What is Port? Wine from Porto

By Karen Orlandi. Originally published December 8, 2015, in Wine Regions; updated October 2026.

What Is Port?

Port is a fortified wine from the Douro Valley in northern Portugal. Most Port is red and sweet, but it comes in several styles, including ruby, tawny, white and rosé. The wine takes its name from the city of Porto, near the mouth of the Douro River. Traditionally, Port has been aged in the lodges of Vila Nova de Gaia, across the river from Porto, and shipped from there around the world.

Port is most commonly enjoyed as a dessert wine because it is rich and sweet, but some styles, especially white Port, are also served as an aperitif.

How Port Is Made

Unlike typical dry wines, Port is fortified. Partway through fermentation, a neutral grape spirit known as aguardente is added to the wine. The spirit stops the fermentation before all of the grape sugar has turned into alcohol, so the finished wine keeps much of its natural sweetness and has a higher alcohol level than table wine, typically around 19–22%. Red Port is made mostly from native Portuguese grapes such as Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca and Tinto Cão.

After fortification, a Port's style depends largely on how long it is aged and whether it matures in bottle or in wood.

Ruby Port Styles

Ruby Port

Ruby Port is aged for a relatively short time in large vats or tanks that limit its contact with air, preserving its deep red color and fresh, fruity character. It is bottled ready to drink.

Reserve Ruby Port

A higher-quality ruby blended from selected wines and generally aged longer before bottling, giving it more depth and concentration than basic Ruby. Like Ruby, it is ready to drink when released.

Late Bottled Vintage (LBV)

Port from a single year that is aged in wood for four to six years before bottling, longer than Vintage Port. Most LBVs are filtered and ready to drink on release; unfiltered (“traditional”) LBVs can throw a deposit and benefit from decanting.

Vintage Port

A premium Port made entirely from the grapes of a single, exceptional year. Not every year is declared a vintage year, and the decision is made by each individual Port house, often referred to as a “shipper,” usually in the spring of the second year after the harvest. Vintage Port spends only about two years in wood before it is bottled without filtration, and then it develops in the bottle for decades. In years that are not declared, some houses release a single-quinta Vintage Port made from one estate.

Crusted Port

A blend of Port from several vintages, bottled unfiltered (hence it needs to be decanted). Crusted Ports will improve with age, but are quite approachable at a younger age than Vintage Ports.

Tawny Port Styles

Tawny Port

Made from red grapes and aged in wooden barrels, exposing it to gradual oxidation and evaporation, resulting in a golden-brown color and “nutty” flavors.

Aged Tawny Port (10, 20, 30 and 40 Years Old)

Tawny Ports labeled 10, 20, 30 or 40 Years Old are blends of wines aged in wood. The age on the label describes the style and character of the blend rather than the exact age of every wine in it. As tawnies age, they become more amber in color and more complex, with notes of dried fruit, nuts, caramel and spice.

Colheita

A tawny Port from a single vintage year. Unlike Vintage Port, which is bottled after about two years, Colheita must spend at least seven years in wood, and many spend 20 years or more in barrel before being bottled and sold. The label shows both the vintage and the bottling date.

Garrafeira

An unusual and rare vintage-dated style of Port made from the grapes of a single harvest that combines the oxidative maturation of years in wood with further reductive maturation in large glass demijohns.

White and Rosé Port

White Port

Made from white grapes in a wide variety of styles, from dry to very sweet. Younger white Ports make an excellent base for a cocktail (white Port and tonic is a favorite in Portugal), while those of greater age are best served chilled on their own.

Rosé Port

A relatively recent style, made in a similar manner to a rosé wine, with limited exposure to the grape skins, creating its pink color. It is fresh and fruity and is usually served chilled.

Serving and Storing Port

• Decanting: Vintage Port, Crusted Port and unfiltered LBV develop a sediment in the bottle. Stand the bottle upright for a day or more before serving, then decant it carefully, leaving the sediment behind. Very old Vintage Ports can be delicate, so decant them shortly before serving.
• Temperature: Serve ruby and Vintage Port slightly below room temperature, tawny Port lightly chilled, and white and rosé Port well chilled.
• After opening: As a general guide, tawny Port keeps for several weeks after opening, ruby and LBV for a week or two, and Vintage Port is best enjoyed within a day or two.

Shop Port

We carry many styles of Port, from young bottlings to rare older vintages. Browse our Port selection, including Vintage, Colheita and aged Tawny Ports, or explore Taylor Fladgate, one of the best-known Port houses.