Port and Other Wines

Port and Other Wines: Ruby, Tawny and White Port

Five bottles are listed here. Three are ports, and between them they cover the three styles you actually choose from: Vista Alegre Fine Ruby Port, Vista Alegre Fine Tawny Port and Vista Alegre Fine White Port. The other two are Blueberry Wine and Honey mead. If you are choosing a bottle as a gift, the short answer is this: ruby is the younger style, aged only a few years or less in barrel; tawny is aged in barrel for much longer before release; and white is the one to serve chilled, before the meal rather than after it. You must be 18 or over to buy alcohol from us.

What Port Actually Is

Port is a Portuguese fortified wine produced in the Douro Valley of northern Portugal. It is typically a sweet red wine, often served with dessert, although it also comes in dry, semi-dry and white varieties. What sets it apart is the method: fermentation is stopped early by adding a neutral grape spirit known as aguardente, which leaves residual sugar in the wine and boosts the alcohol to somewhere between 19 and 22 percent by volume. Wikipedia's port wine entry covers the styles in full.

Ruby, Tawny or White: How to Choose

The names are not marketing: they are the trade's own designations, and each bottle here wears one.

• Ruby. The younger of the two red categories, aged only a few years or less in barrel. Regular ruby ports are often called "Fine Ruby", which is exactly the designation on the Vista Alegre Fine Ruby Port label.
• Tawny. Aged in barrel for typically much longer before release. The aged tawny designations carry an indication of age in ten year increments, from 10 up to 50 years, though not every tawny carries one.
• White. Made from a different set of grapes than the red ports. The young ones are often called "Fine White", as on the Vista Alegre Fine White Port. White port can be served chilled.

So the decision is mostly about when you plan to open it. White and tawny ports are often served as an apéritif, and in continental Europe all types of port are frequently drunk that way. In English speaking countries port is most commonly served after the meal, as a dessert wine.

Serving and Pairing Port

With the exception of white port, which can be served chilled, port should be served at between 15 and 20 °C. Tawny port may also be served slightly cooler. Port is commonly served after meals as a dessert wine, often with cheese, nuts or chocolate. If chocolate is the plan, our chocolates, truffles and sweet treats collection is the obvious place to look.

Store port at a cool, steady temperature, such as a cellar. Lay the bottle on its side if it has a cork, or stand it up if it is stoppered.

Blueberry Wine and Honey Mead

Two bottles on this page are not port at all. Honey mead is mead, an alcoholic drink made by fermenting honey mixed with water, sometimes with fruits, spices, grains or hops added. It is also known as honey wine. Wikipedia's mead entry traces the history. Blueberry Wine is, as the label says, a blueberry wine.

The Douro, Unfortified

Port comes from the Douro, and the Douro also produces still, unfortified red wine. If the Douro is what interests you rather than the fortification, Barao de Vilar Mentor Douro Doc in our red wines carries the Douro DOC on its label.

Port as a Gift

Port is a considered buy, and it suits being given rather than grabbed. It is meant to be shared at the end of a meal, and the style you pick says something about who you picked it for: white as an apéritif for someone who entertains, tawny for the barrel-aged end, ruby for the younger style. Our alcohol gift sets cover the made-up options.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between ruby, tawny and white port?

Ruby is the younger of the red categories, aged only a few years or less in barrel; regular ruby ports are often called "Fine Ruby". Tawny is aged in barrel for typically much longer before release. White port is made from a different set of grapes than the red ports, and the young ones are often called "Fine White". White port can be served chilled.

What port does vomFASS UK sell?

Three: Vista Alegre Fine Ruby Port, Vista Alegre Fine Tawny Port and Vista Alegre Fine White Port. The same collection also lists Blueberry Wine and Honey mead.

What temperature should port be served at?

With the exception of white port, which can be served chilled, port should be served at between 15 and 20 degrees C. Tawny port may also be served slightly cooler.

Is port always sweet?

No. Port is typically a sweet red wine, often served with dessert, although it also comes in dry, semi-dry and white varieties.

What is mead?

Mead is an alcoholic drink made by fermenting honey mixed with water, sometimes with added ingredients such as fruits, spices, grains or hops. It is also known as honey wine.

If you are choosing between the three styles, the split is when you open the bottle: the Fine White Port chilled before the meal, the Fine Ruby Port or Fine Tawny Port after it.