The four styles of port in your glass

What port is

Wikipedia says port comes from grapes grown and made in the demarcated Douro region of northern Portugal, up the Douro valley. The Port and Douro Wines Institute, a public body, calls it a protected designation of origin produced in the Douro Demarcated Region. To halt fermentation early, makers pour in a neutral grape spirit called aguardente, so sugar stays in the wine and strength rises to around 19 to 22 per cent alcohol.

Ruby

Wikipedia describes ruby as the young red style of port, aged only a few years or less. Regular ruby is kept in concrete or stainless steel tanks to hold its bright red colour. If you choose ruby at the Noble Hall you get the style most people picture when they think of port: red, fruit-forward and sweet. It is the safest choice if you have no preference.

White

White port is made from white grape varieties. Wikipedia says young whites are often labelled dry, sweet or lagrima, the sweetest of them. So the Noble Hall's two white options, dry white and white, are both made from white grapes, and the dry one is the less sweet. A white port is the lightest in colour of the four. If you do not usually like sweet drinks, the dry white is the natural place to start.

Rosé

Rosé is the newest style. Wikipedia says it was introduced in 2008 by Poças and Croft, and describes it as a ruby-type port fermented with limited skin contact, similar to rosé wine. It is therefore pink rather than red because the skins stay with the juice only briefly. Choose it if you want something that looks and tastes lighter than ruby. It is also the style with the shortest history, so there is little tradition to learn before you order it.

The style that is missing

Tawny is not on the Noble Hall's list of four. Wikipedia describes tawny as red port aged in wooden barrels, where slow oxidation and evaporation turn it golden-brown with nutty flavours, with age labels from 10 to 50 years. If you want to taste tawny, a port lodge is the place, and the Gaia cellars card on this page covers a tasting at a lodge in Vila Nova de Gaia.

Why Gaia

Wikipedia says many port barrels rest in lodges, the cellars of Gaia on the far bank of the Douro from Porto, before the wine is bottled. In the past the barrels travelled downriver to Gaia on rabelo boats. That is why port is so closely tied to Porto even though the grapes grow far upriver. A lodge visit and a fado hour make a natural pair across two days or two parts of a day.

How to choose your glass

A short rule of thumb covers most tastes, and none of it is a requirement. Four styles are fewer than a port list at a lodge, and each is described in the sections above. If you are unsure, choose by the colour you like to drink at home and ask the host about it when you are served. The list below pairs each taste with a style.

• You like sweet red wine: ruby
• You want something lighter and less sweet: dry white
• You want a pale, fruity glass: rosé
• You want a white port with more sweetness than the dry one: white

Who this isn't for

The glass is not a tasting. One glass is included, in one style, and there is no flight of several ports. Anyone who does not drink alcohol should check the booking page, because the ticket describes the port as part of the evening. Port is also strong for a wine at roughly 19 to 22 per cent, so it suits a slow sip better than a quick one, and wheelchair users cannot take the ticket either.