Producer: Lurgashall Winery
Wine: Christmas Mead
Country: United Kingdom
Wine: Mead
Grade: B
Price: $15

Dating back some 8,000 years, mead is argued to be the oldest alcoholic beverage known to man. A substance made from the fermentation of honey, it spans the legends of history claiming to be everything from the favorite drink of the Norse Gods to the wine referred to by Shakespeare. Making for a sweet, golden beverage, mead is not quite like anything else on the wine market. Combining the pleasures of honey and wine makes for a concoction that is quite confusing regardless of one’s experience with grapes. Fortunately, Lurgashall’s Christmas mead provides an easy entry for the mead beginner. Not as punchy as say, Tower of London mead (which is fortified with scotch whiskey), Lurgashall’s Christmas mead allows for a very rich honey flavor with subtle hints of white grape. Not too thick and with a sugary odor, it is a strange looking liquid for most but an approachable one. It loses points for a quaint but unwelcome aftertaste and a sweetness that, a few glasses in, can become too rich. Altogether though it is a nice way to expand your views of what can be put into a bottle. Unless you frequently drink your wine with honey the taste will be surprising, but this particular bottle makes the surprise a pleasant one.

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Producer: Graham’s
Wine: Six Grapes Port
Vintage: NV
Country: Portugal
Appellation: Douro
Wine Type: Dessert – Fortified
Primary Varietal: Touriga Nacional, Touriga Francesa, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barocca, Tinta Cão, Tinta Amarela,
Grade: B+
Designation: Excellent Value
Price: $11/375 ml

Earlier this evening I watched someone pour himself a hefty six-ounce glass of Six Grapes Port and then proceed to chug it all down in one big gulp. All I can say is don’t try that at home. Seriously. Six Grapes is made in the style of a ruby Port and yes, it’s deliciously fruity with loads of bright red cherry and raspberry fruit and maybe even a little dark chocolate on the finish, but it’s made for sipping, not shooting. I expect that the combination of 20% alcohol and high residual sugar might have a negative effect on said party person tomorrow morning.

Six Grapes is one of Graham’s oldest Port blends – they’ve been making it for something like a hundred years now and it’s a very high quality ruby-style wine. Made from fruit generally sourced over two or three vintages, the wine spends three to five years in cask and is then put into bottle, where it is ready to drink (unlike the pricey vintage Ports) and is absolutely perfect when paired with all things chocolate. Enjoy, and drink your Port responsibly this holiday season!

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Producer: Dow’s
Wine: 20-Year-Old Tawny Port
Vintage: NV
Country: Portugal
Appellation: Douro
Wine Type: Fortified – Dessert
Primary Varietal: Touriga Nacional and other Port varieties
Grade: A-
Designation: Must Drink
Price: $47

I would happily drink Port any time of year, but as evenings get cooler and the holidays approach, I crave this delectable Portuguese fortified wine more than ever. Produced from grapes grown in the Douro valley of northern Portugal, Port can be made in many different ways, ranging from the very expensive vintage Ports to the drier tawny styles. I love the juicy, red berry fruitiness of ruby Ports, but I’m also a huge fan of the nutty tawny Ports, especially the Dow’s 20-year.

Tawny Port is gradually oxidized in wooden barrels over a period of years – most common are 10, 20 and 30 year tawny Ports. These wines are ready to drink as soon as they are released and because they’ve been exposed to oxygen so long, they generally last longer in the bottle when opened than any other type of Port.

Each Port house tends to have its own house style, and Dow’s tends to be on the drier side of the scale. With aromas and flavors of dried apricot, walnut and burnt sugar, this 20-year tawny is a rich, medium-bodied Port that is luscious, with a moderate level of sweetness. Delicious with blue cheese, nuts and dried fruit, this is also a treat to drink all on its own.

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