White Port

White Port is made from white grapes, and comes in two styles – dry and sweet – although even the driest styles are on the medium side. The sweet version is the traditional style of White Port and tends to be rich and grapey.

Best drunk lightly-chilled with a plate of nuts (preferably while watching the sun go down over the Douro River), this underrated Port wine style can make an excellent apéritif.

The sweetest examples are known as lagrima (tear) after the viscosity of the wine in the glass. The drier style is a more recent innovation: it is off-dry, often with a nutty hint, and is best drunk young. Despite Ernest Cockburn's maxim that “the first duty of Port is to be red”, it is also increasing in popularity.

White Port is largely vinified in the same way as red (albeit with less or no maceration time). It is aged for around 18 months in stainless steel or concrete vats (and occasionally wood) before bottling and does not improve with ageing. Since 2006, age classifications of 10, 20, 30 or 40 years old can be used, although these are rare.