea what they are or what that means? Well, that’s why I’m doing this post.
I was fortunate to have traveled to Portugal twice last year and get quite the lesson in port wine, as well as being able to eat the fantastic food and soak in some gorgeous weather at the same time.
Port wine is a fortified wine. What is it fortified with – brandy. In a nutshell, this fortification process occurred when the British discovered that they couldn’t bring the wines of Portugal back to Britain without them going bad. It was discovered that adding brandy to the wine stopped the fermentation process, left some residual sugar, and made a pretty tasty wine. By the way…the brandy referred to here is not what you think of when you hear the term brandy. It’s a neutral grape spirit called aguardente.
Ruby ports are young port wines. The rubies have a more pronounced fruit flavor and sweetness. Ruby ports are commonly served chilled as an aperitif, or mixed into cocktails. Ruby port is often found in dessert recipes, because of its sweetness. This is a fantastic wine for poaching fruit. Ruby ports, like tawnies, are ready to drink as soon as they are bottled. They are also very stable once opened, meaning you have a while to drink them once they are opened.
Tawny Ports are older, lighter in body and color, and drier than Ruby Ports. The name “Tawny” comes from their darker (brownish) color (just like the “Ruby” terminology comes from the ruby color of the port wine). Tawny ports are produced by combining several older port wines together. These blends mix young wine with older wines. There are different kinds of tawny ports, but there are two major types of tawnies. Those with no age specified and those with a specified age. The only age statements that are legally permitted to grace the bottles are: 10, 20, 30 and 40-year old tawny ports. In what would seem a bit counter intuitive, the older the port, the more pale the color. These older tawny ports have a more complex aroma, delicate flavor, a drier style and bigger price tag. Tawny ports, like rubies, do not improve with more bottle age and are very stable once opened. Tawny ports are generally served at room temperature and not mixed into cocktails. Although I did use some for this grainy mustard recipe.
Of course port wine isn’t just as easy as tawny or ruby. Well, ruby is pretty straight forward…it is what it is. But tawny ports include such bottlings as vintage, late bottle vintage (LBV) and colheita. Here’s a little breakdown of these types.
A vintage port is the most expensive port wine. It’s made from the best grapes in a particular year. It’s aging potential and prestige go into determining its price. A vintage port only comes from years that are deemed “vintage worthy” which happens only a few times each decade. Vintage ports are only barrel aged two years when they are released, but they are not ready to drink. These wines continue to mature in their bottles. Vintage port wines are to be cellared for years or decades. Once opened, a vintage port should be consumed within 3-4 days.
A late bottle vintage port spends 4-6 years in barrels before being bottled. An LBV is typically ready to drink once it is available on store shelves. These bottles are less expensive than their vintage port counterparts and allow you to get a taste of the vintage experience without the hefty price tag. Because they have been aged much longer in barrels, you have more time to consume them. Once opened, a bottle of LBV should be consumed within 1-2 months.
A colheita port is another type of tawny port. These bottles also have a specific year on them, but don’t confuse them with a vintage port. Yes, the grapes are all from one particular vintage, but they have been spent a minimum of 20 years in barrels. Once opened, a colheita should be consumed within 1-2 weeks. There is a bit of chatter on this though. Some will last longer than this time and still taste fantastic.
In case you were wondering where the name Port came from…In the 17th century, it was named for the area of Portugal where the wine was shipped from, Oporto (or Porto). The port wine is grown and pressed in the Duoro area of Portugal, then transported down the river to Porto where it was fermented then shipped. Porto isn’t some industrial port area either. below is a picture of Porto and the boats that were used to transport the valuable cargo.
So celebrate National Port Day and pour yourself a nice glass of port wine. Oh, and it pairs wonderfully with chocolate.
Relationship Advice
Sometimes you just need to test your love.
Recipe: Salted Chocolate Espresso Squares with Caramel
Ingredients
For Salted Chocolate Cake
- 1 Pound (54% – 60%) Dark Chocolate (chopped)
- 1 Cup Unsalted Butter – 2 Cups (cut into pieces)
- 7 Large Eggs
- 1 Cup Light Brown Sugar (packed)
- 1/4 Cup Espresso (instant espresso powder works great)
- 1 Teaspoon Coarse Kosher Salt
- Coarse Sea Salt (for sprinkling)
For Caramel
- 1 Tablespoon Water
- 1 1/2 Cups Granulated Sugar
- 1/2 Cup (1 stick) Unsalted Butter
- 1/2 Cup Cream
Instructions
- Place rack in center of the oven. Place a half sheet pan (with sides) on rack and fill half way with water. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.
