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As summer evenings turn cool, the perfect nightcap is Porto by the fire. Try it!

Welcome Fall with a Campfire and Porto
As summer comes to a close, sunset is earlier, evenings are cooler, and a campfire is most welcome. It’s still nice enough to spend time outdoors in the evening, perhaps with a sweater by the fire. Perfect pairing? A glass of Port.

You can see from my handy chart, Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) Porto is on the Ruby side of the Port Family Tree.

There are two main styles of Port, each having a variety of sub-styles. Ruby Ports are generally dominated by fruit aromas and flavors, they only spend a relatively short time in oak before bottling. Tawny Ports are aged many years in cask and take on nutty oxidative notes. They’re both delicious, just different.

As a member of the Ruby Porto family, the color is dark and the flavor is strongly fruity.

Disclosure: The wine in this post was provided as a sample. No other payment was involved and all opinions are mine.

Dow’s Late Bottled Vintage Porto 2012 (sample, $24 SRP, online here)
Eye: Clear, deep ruby with a bright ruby edge. The wine is colored right to the edge. Deeply stained ruby legs.
Nose: Clean, medium intensity. Deep, ripe blueberries, blackberries and ripe fresh figs with a hint of leather and fresh herbs in the background
Mouth: Sweet, with bold intensity, lively acidity and medium tannins although the tannins aren’t too astringent due to the intense fruit. Deep ripe fruit flavors dominate the mouth with blueberries and fresh figs immediately prominent.

Dark chocolate with fruit pairs beautifully with LBV Porto

Away from the Campfire, Chocolate with Fruit
I love Port all by itself as a dessert. No other foods are required (campfire is perfect). If you fancy having your Port with dessert, go for fruit based desserts with Ruby Ports, nuts with Tawny Ports.

I paired the Dow’s LBV Porto with a high quality chocolate bar with raspberries. When you take a bite of the chocolate and a swig of the Port, you get a strong impression of chocolate and fresh cherries.  Now I’m curious to find a dark chocolate bar with cherries, I bet it will shine!

Dark chocolate with raspberries accentuated the fruity character in the Port. A delicious combination.