Port

Originating in northern Portugal, port or Porto, as it is also called, is a sweet fortified wine. The name Porto is derived from the original shipping area in Portugal, a city called Oporto. The highest quality ports are vintage ports, meaning they are made with grapes from a single vintage, or year. Tawny ports are blended with grapes from different vintages. Vintage and tawny ports may be aged anywhere from 5 to 50 years. Ruby ports are the least expensive; they are produced from different vintages as with the tawny variety, but are aged for only a short time.