Port wine in cooking: fortification and reduction

Douro Valley, Portugal

Port wine — a grape spirit-fortified wine from the Douro Valley — has an essential role in Portuguese cooking beyond its fame as a dessert wine. The different styles (white, ruby, tawny, vintage) bring different flavour profiles to cooking applications, and the technique of reducing port to a syrupy glaze is among the most versatile preparations in the chef's arsenal. White port is used as an aperitif and in seafood sauces. Ruby port's berry character is used in duck, game, and chocolate preparations. Tawny port's nutty, dried-fruit character is used in reductions for liver, foie gras, and dessert sauces. Vintage port is almost never cooked — it is too expensive and too complex.

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