WRITTEN & CURATED BY SUSANNE SAYLES, DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & EVENTS

Each month at R. Stuart, we host an exclusive tasting experience where the R. Stu Crew shares our newest releases, library gems, and wine education opportunities to our Wine Club Members. We call it The Happiest Hours.

Deciding on each month’s focus is something our team enjoys, as it allows us to reflect upon the inquiries, curiosities, and passions of our Wine Club members, as well as our own! As our team sat down in January to plan this year’s series, our tasting room host, Zoe, chimed in and asked, “Can we talk about port?”

Port – or as we are legally required to call it outside of Portugal, tawny dessert wine – tends to be the wine we whisper about to guests at the end of a tasting. “So, do you like port? Have you ever tried one?” It does not get the consistent spotlight in the way that our Bubbly, Pinot Gris, or single vineyard Pinots do. Due to its aging process, it’s not a wine in our cellar that even our team gets to interact with often. Zoe’s suggestion sparked a conversation quickly. “I use port all the time in cooking, we could talk about that!” said Janet, “I’ve heard about using port in cocktails and really want to try it,” said Nora.

And so it was decided: February’s Happiest Hours was going to focus on port style wines.

This blog post is a recap of the information we presented at The Happiest Hours: A Port Wine Exploration on February 20th, 2025. It’s also a great resource if you want to host a port wine tasting of your own! We’re including the same information we shared with Wine Club members about the history of port, classifications of the wine, as well as the production process. You’re also getting access to the tasting mat and curated recipes we gifted each guest. If you have any questions about the material below, please reach out to Director of Marketing & Events, Susanne, and she’ll chat all things port wines with you. Enjoy!

The following information was compiled from: Wine Folly & Rick Steves.

The Origins of Port Wine

The story goes that port wine was invented accidentally. A pair of English brothers, before taking a shipment of Portuguese wine back to England in the late 1600s, fortified the wine with grape brandy to maintain its quality during the long trip. Because Britain isn’t suitable for growing grapes, its citizens have long imported wine from France. But in the 17th and 18th centuries, when Britain was at war with France, they boycotted enemy wine and went looking elsewhere for grape-based refreshment.

The brandy-fortified wine from Portugal picked up the flavor of the oak en route back to Blighty — a taste the English grew to appreciate. In 1703, a treaty reduced taxation on Portuguese wines, making port even more popular. In 1756, Portugal’s Marquês de Pombal set the boundaries of the Douro region — the first such designation in Europe. From then on, true “port wine” came only from this region, following specific regulations of production, just as “Champagne” technically refers to wines from that region of France. True “port Wine” can only be made in Portugal. (This is why we call ours at R. Stuart, “Tawny Dessert Wine”.)

Why Fortify Wine?

The core process of making port wine is the same as making any other varietal, like Pinot noir. As grapes come into a facility, and they are (typically) destemmed and put into fermenters to begin fermentation. In fermentation, the yeasts in the juice are eating the sugars from the grapes. For Pinot noir, R. Stuart allows the fermentation to go “til dry,” or until the sugar levels have dropped dramatically, meaning the yeasts have done their job of converting the sugars into alcohol fully. This also creates a wine that has very minimal residual sugar; most of our Pinot noirs sit at <0.2% RS (residual sugar).

However, with port wine, the goal is to maintain the sugar in the product. Once the fermentation has brought the RS to the desired level, winemakers will add the spirit (typically brandy) to the wine to fortify it. Fortification, as may of you know, means to strengthen or protect. In the case of wine, the addition of a spirit stops fermentation completely, as the high alcohol content is inhospitable to microorganisms like bacteria and yeast. As the yeasts no longer are alive to eat the sugars, there is now a high sugar level maintained in the wine.

Graphic from “Wines ‘Til Sold Out”

Classifications of Port

There are two main types of port wines: ruby and tawny. Ultimately, these wines are the same at their core, using the same grape varietals, fermentation, and fortification. The difference between the two is simply aging!

Ruby port is known to be simple, fruity, slight depth, a youthful character, and flavors of black and red berries, plums, and dates. The vessels in which ruby ports are aged in are large oak casks for an average of two years. These oak casks are so large that the wine aging inside has little direct contact with the oak and also is exposed to little oxygen due to the volume inside of the casks. As soon as ruby ports are bottled, they are ready to drink and enjoy.

Tawny port is true to its name in color, taking on brown and golden hues due to the oxidation and extended aging they go through. Tawny ports are qualified by notes of toffee, vanilla, blackberry, cherry, figs, mocha, caramel, and candied nuts. A tawny port is put into a much smaller cask than rubies, and therefore have much more exposure to oak and more surface contact to oxygen. These barrels are aged for an average of 7 years, allowing for the oxidation to influence the overall profile of the wine.

