Port is made in many different styles, primarily divided into two categories: bottle aged and wood aged.

Vintage Port, the pinnacle of all ports, and Single Quinta Ports are known as "bottle aged" port. These wines are aged by the producer for a short time before release, then bottled without filtration.

Vintage Port

Vintage Port is the best of the best ÷ the best wine of one superior "declared" year blended from various vineyard sources. Aged two years in cask before bottling, vintage ports require 15-30 years of bottle aging to reach optimum maturity.

Declaring a vintage is a weighty decision for port producers, as the company’s reputation is largely determined by the quality and style of its vintage port (even though vintage declarations amount to only 1-3% of the total production in any year). When a wine is declared worthy of a vintage designation, the wine must be outstanding and not merely good.

Cockburn’s has historically been more conservative than other port houses in declaring a vintage, choosing to declare only those years which best suit its elegant, less sweet style. Before declaring, Cockburn’s blenders taste, categorize and identify those wines that might ultimately become a vintage blend. Only after this rigorous two-year selection process is a final decision made.

Single Quinta Port

Created from a single vineyard property, known as a quinta, Single Quinta Port is made much the same way as Vintage Port, aged in wood for two years and bottled without filtration. It provides a vintage-style wine in years when no vintage has been officially declared. Single Quinta Vintage ports are released 2-3 years after the vintage, and develop to full potential after 8-10 years in bottle. Single quinta ports are unique in that they convey both the terroir of the property and the character of a single vintage port (i.e. the weather conditions that year). Single Quinta Ports, such as Cockburn’s Quinta dos Canais, tend to cost less than Vintage Ports upon release and mature faster.

Wood aged ports come in a variety of styles, and are aged by the shipper for various amounts of time before release. All wood aged ports are filtered before bottling, thus they do not require decanting. Additionally, wood aged ports are aged before release, and are not intended for additional bottle aging.

Character Port

"Character" ports, such as Cockburn’s Special Reserve, are the standard bearers of the shipper’s house style. Vintage character ports are a blend of fine ruby ports from various years and vineyards, aged for 4-6 years in large vats to retain their ruby red color and bottled ready to drink after filtration.

Late Bottled Vintage Port

Late Bottled Vintage Port (or LBV) is made entirely of wines harvested in a single year, from multiple vineyard properties. The vintage may or may not have been "declared" by the port house. While true vintage ports are aged in cask for two years, LBVs such as Cockburn’s Anno are aged four to six years in cask before bottling. Therefore, they are more mature and fully developed when bottled, with well-rounded flavors and a smoother finish. No further bottle aging is required.

Aged Tawny Port

Aged Tawny port is made from very high quality ruby port wines, often wines that are set aside in undeclared years that might otherwise have ended up as Vintage Port. These wines are aged for many years in wooden casks, where they begin to take on a tawny color and a soft, silky character as the tannins soften. The terms 10, 20, 30 or 40 Years Old on the label are indications of the average age of the blend. Aged Tawny Port is intended to be consumed near the bottling date, which appears on the label, and may deteriorate if the wine spends too much time in bottle. They are clarified before bottling and need no decanting. Cockburn’s produces 10 Years Old and 20 Years Old Tawny ports, blended from older, mature wines aged in cask and then refreshed by the addition of younger wines.

Ruby Port

Ruby Ports such as Cockburn’s Fine Ruby are intense, powerful full-bodied wines that show the fresh characteristics of young port. Aged in large wooden vats for 2-3 years in the warmer climate of the Douro Valley, Ruby Port is less exposed to oak and air and retains the deep ruby color and strong, fruity characteristics of youth.

Tawny Port

Young Tawny ports such as Cockburn’s Fine Tawny are produced from lighter wines and then aged in small casks for 2-3 years in the warmer climate of the Douro Valley, losing some of their color and sweetness during maturation.