Nestled away in the city of Porto, the capital of the north in Portugal, is a lush, rugged land called the Duoro Valley. This landscape of dry, baking summers and severely chilling winters creates an unexpectedly perfect climate for vineyards. It is here that the grapes for the world’s best port wines are grown and harvested.

The port wines that are created in the Duoro Valley are unrivaled. While wineries in many other parts of the world try to imitate the flavors of the wines created here, they have remained unmatched for many years.

The only real, true port comes from the Duoro region. But since winemakers in other countries have taken to producing “port,” many Duoro port makers have started to call their port “porto” or “oporto” after the name of the city.

What makes port wine distinct is that it is basically wine that has been fortified with brandy spirit. This spirit is added prior to the natural cessation of fermentation, so the wine is always distinctly sweet.

The addition of the strong alcohol kills the fermentation process, which is the process of the yeast converting the grape sugar into alcohol. The eventual alcohol content is still higher than regular wine, however, with the typical level being about 20%, because of the brandy that has been added.

While visiting the city of Port with Deluxe Kosher Tours, you’ll have the amazing opportunity to sample the only kosher port wine produced in the entire world! I am certain that you will enjoy the rich red color, fresh fruity and woody notes, and elegant finish.

During our visit to Taylor’s Wine Cellar in Porto, we’ll also have the opportunity to tour these amazing facilities and learn about the art of making port.

There are several different types of port wine that are produced in the Duoro Valley. These include:

Vintage Port: A “declared vintage” means that the port house feels the wine is of the necessary quality to age well in a bottle. The wines will age for up to two years in an oak cask, but then do the rest of their aging in the bottle. The wines may need upwards of 15 years before they are ready to drink and may last for decades more. This is the best and finest quality level of port.

Single Quinta Port: A single quinta port is a true vintage port; it is wine from one harvest year that has been bottled unblended after two years in a cask. When a shipper “declares a vintage,” the vintage port from that year usually comes from wines produced by grapes from various vineyards (called quintas.)

However, sometimes a producer’s single best vineyard will yield grapes fine enough to warrant bottling on their own. The producer may then choose to vinify this wine from that single quinta. This is called “single quinta vintage port” and the quinta name will appear on the label.

Late Bottled Vintage Port: Late bottled vintage ports have been aged in wood for about four to five years, which is longer than vintage port. This prolonged aging in casks results in a port wine that is ready to drink at a younger age. It does not need to age in the bottle for as long as a vintage port.

You can also find Tawny Ports, which have a deep tawny color due to many years of aging in oak casks, and even the less common White Port.

There is much more to explore and discover when visiting the city of Port and learning the fine art of making port- the only true port wine in the world.

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