Kosher Port Wine: The Return of Porto Cordovero
The kosher wine world is, like the fashion industry, constantly changing, with producers often gambling on what will be the next big trend. We’ve seen varietals like Riesling cycle in and out of favor, and now, it appears the long-forgotten category of fortified wine is finally returning to its stride. This new interest has been met with a significant announcement with the long-awaited return of a genuine kosher Port, Porto Cordovero.
The story of Port, at its heart, is a story of place. While other regions around the world, including Israel, produce excellent wines in the Port style, authentic Port is and always has been a product of the Douro Valley in the Porto region of Portugal. This distinction is crucial for any wine lover. Port is a type of fortified wine, meaning it is a wine to which distilled alcohol, typically a neutral grape spirit or brandy, is added during the winemaking process. This addition of spirit not only boosts the alcoholic content but also fundamentally alters the wine’s flavor and mouthfeel, often combining the heft of wine with the warming sensations of a distilled spirit.
What makes Port unique is the moment the fortification occurs. Unlike dry wines, where the yeast consumes all the sugar, Port production interrupts fermentation by adding the spirit while residual sugar remains. This kills the yeast, stops the process, and leaves a wine that is both high in alcohol and noticeably sweet. The grapes themselves are typically a blend of indigenous Portuguese varietals grown on the steep, terraced vineyards of the Douro Valley, east of the city of Porto. While the vineyards dot the stunning, terraced landscape of the Douro, the final wines are traditionally aged in cellars across the Douro River in Porto’s sister city, Vila Nova da Gaia, a practice shared by nearly all the historic producers, most of which have been British-owned since the 18th century.
What makes Port really interesting is that, due to the higher level of alcohol, Port is able to stay fresh after being uncorked for quite some time. A corked bottle of Port can last virtually forever.
Port comes in several distinct styles, each offering a different experience. Ruby Port, the youngest and least complex, is typically aged for three years or less in large wooden or stainless steel tanks to retain its bright, red fruit flavors. Tawny Port is aged longer in smaller wooden casks, which encourages more oxygen exposure, lightening the color to a tawny brown and developing nutty, oxidized, and caramel notes. Vintage Port is the most prestigious. Made from grapes of a single, declared exceptional year, it is aged briefly in wood and meant to be cellared for decades, forming a sediment that requires decanting. A compromise is Late Bottled Vintage (LBV), which also comes from a single harvest but is aged in wood for four to six years, making it ready to drink upon release.
For the kosher consumer, the availability of quality Port has been a cyclical affair. Beyond the long-available New York State Port and a short-lived port-style wine from Carmel, the first true foray into high-end, genuine Portuguese Port came in the early 2000s. At that time, Royal Wine Corp., showing a reasonable gamble on the market, partnered with one of Portugal’s most respected and leading producers, Taylor Fladgate. This partnership brought forth Porto Cordovero, a genuine Port from the famed region. Taylor Fladgate, founded in 1692, is one of the most highly regarded Port houses, and is notable for being one of the few still owned by the original founding family.
Despite the quality of the original release, the demand was not yet there. Production of that original Porto Cordovero by Taylor Fladgate ceased in 2007, and the stock sold out a few years later. This led to a gap in the market, although the void was partially filled by new entrants like Quinta Da Trovisca and Alma Do Mar, as well as new Israeli Port-style wines from producers like Netofa Winery. Note that although Port is one of the oldest appellations ever created, it does not have the same legal protections that protect the use of the term, the way Champagne, Bordeaux and other regions do. You will find wines labeled Port or Port style, indicating they are sweet and fortified, but check for the Douro region of Portugal if you want the authentic Port experience.
This is the context for the current, highly anticipated release, heralded at this year’s Kosher Food and Wine Experience, the extravaganza Royal puts on yearly to showcase the hundreds of wines it distributes. The Porto Cordovero Ruby Port will soon be available at retail on line, for an affordable $27. The Ruby Port is the least complex kind of Port, with lots of fruit, but relatively simple and sweet. Hopefully more complex Tawny or Vintage Ports will one day be produced.
Port is often served as an after dinner wine, making it an intriguing 4th cup at the Passover Seder. But at 20% abv, most of us wont have the fortitude to down much of this wine, as sweet and delicious as it is, without dozing off.
L’Chayim
