It isn’t often that you find a cocktail recipe in a wine blog, but this week we are highlighting a very simple cocktail from Portugal that is delicious and simple, a white port and tonic!
Ingredients:
2oz White Port
4oz tonic water
Orange wedge and/or Rosemary sprig

Directions:
Fill a tumbler glass with ice
Add the White Port and stir into the ice
Top with tonic water, giving a light stir to mix
Garnish with an orange wedge and/or a sprig of rosemary.

We’re not going to just leave you there, let’s dive in a little and examine what this cocktail is all about! So the first question, what is White Port? You may be familiar with Red Port, what most people just call Port, which is a robust, fortified and sweet red wine from the Douro Valley in Portugal with the production based around the town of Oporto where the Douro River meets the Atlantic Ocean. White Port is a fairly robust, fortified and sweet, but not too sweet, white wine hailing from the same place as "regular" Port. To make the wine the use a smattering of native grapes that you won’t find outside of the area, such as: Donzelinho Branco, Gouveio, Rabigato, Malvasia Fina, Viosinho and Cerceal. Don’t expect the producer to tell you what the blend is though.

Many White Ports bill themselves as a "Dry White Port" and while they are considerably less sweet than their red siblings, there is still plenty of sweetness in these guys. Expect to find flavors of roasted stone fruit, a kiss of baking spice and nutty characteristics. While we love the White Port and tonic as an aperitif, we think White Port can be a great pairing for desserts that mix nutty and fruity flavors together, an apple crisp would be great!

As for the drink itself, it is a refreshing way to use what is otherwise a very heavy wine. Portugal is known for having hot summers and a 20% fortified white isn’t exactly what the doctor ordered, but throw in some ice and tonic to dilute the wine a bit and you’ve got the Portuguese equivalent to an Aperol Spritz! So grab a bottle, some Fever Tree tonic and enjoy!