Port for Christmas

Port has always been synonymous with Christmas.  Indeed, for many, Christmas simply isn’t Christmas without a bottle of Port to celebrate the one time of the year when friends and family come together.

Port is also an immensely popular choice when it comes to gift giving. This is perhaps not surprising given its widespread popularity and the fact that Port has a traditionally strong association with Christmas. But it is also due, in part, to the fact that Port comes in a variety of sizes and styles that provide a wide range of options depending on your budget.

Fresh Ruby and Reserve style Ports offer amazing value for money – particularly when you consider how the wine is made. Few people are probably aware of the fact that nearly all grapes that go into making these Ports are handpicked and come from the Douro Valley, which has one of the lowest yields of any wine producing region in the world. So, the value for money that these wines offer compared to others is quite extraordinary.

Many Ports also come in beautifully presented gift tubes and boxes, making them the ideal pre-packed Christmas gift.  This is certainly true of wines such as Graham’s LBV whose beautifully designed tubes are available in a range of three striking colours, meaning there’s likely something here to suit the most discerning drinker.

For those wishing to be a little more indulgent, there are also beautiful Aged Tawny Ports that also come in elegant gift tubes. These wines have a different flavour profile to their Ruby counterparts, with the sort of dried fruit flavours that one would typically associate with Christmas cake. The age statements on these wines signify the average age, with some of the most popular ones being 10- and 20-Year-Old, and offer something slightly different to the Ruby style Ports that so many people are used to.

However, for those looking for something more traditional, there are bottle-matured (Ruby) Ports that represent the absolute pinnacle in terms of quality. Single Quinta Vintage Ports offer many of the qualities of a Declared Vintage Port but at a fraction of the cost. These wines are made in non-declared years by some of the Douro Valley’s flagship properties, or ‘Quinta’s’, who declare their own vintages when the production that year is exceptional.