Which Port to buy: a guide to Port styles for your table

Which Port to buy depends on the moment. For a gift or an after-dinner glass, buy an aged Tawny (10, 20 or 30 Year Old). For a cheese board or dark chocolate, buy a Ruby or an LBV, and for a bottle to keep for years or for a birth year, buy a Vintage or a Colheita. Here is how we answer it at the counter in Graça.

The short answer, occasion by occasion

Not sure yet? Start small. The Ruby Port tasting tube and the Tawny Port tasting tube let you compare the two big families at home before you commit to a full bottle.

Ruby or Tawny, in two minutes

Almost every Port falls into one of two families, depending on where the wine aged. Ruby styles (Ruby, Reserve, LBV, Vintage) age away from air, in big vats or in bottle. They stay deep red and taste of cherry, plum and blackberry. Tawny styles (Tawny, 10 to 40 Year Old, Colheita) age in small casks, slowly meeting oxygen. They turn amber and taste of walnut, dried fig, caramel and orange peel.

Neither is better. Ruby is fruit and power. Tawny is time.

Which Port to buy as a gift

Our answer is almost always an aged Tawny. It needs no decanting, and an opened bottle keeps for weeks, so nobody has to finish it in one evening.

A 20 Year Old is the safe bet. If you want the bottle to feel like an event, go up to the Casa de Santa Bárbara 30 Year Old Tawny Port or the Casa de Santa Bárbara 40 Year Old, which is intense, almost savoury, with a sharp acidity that keeps it fresh. For a present that mixes Port with food, have a look at our gift boxes.

Which Port for a cheese board

Strong cheese wants a Ruby: the fruit and sweetness stand up to salt and blue veins. A Fine Ruby is enough for a casual board. An LBV or a young Vintage gives more depth if the cheeses are serious.

With an aged cow's milk cheese like the Queijo São Jorge aged 24 months, try a Tawny too. The nutty side of the wine meets the nutty side of the cheese. See the rest of our Portuguese cheeses.

Which Port for dessert

Match colours and you will rarely go wrong. Dark chocolate and red fruit desserts go with Ruby and LBV. A bar of Bonnat Ceylan 75% dark chocolate and a glass of Ruby is a dessert in itself.

Caramel, crème brûlée, almond cakes and Portuguese conventual sweets go with an aged Tawny or an old White Port, which turns golden in the cask and tastes of honey, dried apricot and nuts. More ideas on the sweets and treats shelf.

Which Port to keep for years, or for a birth year

Buy Vintage if you want to put a bottle away. It comes from a single year that each house chooses to declare, spends only two to three years in wood, then does its real ageing in the bottle, often for decades. The Vieira de Sousa Vintage Port 2019 can be opened now with a big savoury dish, or kept.

For a birth year, look for a Colheita: a Tawny from a single harvest, at least seven years in wood, with the harvest year printed on the label. It is ready to drink when you buy it. Old years are rare, so ask us before you count on a specific one.

Aged Tawnies (10 to 40 Year Old) are already aged for you in the cask. They are bottled ready to drink, so there is no reason to wait.

How to read a Port label before you buy

• A number of years (10, 20, 30, 40 Year Old) means a blend of wines of different ages. The number is the average character the blend must show, approved by the tasting panel of the IVDP (the Port and Douro Wine Institute). Not every drop is that old.
• "Colheita" and a year means a single harvest Tawny. The label also shows the bottling date.
• "LBV" and a year means a Ruby from one year, bottled between the fourth and sixth year after the harvest. Most are filtered and ready. "Unfiltered" or "bottle matured" means a deposit and more potential to age.
• "Vintage" and a year, with no "Late Bottled", means the top of the Ruby family. Plan to decant it.

How to serve and keep Port at home

Use a normal white wine glass, not a tiny one. Pour small, about 6 to 8 cl. Only Vintage, unfiltered LBV and Crusted Port need decanting.

Keep the opened bottle closed, upright and cool. Twenty minutes in the fridge does a Tawny a lot of good, especially in a Lisbon summer. And a young White Port is made for a Portonic: White Port, tonic, ice, a slice of lemon, a sprig of mint.

Buy it in Graça

Our Ports sit with around 250 Portuguese wines at POP, Rua da Senhora do Monte 38C, 30 metres from the Miradouro da Senhora do Monte. We are open Sunday to Wednesday from 14:00 to 21:00 and Thursday to Saturday from 14:00 to 22:00. Ask to taste before you buy. If you would rather taste the styles side by side first, our sister site explains the Port tasting in Lisbon with White, Ruby, 10 Year Tawny and LBV. The full range is in the wine collection.

Questions we get asked

Which Port should I buy for a first bottle?

A Fine Ruby if you like fruity red wine, a 10 or 20 Year Old Tawny if you prefer nuts and caramel. Both are ready to drink and keep for weeks once opened.

What is a good Port to give as a gift?

An aged Tawny, 20 Year Old or older. It needs no decanting, it is ready to drink, and an opened bottle keeps for up to two months in a cool place.

Which Port goes best with cheese?

Ruby, LBV or young Vintage with blue and strong cheeses. Aged Tawny with hard, nutty cheeses.

Which Port can I keep for 20 years?

Vintage Port. It is bottled young and ages in the bottle for decades. Aged Tawnies and filtered LBVs are ready when you buy them and do not need cellaring.

Can I buy a Port from my birth year?

Look for a Colheita or a Vintage Port with that year on the label. Old years are rare, so ask us what we can find.

How long does Port last once opened?

Aged Tawny keeps up to about two months in a cool place, Ruby around a month, LBV one to three weeks and Vintage only a few days.