What to eat with Port? Sweet, savory and everything in between.

Ruby and tawny: the two families

The hosts keep it simple. Ruby styles are aged for a shorter time in large vessels, so they stay deep in color with dark fruit. Tawny styles age in smaller barrels with more contact with oxygen, turning lighter and brownish with nutty, caramel and coffee notes. Tawnies are often sold as 10, 20, 30 or 40 years old, and a tawny from a single vintage is called Colheita.

They also explain fortification: adding spirit to the wine, an old method that made it stable for long sea voyages. It is why an opened bottle of Port keeps for a week or more at home. The hosts also discuss why Port and other sweet wines are drunk less than before, as people worry about sugar, calories and alcohol. Yet a small glass of something this complex, they agree, is a dessert in itself.

Tawny Port with chicken liver pâté

Andreas does not have a sweet tooth, so for his 20-year-old tawny he goes savory. He makes a chicken liver pâté with shallot, a hint of garlic, capers, thyme and ginger, flambéed with brandy, then adds crisp guanciale, walnuts, pistachios and dried apricot for texture. Each element mirrors something he finds in the wine: nuts, dried fruit and a touch of ginger spice. He removes most of the cooking liquid so the pâté can be sliced; keep more of it for a softer mousse to spread on bread.

His reasoning is worth remembering: sweet with sweet can be overkill, and many sweet wines shine brighter with salty, creamy and meaty food. He also suggests adding a splash of Port to the dish to build a bridge to the glass.

LBV with chocolate and raspberry

Fredrik brings a Late Bottled Vintage from 2018, a ruby style full of dark red fruit, plum, sweet spice and licorice. He makes a classic match: layered glasses of raspberry coulis, an easy chocolate mousse of melted dark chocolate and cream folded with whipped cream, more cream and grated chocolate on top. The tart berries are no problem for a wine with this much sweetness, and chocolate loves ruby Port. Watch out, though, for his battle with the whipping cream. One tip from the chaos: whipping cream must be cold, or it will not thicken.

Fredrik also explains the key difference between LBV and true Vintage Port. An LBV spends around four to six years in wood before bottling, is usually filtered and is ready to drink on release. Vintage Port spends only a short time in the winery and is built to age for decades in bottle, throwing a sediment that needs decanting.

Vintage Port and Stilton, white Port and tonic

A decanter of 1998 Vintage Port arrives with Stilton, the great British classic. Salt and sweetness, with matching intensity, make it work every time. The hosts explain that Vintage Port is declared only in the best years, roughly three or four in ten, and that it is up to each producer to decide.

While the dishes chill, Andreas mixes a round of white Port and tonic, a refreshing summer drink that is lighter than a gin and tonic. The tip on proportions: start at 50-50, or go 60-40 in favor of the Port. Salty chips on the side complete the picture.

Savory or sweet: who wins?

It is a classic sommelier dilemma. Andreas believes his pâté is the better pairing but suspects a dessert is the smarter move in a competition. Watch to find out whether Fredrik’s chocolate and raspberry dessert beats Andreas’ savory chicken liver pâté.