Port & Food Pairing

What is Port Wine?

Port is a fortified wine and sweet wine from Portugal with hints of nuts, caramel, raspberry and chocolate. Fortified means another spirit has been added, and with Port, this spirit is Brandy. Fortified wines like Port are higher in alcohol than most wines, so Port is often made in a sweeter style to mask the dizzying alcohol flavours. Port is typically enjoyed with a dessert, nuts or cheese, however, depending on the style, there will be many other options. Below are the more common styles of port and what they pair up best with.

Best Food with Ruby Port

Ruby Port is the youngest style of port and pairs best with blue cheeses, dark chocolate desserts and desserts made with berries and cherries. Ruby Port lacks the nuttier flavours of aged port and features sweet notes of blackberries, cherries, dates, figs, plums, raisins, raspberries and licorice. Ruby Port works with all cheeses, but with Blue Cheese it excels as the sweet fruit flavours of the port contrast the saltiness of the cheese.

Best Food with LBV Port

Late Bottled Vintage Port pairs best with goat cheese, almonds, blue cheese, brownies, nuts, and dishes in a mole sauce. LBV Port is a style of Ruby port that has been bottled 4-6 years after being harvested. LBV is much less expensive than a Vintage Port yet features similar characteristics such as spice, vanilla, raising, and blackberries. LBV Port can be kept for a few weeks after opening as long as it is refrigerated.

Best Food with Vintage Port

Vintage Port matches up best with blue-cheeses, smoky cheeses, chocolate and nutty desserts along with appetizers featuring figs, dates or cheese. Vintage Port is the highest quality of Ruby port and can be aged for decades. Vintage will pair well with all the foods we mentioned for Ruby, however, as it has deeper notes of butterscotch, dried fruits, smoke and spices, it’s extra nice with special occasion foods.

Expect some sediment in the bottle, and try to finish this wine in one sitting as it does not last long after opening. One of the reasons Vintage Port is expensive as it is not made every year. Instead, Vintage Port is only made during the years where the growing conditions are best. Vintage Port can also age up for a century, making it an incredibly special fortified wine.

Best Food with Tawny Port

Tawny Port pairs best with blue cheese, foie gras, chocolate cheesecake, ham, roasted almonds, apple pie, fruit cake, tiramisu, and crème brûlée. The more you age a Tawny Port, the better it pairs with intense foods as the wine develops more and more complicated flavours. Thus a 20-year old Tawny port is more suitable with foie gras, whereas a 10-year old Tawny Port is delicious with an apple pie. However, no matter what style of Tawny Port you pair up with, I doubt you’ll get any complaints.

Tawny Port is a fortified wine with nutty and fruity tones. Brown sugar, caramel, chocolate, coffee, dried fruit, smoke, spice and vanilla all dominate the nose. Tawny Port is essential at Thanksgiving as it is phenomenal with Pecan, Apple and Pumpkin Pie. Tawny Port will also pair up with duck or venison dishes featuring dark cherry or berry sauces. You’ll just want to keep your portion sizes limited to 2 or 3 ounces as Tawny Port is deceptively high in alcohol.

What is the Difference Between Tawny and Ruby Port?

Tawny Port differs than Ruby Port as Tawny is aged in small oak casks for a long time. This gives Tawny Port a nutty and dried fruit quality. Ruby Port is only aged a couple years at most, and as such, it is much fruitier and sweeter than Tawny Port.

Best Food with Colheita Port

Colheita Port pairs best with crème brûlée, chocolate cake, brownies, trail mix and fruit cake. Colheita Port is a Tawny Port style where the wine has been aged in oak for at least 7 years, and the grapes are from a single harvest. With Colheita Port you’ll find notes of caramel, coffee, almond, honey, plums, cherries, dried fig, smoke and walnuts. The best of both worlds as you get a balance between fruit and nuts.

Best Food with White Port

Dry White Port pairs best with shellfish, smoked salmon, swiss cheese, or as an aperitif. Sweet White Port pairs up with melon desserts, cheese, white chocolate desserts, strawberry shortcake and lemon squares. With white port, expect flavours of citrus, honey, peaches and nuts.