Port - When To Enjoy It
Port is one of the delights that has come to us with a rich history. It originates from Portugal, not far from the Spanish border. Like many inventions, port came about through necessity, because sailors needed to have a drink of wine in the evenings while they were away from home. With no real effective means of cooling wine, someone came up with the idea of mixing brandy with red wine and it worked. The resulting mixture kept longer under changing temperatures, tasted great and had an increased alcohol content. Seafarers from other countries son discovered the great taste of port and it spread quickly in the late seventeenth century.
Today, many port varieties are produced using both red and white grapes with varying tastes and lives. The tastes vary from sweet to dry across the different types of port, such as ruby, tawny, vintage and white. There are other newer names, but most fit into theses four types. Many are blended in order to maintain a consistent taste over vintages and it is still true that the longer a good port is aged the better it is. The most common is tawny port, which will usually retain its flavor or taste a few months after opening.
Port is best served in port sippers as contact with air tends to reduce the flavor, if the port is sipped slowly. Traditionally, port is served with cheddar cheeses, however any number of cheeses can be used depending on the tastes of the consumers. There are many different varieties of cheeses, that often port is served with up to five different cheeses to cater for the tastes of the consumers. Port with chocolate is also becoming a favorite of a lot of people, particularly white chocolate with white port on a cold winters night.
It seems that only the die-hard port lovers drink port in the warmer climates, however they do sometimes chill the port in those places. Ideally 18 C (or 65 F) is the optimum liquid temperature for drinking port, so on a chilly evening port defiantly tastes and feels better.
For those who enjoy the outdoors, having a port around a campfire is very relaxing. Try it sometimes.
Enjoy the taste at all times.
We are researching this amazing product following some discussions with friends recently and found that Port had an interesting story to share. The debate about how to produce a good port from an inexpensive port using a port barrel at home is interesting as is the use of port sippers by some keen port lovers who like to taste port as it was intended by the maker. For more information go to http://enjoyingport.googlepages.com and enjoy.
Tags: Fortified Wine, Port, Port Barrel, Port History, Port Sipper, Port Wine
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