What is port?
How long will an open bottle of port last?
How is port made?
Are there special port grapes?
Is there more than one style of port?
Why are some ports vintage-dated while some aren’t?
What is a declared vintage?
What country is the largest port consumer?
Is port only for dessert?
Where can I purchase Cockburn’s ports?
How long should I age port?

Port is a sweet, fortified dessert wine. It originated in Portugal about 300 years ago and is named after Oporto ("Porto" to the locals), the Portuguese coastal city that is the center of the port trade. There are several types of port, ranging from light red (called tawny) to deep red (called ruby), as well as white ports. For more information, visit our About Port section.

Port styles have various shelf lives after being opened. Re-cork all bottles immediately after serving and store in a cool place. In general, the older the port the shorter the shelf life after opening. Use this as a guide:

• Vintage Port and Quinta dos Canais: should be consumed within 24 hours of opening the bottle.
• Fine Ruby, Fine Tawny, Special Reserve and Anno Late Bottled Vintage: should be consumed within 5-6 weeks after opening.
• Aged Tawnies: should be consumed within 5-10 days after opening

For more information, visit Serving Port in our About Port section.

Port is made by interrupting the fermentation of grape juice by killing the yeast through the addition of distilled spirits. The short fermentation only lasts a few days; so much of the time is spent extracting flavor and color from the red grape skins as rapidly as possible. In comparison, fermentation of a red table wine, like Cabernet Sauvignon, takes 5 to 7 days.

After the fortifying spirit ends the brief extraction and fermentation period, the new port is still sweet because there is about half of the grape sugar remaining. The high alcohol (about 20%) of the fortifying spirit prevents re-fermentation of the sugar. Ports are usually made by blending the wines from different vintages and vineyards. Only a few are vintage dated, or carry the name of a single vineyard. All authentic Portuguese ports must be made from grapes grown in the demarcated portion of the Douro River Valley. For more information, visit How Port is Made in our About Port section.

Although more than 80 different grape varieties are authorized for the production of port, the following five red-skinned grapes are widely considered the best for producing fine port wines.

• Touriga Nacional
• Touriga Francesa
• Tinta Roriz
• Tinta Barroca
• Tintã Cão

For more information, visit Grape Varieties Used to Make Port in our About Port section.

Although all port wines are sweet, there are many styles of port wines, from young ruby port to Vintage Ports that are aged for up to 30 years. For more information, visit Port Styles in our About Port section.

Most ports are blends of wines from several vintage years, offering a consistent style of wine from year to year. A few, such as Vintage Port, Single Quinta Port and Late Bottled Vintage Port, are produced from wines from one vintage year. There are also "age-indicated" ports, such as 10 Years Old or 20 Years Old Tawny. These wines are blends from various vintage years, and the age indicated is the average age of the wines.

To officially produce a Vintage Port wine, the producer must "declare" the vintage. Vintage Ports are only declared about three times every ten years. After a good harvest year, the shippers will taste and judge the young port wines for about 16 months. If the wine lives up to its early promise, the producer will submit the wine to the Port Wine Institute for approval as a Vintage Port, where it must be tasted and approved by a panel of experts. The producer will then "declare" the vintage to the Wine Trade. Not all shippers declare the same years and, occasionally, only a few producers will declare. More often, however, an outstanding vintage will be marked by most major port houses declaring the vintage.

The country with the largest overall port consumption is France, followed by Belgium and then Portugal.

Although port is traditionally served after a meal or with dessert, it also pairs with many appetizers and main dishes. For more information, visit Pairing Port with Food in our About Port section.

Cockburn’s Ports are distributed in many wine shops and restaurants throughout the US. To find retailers near you, visit our online Retailer Locator. Some state restrictions apply.

Most port wines, known as wood aged ports, are fully aged for the consumer before release. These wines should be consumed within a few months of purchase as they will not benefit from additional bottle aging. Vintage Port and Single Quinta Vintage Port, however, are bottle aged ports, intended to be bottle aged by the consumer for a period of time before consumption. For more information, visit Storing and Aging Port Wines in our About Port section.