Ernest Cockburn once famously declared “the first duty” of any port wine “to be red.” Contemporary consumers and critics apparently agree. Whether ruby or tawny, blended or vintage, virtually all the ports that people value these days come colored red. We Americans buy some forty bottles of red port for every one of white, and most commentary includes just a cursory sentence or two on white, while devoting page after page to the various categories of red. Yet plenty of
white grapes grow in Portugal’s Duoro Valley, and some 13% of port production consists of white wine. What is it good for?
Well, to be honest, not all that much. A glass of white port, often served chilled, is a popular aperitif along the Duoro. Its appeal, however, has more to do with local pride than inherent quality. Sipped on its own, white port tastes like a slightly sweet version of fino sherry, but rarely exhibits that Spanish specialty’s nuance or subtlety. Since good sherry costs scarcely more, why bother with the port?
One answer is that, while usually unexciting as a stand-alone wine, white port can make a terrific cocktail (or quasi cocktail, if you insist that a true one must include a high-octane spirit). Mixed with fruit juice, club soda, lemonade, or the like, it produces an extremely refreshing drink. Fairly low in alcohol, these tasty concoctions can be great choices for warm weather sipping.
The managers of the various port houses realize as much, and actively promote using white port in lieu of more potent spirits like gin, vodka, or whiskey. Summer in the Duoro can be blazing hot, and the managers have a point: Come the first hint of cool in the evening, a tall white port cocktail does indeed taste heavenly.
The most popular white port drink, and my personal favorite, is the “port-tonic.” Make it just as you would a gin or vodka tonic, though feel free to use half again as much port. (At seventeen or eighteen percent alcohol, it’s far less heady than those spirits.) And in my experience, a wedge or twist of lemon works better than a squeeze of lime. Serve it in a tall glass over ice. Then sit back, relax, and remember–the real duty of any wine is to be enjoyed.
4