Central Florida had its first cold snap of the season yesterday, which means we can talk about wintry things without having to turn down the air conditioning first. So … eggnog. Brandy or rum?

 Just kidding. Actually, it seems like a good time to talk about Port. Especially since we’ve got this great Warre’s Vintage vertical for sale in our catalog. I was just looking at some of the descriptions the other day for an entirely different reason, and it brought to mind some very holiday-ish images.

 There’s something about Port that brings to mind roaring fires in big stone fireplaces, holiday meals, spices, that sort of thing. I think it’s the descriptions … raisiny, dried fruits (especially plums), concentrated berries.

 Things you might not have known about Port: Port as we know it dates back several hundred years, back to one of the many wars the English and French were fighting. An embargo on French goods – including wine – encouraged the importing of wines from Portugal, as taxation on Portuguese goods was vastly reduced at the time. The problem was that the wines from Portugal, being lighter in style, often spoiled on the long ocean voyage to England. To counteract this, shippers added local brandy to the barrels before shipping in order to preserve the wine. The result was a potent dry red. Some years later winemakers began adding the brandy (or neutral grape spirit) during fermentation. This process stopped the yeast dead in its tracks before all the grape sugars could be consumed, resulting in a strong, naturally sweet wine. As with Champagne, not all years are ‘vintage’ years; vintage Port is made only in the best years, and can be aged up to 50 years. And, finally, Port is a blended wine. There are about 20 grape varieties approved for use in blending port; five are most commonly used.

 Store vintage Port on its side (to keep the cork moist) in a cool, dark cellar, with the label up. As it matures, it’s going to develop sediment, and keeping the label up will help you remember what side of the bottle it’s on when you decant the Port. Also, you’ll want to stand the bottle upright about 24 hours before decanting to further concentrate the sediment.

 Serve vintage Port with Stilton or similar cheeses, nuts, dark chocolate, or cigars.