Ruby Port

Ruby is the youngest, freshest and most widely sold style of Port — the sweet, fortified red wine of the steep, schist-terraced Douro Valley of northern Portugal, shipped from the lodges of Vila Nova de Gaia opposite the city of Porto. It is made by adding a clear grape spirit to the fermenting must to stop it early, leaving a wine that is deeply coloured, richly sweet and powerfully warming at around 19 to 20 percent alcohol. Unlike the amber, wood-mellowed Tawny, Ruby is aged only briefly in large vessels that shield it from air, so it keeps its opaque purple-red colour and a burst of primary fruit — blackberry, black cherry, ripe plum and bramble over a warm note of chocolate and pepper. It smells and tastes generously fruity and jammy, its soft young tannin and grape-spirit heat balanced by the sweetness, and it is poured in small measures at the end of a meal — the friendly, everyday face of Port and the classic partner for blue cheese and dark chocolate.