These two classifications aren’t the only ports being made in the world. White and rosé ports also exist, with their base wine product being produced in the same way as our Pinot Gris or Pinot Noir Rosé. Just as with a ruby or tawny, a fortification is added to stop fermentation, keeping these wines sweet. White and rosé ports are often served at a cooler temperature than their ruby or tawny counterparts, similar to white and red table wines.

Varietals Used in Port

Technically speaking, ruby and tawny port can be made from any red grape varietal. In the Willamette Valley, there are even folks making port with Pinot noir! In Portugal, there are said to be upwards of 52 traditional varietals used for port wines. Among those varietals are the most commonly used, indigenous varietals including:

  • Touriga Franca – smooth, delicate, and floral with velvety tannins
  • Touriga Nacional – deep, intense aromas of fruit such as blackberry and plum
  • Tinta Roriz – also known as Tempranillo, with a spice quality on the nose and palate
  • Tinta Barroca – dark fruit profile with hints of spice, tobacco, and dark chocolate
  • Tinta Cão – red fruit forward with herbal notes, such as eucalyptus and acacia

Portuguese white ports also use a traditional set of grapes, including Rabigato (rare white wine varietal meaning “cat tail,” referring to its cluster shape), Viosinho (used for structure and fragrance, it is heavily citrus and mineral forward), Gouveio (a fresher white varietal with stone fruit and tropical notes), and Malvasia (also known as Boal, a varietal often used in Madeira as it is a naturally sweet grape).

The History of Douro Valley

The Douro Valley has a long standing history in winemaking, as the Romans who arrived in Portugal in the 2nd Century BC (and remained for over 500 years) grew vines and made wine on the banks of the Douro River – right where port is produced today.

Those familiar with the Willamette Valley and Oregon wine country know are aware of the vast array of microclimates, soils, and farming practices used. The Douro Valley is very similar, with even one vineyard having multiple characteristics for vineyard stewards to become accustomed to.

On the West coast of Portugal, at the Douro River’s mouth in Porto, the temperatures are moderate and there is a decent amount of rain. But moving inland roughly 50 miles through the chain of mountains, the climate changes drastically to become hot and dry in the summer, with heavy rainfall and extreme cold in the winter. The soils in Douro are predominately sedimentary rocks that have been buried, heated, and deformed into a metamorphic rock called schist. These flayers are tilted under the soil at an angle, allowing rain to soak the soil and create underground reserves. Throughout the long, dry summer, grape vines work their way down through the soil and rock upwards of 30 feet to access the water reserves.

Winemaking Practices in Douro

The terracing systems used in the Douro Valley are expensive, both to build and maintain. The grapes are harvested by hand rather than machine to preserve the structural integrity of the terracing and grape vines. Within certain regions, farmers are not allowed to irrigate their vineyards without special permission. At the core of port ethos is that you respect the vintage and all it brings (or does not bring!).

Pigeage – or stomping by foot – is a common practice throughout the world of wine. At R. Stuart, pigeage is sometimes used on varietals which have thick skins (such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Dornfelder) compared to Pinot noir. In Douro, pigeage is used not because of tradition, but rather because the soft soles of feet against the large, shallow, granite vats (known as lagares) keep the seeds of the grape in tact and therefore do not release their bitter tannins into the wine.

When it comes to storing wines properly, not all of the work is done in the Douro Valley. Port typically stays there for only one winter after it’s made, as the cold temperatures allow for the wine and brandy to meld and integrate. Afterward, the product is taken to Porto, where the milder and more humid climate is well suited for aging.

The Tasting Process

When Rob and I were discussing this tasting experience, we knew we wanted to anchor our guests’ tasting with particular focus points. We know that in tasting wine, having the vocabulary to describe what someone is tasting is key in being able to communicate what they enjoy or do not enjoy. Beyond tasting notes (this wine smells like black cherry and cedar, and tastes like plum and baking chocolate), there is also vocabulary around the structure of the wine, which is where we anchored our tasting mat. You can click the image below to download a PDF of what we created.

Most folks who have drank port before know that it is a sweet, typically more viscous, and rich wine. So rather than focusing on “how sweet is it,” or what the tasting notes were, we asked our guests to focus on the following:

  • Perceived Alcohol
    • Port being a two-fold alcohol product, we wanted to see how the fortification enhances and melds into the base wine.
      • Does the alcohol come off as hot and boozy? Or round and soft?
      • Does the alcohol feel integrated into the wine, or do you get two layers in your sip (the wine, the booze)?
  • Weight/Texture
    • Knowing that port typically has higher viscosity due to its sugar content, we wanted to acknowledge that contribution to the mouthfeel of the wine
      • Does the wine feel thin? As in, does it leave your palate quickly? Does it lack a bit of dynamic structure in flavors that linger?
      • Does the wine feel heavy? Does it linger on your palate? Does it have layers to its flavor or experience on your palate?
  • Freshness/Aging
    • In knowing port styles (ruby, tawny, etc.) are determined by their aging, being able to identify the “freshness” of the wine can also be an indicator as to what style of port it is.
      • Does the wine taste young, fresh, or fruit forward? This can suggest a ruby port.
      • Does the wine taste aged, oxidized, or “raisiny”? This can suggest a tawny port.

