Port Wine with Your Next Dessert!

Portugal’s most famous wine is Port and like Champagne in France, its origins produce a unique experience, in the Douro Valley and the seaport of Oporto. It is meticulously handcrafted as it was centuries ago, as a lusciously sweet and powerful dessert wine, with alcohol content about 20% for most ports.

Five native grapes are used for quality Port, but the one that has the most acclaim is Touriga Nacional. It has intense color, aroma and taste and is the prominent blend in the bottle. As with most other red wines, vintage counts with Portuguese Ports. A 10 year old Port will satisfy; a 20 year old Port will be ecstasy. Look for an aged Tawny Port for more of a nutty, brown sugar taste that can go to 40 years old before release. Names to know are: Cockburn, Graham’s, Dow’s and Fonseca.

One such recommended winery is Pedroncelli in the Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma, with its 2006 Four Grapes Vintage Port. The grapes, which match the best of Portugal, are estate-grown and hand-picked. It is released in 500 ml bottles and will benefit from age for the next 10 years. ( $19.) Find out more at the web site:www.pedroncelli.com.