Those sweet, rich wines that taste more like a dessert than a dinner wine are often found to be imported from Portugal. In the wine industry, these imported wines are referred to as “Port Wines” At Big Creek Winery, those rich dessert or after dinner wines are “port-like”, sharing some of the flavors of true Port Wines. We invite your to come by for a taste and to discover our dessert-ready wine!
The Art of Serving Port and Port-Like Wines
Beyond the starting place in Portugal, Port Wines share the feature of being a rich, sweet wine that, because of the sweetness, is usually enjoyed as an “after dinner” or dessert wine. There are two main categories of Ports with the first being a berry or fruit base with some chocolate and the second being a tawny port that leans to caramel and nuts.
The colors of Port Wines reveal their ingredients:
White Ports (made usually with grapes), best served cold at 40° F.
Rosé Ports (made often with Strawberry, Raspberry, Cranberry and Caramel) best served over ice.
Tawny Ports (made with Caramel, Raspberry, Hazelnut, Cinnamon, Clove, Fig) best served at 50° F or cool.
Ruby Ports (made with Blackberry, Raspberry, Cinnamon, Chocolate) best served slightly cool at 60° F.
Port Wines also have special wine glasses. They are smaller than other glasses, holding about 3 oz servings. Both the sweetness of the wine and the fact that it is generally a higher alcohol percentage means that smaller portions are in order.
Chefs love Port Wines. They make terrific toppings for all sorts of dishes, frequently substituted for a balsamic glaze topping. Port Wines reduce easily and can be a recipe substitute for brown sugar or maple syrup.
Port Wines are a kitchen staple and a wine cellar option. They are designed to age well over very long periods of time. Those bottles with long corks can age for 100 years, although we hope you will enjoy your bottle and come back for more. Once opened, a Port Wine sealed with a vacuum style wine cork will keep for 2 weeks.
Look for announcements as we debut the Big Creek Winery newest wine!