Guide To Serving Port At The Right Temperature

The temperature of the port wine affects its tasting. If the temperature is too high, the taste of alcohol will stand out and the aromas of the port will be almost impossible to taste. If the temperature is too low, the wine will have no distinctive taste as it will be difficult to capture its aromas.

Ruby port and LBV port will benefit from being served at a cool room temperature, the effect can be achieved by keeping the bottle in the fridge and taking it out an hour or so before you need it to let it come up to 16 to 18C.

Tawny port and colheita ports are better cooler – take them from the fridge half an hour to an hour beforehand to achieve a 14C to 16C temperature. This makes the wine very smooth and refreshing.

White port can be served chilled straight from the fridge.