Wine
Not Just Any Port in a Storm
Let the best Northwest Ports warm you this winter

As the weather grows cold and rainy, wine lovers’ minds drift toward wines that warm the body and soul—more specifically: Ports.

Traditional—and true—Port is from Portugal. The wines from the Duoro Valley far in the interior of Portugal have been shipped down the Rio Duoro to the port city of Oporto since Roman times. Legend tells us that the sweet, high-alcohol wine known as Port was discovered by a British wine merchant in the 1670s when his sons found a monk adding brandy to the wine during fermentation. This effectively killed the yeast, stopped the fermentation and left residual sugar—and about 20 percent alcohol.
Traditionally, Port is made with grapes that tend to be obscure to us in the New World: touriga nacional, touriga francesa, tinta roriz, tinta cao and tinta barroca.

Port styles include tawny, ruby, vintage and late bottle vintage. The ruby is a young wine that spends little time in oak and is named for its bright, cherry-like colors. A tawny is aged longer and develops brick-like colors. A vintage is from a specific year (somewhat rare) and spends two to three years in oak. A late bottle vintage spends four to six years in oak before being bottled.

Ports can age incredibly, perhaps better than any other wine. The two finest wines I’ve ever tasted were a 1963 Cockburn’s and an 1896 Royal Oporto.
Port is wonderful on its own, especially if you happen to be in a coastal hotel room with a warm fire as a storm blows in. Ports are also excellent with blue cheese (especially Stilton, but also Gorgonzola), fresh table grapes, walnuts or biscotti (dip it in the wine).

Here in the Pacific Northwest, we call such “fortified” wines “Port,” even though they don’t come from Portugal—any more than Northwest sparkling wines come from Champagne. In British Columbia, rules prevent wineries from using the geographical name, and you will instead find wines with such fanciful names as Pipe and Black Brandt—or just “Port-style dessert wine.”

Northwest Port-style wines are not usually made with traditional Portuguese grape varietals, but we see delicious versions made with cabernet sauvignon, syrah, pinot noir and lemberger.

Undoubtedly the top Port-style producer in Washington is Mike Wallace, owner of Hinzerling Winery in Prosser. He makes no fewer than four styles, which he calls Rainy Day Fine Tawny, Three Muses Ruby, Vintage and White Port.

Those who know their Ports praise Wallace’s efforts as stylish and authentic.

Here are some Washington Port-style wines to try:

Hinzerling Winery Rainy Day Fine Tawny Port, Yakima Valley | $43
This is made from a “solera,” a blend started in 1982 and added to each year since 1989. Some of the wine in each bottle goes back a quarter-century. It is a classic, with aromas and flavors of raisins, chocolate and dried cherries. This is a real treat.

Available through Hinzerling Winery, (800) 727-6702 or hinzerling.com

Barnard Griffin 2005 Reserve Syrah Port, Columbia Valley | $15
Rob Griffin started to make this wine a few years ago, and it has been a hit. With deep blackberry and plum aromas and flavors, along with hints of raisins and chocolate, this should age nicely.

Available at Champion Wine Cellars, 108 Denny Way; (206) 284-8306 or championwinecellars.com

Knipprath Cellars Au Chocolat!, Columbia Valley | $14
Spokane winemaker Henning Knipprath infuses his cabernet sauvignon Port-style wine with chocolate. This might cause traditionalists to gasp in horror, but one taste and you’ll be hooked.

Available at Grape Adventure, 12930 S.E. Kent-Kangley Rd., Kent; (253) 631-8400 or thegrapeadventure.com

Contributing Editor Andy Perdue is author of The Northwest Wine Guide: A Buyer’s Handbook (Sasquatch; $14.95). He’s also the Northwest columnist for Vineyard & Winery Management. Read his blog, The Wine Knows.