The ‘usual suspects’ - Ruby, Tawny & white port Wine
The diverse styles of port wine all originate from one of these fundamental types. To fully appreciate the variety of port wines available, it's crucial to first understand these three primary styles. This foundation will enhance your understanding of the other port wine varieties.
Ruby port
The ruby color of a vintage 2018 is very full, dark, and fruity
This specific wine is a vintage 2018 (ruby). You can see the particles in the glass, that is typical for a vintage port wine, when it’s not fully filtered.
First, we will dive into the ruby style port wines. The Ruby Port is the original port style and can be characterized as young, fresh, super fruity, red/ruby and is always the base of any port wine (except for the whites, as they use white grapes).
Ruby Port is a blend of different red grapes from the Douro. Such as the Touriga National, Touriga Franca, and many other typical red grape variaties from Portugal’s wine region the Douro. For all red grape varieties you can check out our extensive grape glossary here.
Production proces of a Ruby style Port wine
For those unfamiliar with the production proces of a ruby style port, we have done some research and found the following processes to be crucial to create a ruby style port. Note that this is not perse different then the proces of the other port wine styles, as ruby is the base for a tawny. But it is good to understand all the steps necessary, to be able to produce the ruby port wines.
First of all - the pruning, harvest and post-production proces: All year around the grapes and vines need caring. By hand, the vines are pruned in the right seasons so that the grapes can use maximum capacity to grow during the nice summer months.
Around the end of august, beginning of september, it’s time to start hand-picking the grapes on the steep slopes of the Douro, so that they can be transported to the facility where they will be selected for further processing (the stams of the vines and grapes are not seperated in this stage, adding loads of tannins to the wine). After grape selection, its time to poor the processed grapes into either lageres from granite or the latest RVS lageres, that have modern treading so there is less need of human intervenience.
Port production Proces
Source: School of Port
How to drink Ruby Port wine?
Let look at how to drink a Ruby Style Port wine:
Ruby port is easy to drink. Most bottles have an easy screw cork so that you can open the bottle and close it without any hassle. Did you know that Ruby ports can easily be opened and stored away for 3 months?
This is because the oxidation proces is stopped, the port wine has been filtered and the high concentration of sugars maintain the quality of this very sturdy wine. We believe this is one of the key-succes factors of the fortified wines since the growth of the product around 1950.
How to store Ruby Port wine?
Let’s say you just want to sip a bit of Ruby Port wine now and then, how to store this opened bottle? If you want to keep your bottle for a longer period after opening it, you can just put it in your refrigerator, cupboard or basement. Nice and cool and in the dark. Did you know that all ruby’s are bottled in dark bottles, so to keep the light out and therefore prolong the ability to store away the ruby’s? Great idea isn’t it?
Maturation:
It’s correct that Ruby Styled Ports are not matured in pipes/barrels and can either stay consistent and not mature, like a Ruby Port, an LBV, and a Crusted Port. However, Vintages, which do mature in the bottle, will over time develop characteristics similar to Tawny wines. This can be a bit confusing for some, but it’s actually rather simple. So here is a cheat-sheet about the different styles of Ruby:
Cheat-sheet Ruby Port wines
TAWNY PORT
Secondly, we have the famous Tawny Style port wine. This port wine style is a much older style. The wines that come from the Ruby style have been aged in barrels, otherwise know in the douro as Pippa’s and they have changed in many ways the style of the port wine. The following changes are part of the proces:
Coloring
Flavors, such as smells and taste
Sweetness
Oxidation
These tawny’s are maturing in old pippas, that give the wines room to oxidise. Storing is a vital part of the tawny’s maturation proces and for some tawny’s, this maturation can take up to 100 years. But they will fall into a different category from after 7 years of aging, also known as ‘aged tawny’s or very very old tawny’s. We won’t get into those for now.
History of tawny port wines
Because tawny’s are a product of a ruby port style wine, we can draw a line between an aged vintage ruby port wine and a tawny. Why? Because the aging of vintage ports seems to have a similar kind of effect on the wines. Of course, there is no more contact with oak barrels so a small difference in flavors will be noticeable, but as far as coloring, flavors and texture goes, the difference becomes very small whilst both Tawnys and Ruby’s mature.
Tawny’s port wines find their history a long time ago, around the time that the Portugees started to keep wines for themselves, after selling and shipping the vintage port’s to the England. So a questions I had when writing this article: what came first? Vintage port of Tawny Port wine?
The answer is actually really logical when you come to think of it:
During the time of exporting wines from Portugal to England, Port wine was discovered by chance. Brandy, a byproduct of winemaking, was added to preserve red wines during long overseas shipments. Upon unloading these barrels, the English noticed a very sweet wine, full of fresh fruits and with higher alcohol content, thus discovering the Vintage Port style.
Realizing this method preserved the wine during long trips, the Portuguese began consistently adding brandy to red wines stored in barrels. They observed that these wines changed characteristics over time, transforming from deep purple and ruby-colored wines to more brownish wines, hence the name Tawny.
Today, it is well known that the English prefer the younger Vintage Port style, while the Portuguese are more in love with Colheitas and Tawny-style wines.
Thanks for helping us clarify this, Axel Probst.
WHITE PORT
Now comes what we believe is an underrated category of port wine. The White port. As you can already guess, this style of port wine is made from white grapes only, that also flourish in the douro region. Specifically the grapes; ALVARINHO, GOUVEIO, MALVASIA FINAMALVASIA FINA, MOSCATEL DE SETÚBAL, RABIGATO, VERDELHO and others. For more information about the white grape varieties, please check out this link
Cocktails
White Port: A Versatile and Refreshing Choice
White port, like Pink Port, offers a significant advantage over other port styles: its dry and youthful character makes it an ideal mixer for various drinks. This characteristic not only enhances its versatility but also makes it more affordable than many premium ports, thereby attracting a broader audience.
White ports pair exceptionally well with beverages such as Sprite, tonics, and champagne. Their dryness complements sour drinks beautifully, and because white port is best enjoyed chilled, it becomes a perfect, refreshing option during the hot summer months or early autumn. Picture yourself sipping a glass of white port as you watch a stunning sunset – it’s an experience not to be missed.
To discover how to prepare the perfect summer cocktail with port, check out our extensive blog post about Pink Port Cocktails here
The Evolution of White Port
White port has a rich history dating back to the 1920s, evolving through various marketing strategies and brand developments. Notable figures like Adrian Taylors and Stefano Morello of Niepoort have played significant roles in shaping the market for white port.
Explore the vibrant world of white port and elevate your cocktail game with this versatile, refreshing wine.
White port is also represented in other special categories such as aged and single harvest colheita’s.
A small selection you will find downbelow
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