The Wines We Tasted

In addition to showcasing R. Stuart’s ports, and bottles from here in the Willamette Valley, we were lucky to receive two bottles of Ramos Pinto port, one of the few Portuguese port producers who use all estate-grown fruit to make their port wines. We tasted the wines in sets of two – with the Portuguese ports side by side, then the Willamette Valley ports, and then our own house ports. The goal in tasting two at a time was to give a point of comparison, as well as to show stylistic winemaking choices and how to show in the final wine product.

Here was our line-up as well as the questions I posed to guests after tasting each set:

An image of the 6 bottles lined up next to each other, showcasing the port wines tasted. From left to right, the bottles are: Ramos Pinto white port, Ramos Pinto 10 Year Tawny, Coelho NV Dessert Wine Aventure, Dominio IV Unraveling Rubies Fortified Wine, R. Stuart NV Tawny, and R. Stuart 2013 Colheita.

The Food Pairings

True for any wine, food can play an essential role in how flavors and textures are perceived – not to mention the perfect bite just may sway one’s overall evaluation of a wine. We opted for some classic port wine pairings on our tasting plate, in addition to a few options which took our guests by surprise. In deciding which bites to include, I considered factors such as the food’s sweetness, fattiness, tannin structures, and even saltiness. When guiding guests through their plates, I suggested a few wine-to-food bites to explore (the dried apricots and smoked steelhead were intentionally plated for the white port), but ultimately instructed folks to explore and find what they enjoyed as a pairing. To the R. Stu Crew, half the fun of food and wine explorations is finding combinations that surprise us and make us return for more.

The final plating included:

  • Dark chocolate & milk chocolate
  • An almond snacking cake
  • Smoked steelhead
  • Dried apricots
  • Candied Marcona almonds
  • Salted and roasted Marcona almonds
  • Toasted pecans and walnuts
  • Stilton cheese, selected by our friends at Mack & Cheese

Rob’s favorite pairing was the almond snacking cake with the white port, while my favorite bite was the toasted pecans with our NV Tawny. The Stilton, to no one’s surprise, matched well with every wine we poured – holding up to its classic title of the perfect pairing to port wines!

Port Other Ways & Takeaways

As stated earlier, we hosted this class to dispel guests’ preconceived notions of port and to extend an understanding of how varied port can be. We also wanted to explore how to enjoy port beyond simply pouring it in a glass next to a nibble of chocolate. Nora had a brilliant idea of researching port-based cocktails, which led to a spritzy end of the evening: a port & tonic cocktail. This simple drink shines an entirely new light on port-wine, and, in my eyes, sealed the deal as to why port should be a staple in everyone’s household.

This cocktail is a 1:1 ratio of port (we used R. Stuart’s 2013 Colheita) to tonic water over ice, with a finish of orange peel and a sprig of mint. The end result is a cocktail extremely reminiscent of a negroni, with a lifted fruit profile and bitter edge thanks to the orange peel, and less pronounced sweetness as the effervescence lifted the port’s texture.

Additionally, I wanted to highlight that port is not solely for drinking. Incorporating this wine into cooking is easy and goes with everything from braised meats to ice cream. Guests walked away with a bundle of recipes, each featuring port wine, to try at home. You can gather them for yourself by clicking this link, where they are all compiled as one PDF.

Included recipes:

  • Thyme & Port Wine Sauce (for savory dishes)
  • Sweet Port Wine Reduction Sauce (for sweet dishes)
    • Includes recipe for the Dried Fruit Pound Cake it is suggested to be served with
  • Vegan Creamy Polenta and Port Wine Mushrooms
  • Port Sliders with Goat Cheese and Caramelized Onions
  • Port Wine Cocktails
    • Port & Tonic
    • Ruby Royale
    • Bishop Cocktail
    • Bar Drake Manhattan

In conclusion

This exploratory tasting was simply a blast for both our guests and the R. Stu Crew. Our guests were able to experience port wines from abroad and domestically and gained vocabulary and strategies for exploring port in their futures. As the host, the research we collected to curate the evening also provided key insights as to how we can showcase our port wines in the future and dispel some preconceived notions that guests may come in to our tasting room with. That’s the goal with The Happiest Hours, after all: for the R. Stu Crew to continue fueling their passions about wine all the while educating our consumers and enhancing their experience with our wines.

We are so grateful to the Wine Club Members who joined us for this event. Stay tuned to our emails, events page, and social media for the next event. We’ll see you then!