The 12 Essential Wines of Christmas – Port Wine is on Santa’s List

Not to be forgotten why not consider a bottle of Port for the holidays!

​It may be one of the truly great wines of the world—certainly one of the most famous. There is no better time of year to open a bottle of Port than in the cold snowy winter. Here are my three Port Wine suggestions for the holiday celebrations with food pairings and various budgets in mind.

Intro to the 12 Essential Wines of Christmas
Good Wine Gal’s Guide to the 12 Essential Wines of Christmas was created to honor my history and offer up some joy in celebration. My forefathers were immigrants from Hungary, Scotland and Italy. My culture was a solid mix of Catholics, Protestants, Atheists, whisky, food and the occasional bottle of wine. It was a blessing and definitely a mixed bag yet delicious and memorable. Port was nowhere on the list!

Why you should read the guide
If you are looking for epic wine and food recommendations for the holidays from this wine babe, consider this order guide and its benefits for you which including a 10% discount.  If you have read the “guide” you may recall there is a formula for wines for the holidays. My last blog post recommended red wines that suit the holiday feasts.
Now it’s time for Port. Consider three styles of Port Wine for the holidays because port by the fire, blends perfectly with mixed nuts and Figgie pudding. Flavour and fun!

Port Wine
Port is one of the oldest classified wines in the world. Thanks to the Marquis de Pombal - considered one of the most influential figures in the 18th century in Portugal – boundaries for vineyards and identification of grapes for production were documented to establish standards for the trade and production of Port Wine. His efforts were designed to stem the fraudulent practices of diluting port wine and helped to set the foundation for modern day appellation system used broadly in France, Italy and Spain.

Noted for its steep terraced vineyards that border the Douro River, the valley follows the river from the Spanish border to the city of Oporto. Oporto is home to the port lodges where Port wine filled barrels rest for years sometimes decades. The neighborhood of Port Lodges bare names boldly displayed - Croft, Taylor, Warres, Graham’s and Fladgate.
Port is famously referred to as fortified wine. That’s because brandy is added to Port to stop fermentation.  These wines are flavourful and powerful with about 20% alcohol by volume. These wines are generally long lived and the finest are extremely age-worthy.

---

Here are my three holiday recommendations
​offering style and diversity 

LATE BOTTLED VINTAGE (LBV)
Late Bottled Vintage is great value as it’s made in exactly the same way as Vintage Port except that it hangs out a bit longer in barrel, hence the name late bottled vintage. It has big flavour that goes well with stronger cheese like Cambozola, aged cheddar and roasted, salted nuts.

• Taylor Fladgate Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) is $26 at Marquis Wine Cellars.

​TAWNY PORT 30 Year
Tawny 30 year is truly special because of its age and flavour profile. Tawny Port is an oxidative style of Port, amber in color and caramel and butterscotch on the nose and palate. Consider what 30 years means. This is reflected in the price and in the complex and intense sweet rich flavours that suit the pairing of crème brulee exceptionally well.

• Taylor Fladgate 30 year Tawny Port is $155 at Marquis Wine Cellars.

VINTAGE PORT 2003
Vintage Port is not to be outdone by aged Tawny. This is a class that stands on its own. The perfect pairing is Stilton cheese with nuts and crackers all the way. You might even make a meal of it on a date night with that person who has made this year survivable. Liberty Wine Merchants on Lonsdale has one of the best collections of Vintage Port in the city. Bottles here range from $89 to $800 and vintages range from 1950 to 2016.

• 2003 Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port is $235 at Marquis Wine Cellars.