- Line an 8″x8″ baking pan with parchment paper. You will need to either cut or fold the paper so that it fits width wise. Let the ends hang over the sides of the pan (you will use those later to lift the cake out of the pan for cutting and serving.) Layer the pan with 2 pieces of the parchment paper so that they criss-cross and you have ends folded over all 4 sides of the 8″x8″ pan. Sprinkle some of the coarse sea salt onto the parchment paper. If using the coarse sea salt – sprinkle sparingly (a little goes a long way). If using a less coarse sea salt, you can use a bit more.
- Combine chopped chocolate and pieces of butter into a medium size glass or metal bowl. Set bowl on top of saucepan that contains simmering water (do not let the bottom of the bowl touch the water). Using a spatula, stir until the mixture is melted and smooth. Remove the bowl from over the water.
- In a large bowl whisk brown sugar, eggs, and espresso until thoroughly combined. Add in chocolate and butter mixture and whisk until smooth. Whisk in kosher salt.
- Pour half of the batter into the parchment paper lined baking pan. Place the baking pan into the water filled sheet pan that is in the oven. Cook for 20 – 25 minutes. The mixture will not be cooked, but it will be firmer than when you put it into the oven.
For Caramel
- Add water and sugar to heavy saucepan and put it over medium high heat. Leave the pan alone, but watch for the edges of the sugar to begin to brown and possibly some browning in the middle. Using a high heat resistant spatula (silicon works well), fold the sugar from the edges into the middle and even out the layer of sugar. Do this somewhat slowly while the sugar melts. You will see it change from white, to gold, to amber and finally a deep amber/brown. When the sugar just begins to smoke, remove it from the heat and add the stick of butter. (It will bubble) Stir the butter and sugar until the butter melts. Add the cream. (This will cause the mixture to bubble even more violently than the butter.) Stir to combine the cream. To firm the caramel sauce up, place the pot into ice cubes and stir gently from the bottom of the pan. You don’t want the caramel to harden, just firm up into a thick sauce. Remove from the ice when it has thickened.
- Pour 1/2 cup of sauce into a container and set aside. Gently pour the remaining caramel over the top of the semi-cooked chocolate cake. The caramel will sit on top of the layer. Smooth caramel over the cake.
- Whisk the remaining batter to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed. Pour this batter over the top of the caramel.
- Return the pan to the water filled half sheet pan, tent with foil, and bake for 75 minutes. Bake cake until cake is set in the center and the top is dry to the touch. The top of this cake will remain shiny, even when done baking.
- Remove from oven and sprinkle with more coarse sea salt.
Quick notes
To make the sugar decorations for the top of the cake, follow the caramel directions but omit the butter and cream. Drizzle melted sugar onto a silicon mat (Silpat) or foil. Let cool and peel off carefully when needed. To plate the salted chocolate cake drizzle extra caramel on to the plate, add a small slice of cake (trust me…this stuff is really rich), drizzle with more caramel and top with sugar decoration.
Preparation time: 25 minute(s)
Cooking time: 1 hour(s) 35 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 12
Culinary tradition: USA (General)
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I adore port, a little too much I think. It also makes a lovely gift and goes really well with cheese. Also, if you’re a dedicated port drinker, invest in some nice port glasses. (My mom gave me her set – crystal glasses from Tiffany’s that she got as a wedding gift.) It makes drinking port even more special.
Nice picture – Great Chocolate – Great Port………….
So glad we could get you hooked on the stuff.
I love port. We drink it and I cook with it frequently. When we lived in Victoria in the south of Australia we weren’t too far away from Rutherglen. There’s a huge sign as you drive in to the town that says, “Sydney might have the best harbour in the world but Rutherglen has the best port.”
LOL – that’s fantastic! I didn’t realize there was a port region in Australia.
Excellent! Plain ol’ wine just doesn’t do it for me. When I drink it I’m secretly longing for whiskey. . .but port sounds like it may do the trick. Still lovin’ your crockpot carnitas recipe, by the way — my husband devoured the whole thing all by his carnivorous self this week. It’s become a staple at our house. Thanks so much!
Hi Louise. I think port may be something that will do it for you. It’s def got more body than wine, but not quite the same punch as whiskey (but I’m a whiskey girl too). So glad to hear the crockpot carnitas are a hit in your house.
Nice port primer! And I love the photo with the casks on boats, Fonseca in the background.
We LOVE port wine, it’s my husband’s drink of choice. But frankly, I haven’t the faintest idea about it. So ah, thanks for edumacating me…