Port wine

Port wine (Portuguese: vinho do Porto, Portuguese:; lit.'wine of Porto'), or simply port, is a Portuguesefortified wine produced in the Douro Valley of northern Portugal. It is typically a sweetred wine, often served with dessert, although it also comes in dry, semi-dry, and white varieties.

Port wine is different from other wines because of its distinctive winemaking method: the early interruption of the wine's fermentation process via the introduction of a neutral grape spirit. This process gives Port unique characteristics including an intense taste and aroma, rich fruit flavors, typically elevated sweetness and a relatively high alcohol content, usually between 19% and 22% by volume.

There are many types of Ports, the primary categories of red Ports are Ruby and Tawny. Ruby Ports are younger, being aged only a few years or less in barrel - they include regular Ruby Ports (often called "Fine Ruby"), Ruby Reserve Ports, Late Bottled Vintage Ports, Crusted Ports, and Vintage Ports. Tawny Ports are aged in barrel for typically much longer before release and, with the exception of the least-aged tawny Ports, have an indication of age in 10 year increments between 10 to 50 years. Colheitas are also a type of tawny Port, which are a barrel-aged Port made from grapes of a single year's harvest.

White Ports are made from a different set of grapes than red Ports. There are regular, young White Ports (often called "Fine White"), White Reserve Ports, barrel-aged White Ports with indication of age in the same manner as tawny Ports, and White Colheitas.

Red Ports come in various shades such as tawny, golden and light gold, while white Ports range from pale yellow, straw and golden white.

In the European Union as well as in the United States, only wines from Portugal are allowed to be labelled "port".