A history of Port Wine 4
It is a widely accepted fact by many that port is mostly an after-dinner drink, however it should be noted that its mellow smoothness makes it an ideal companion for a relaxing evening either at home or at a bar with some good company.
Dry white port can be served as a distinctive aperitif and the chilled tawny port can be used in the same way. Regardless of the type of port that we’re talking about, all of them are great companions to cheese, walnuts and Brazil nuts. The British specially consider Port and Stilton to go together wonderfully well – and they should know since they’ve had a couple of hundred years to test out all the various combinations possible. Port is also greatly appreciated by chefs from all across the globe in cooking a variety of dishes.
Just as it is with other fine wines, port is very much appreciated by aficionados for both its appearance as well as its bouquet, not just its taste. As such, the best way of enjoying a glass of port is to use a larger glass that is only partially filled so that the liquid can be swirled around hence releasing its aroma.
There is a very unique but quite wide-spread tradition when it comes to serving port at the dinner table; the decanter or the bottle is passed only to the left for reasons yet unknown to historians or to those who keep to the tradition as well. There is a theory amongst some historians who think that it stems from the Brits because in the British Royal Navy the word ‘port’ means left, however there are some who advocate the theory that passing the drink clockwise has to do with the direction of the sun, nobody really knows.
Currently there is a certain emphasis on the port market on medium-priced ports, with the extremes seeing considerably less sales. Competition is however ripe so this means that you should do some shopping around when looking to get yourself a bottle of the Portuguese liquid.
Keep our Algarve car rental services in mind when exploring the multitude varieties of port while in its country of origin.
