A glass of port after fado

The short answer

One glass of port is in the ticket, poured at the end of the concert and not at the door. You taste it with the musicians, which turns the last stretch of the evening from a performance into a conversation. Wikipedia describes port as a Portuguese fortified wine produced in the Douro Valley of northern Portugal, typically a sweet red wine, often served with dessert, though it also comes in dry, semi-dry and white varieties.

What makes it port

Wikipedia explains that port starts as grapes grown and processed in the demarcated Douro region; a neutral grape spirit called aguardente is then added to halt fermentation, which keeps sugar in the wine and raises its alcohol. It is then stored and aged, often in barrels in a lodge. The wine took its name late in the 1600s from the seaport city of Porto, where much of it was brought to market. The Douro was defined as a protected region in 1756, Wikipedia adds.

The main styles

Wikipedia names ruby and tawny as the primary categories of red port. Which style you are poured at the concert is for the host to say, so ask if you want to know; do not plan around a particular one.

• Ruby: the younger red category, kept for a few years at most in the cellar, according to Wikipedia
• Tawny: aged in barrel for typically much longer, mellowing to a golden-brown colour with nutty flavours
• White: made from a different set of grapes from the red ports
• Rosé: a recent variant, first released in 2008, technically a ruby port made in the manner of a rosé wine

How the colours run

Wikipedia says red ports come in various shades, such as tawny, golden and light gold, while white ports range from pale yellow and straw to golden white. The colour tells you something about age and style before you taste: ruby ports keep a bright red colour because they are stored in tanks of concrete or stainless steel to prevent oxidative ageing, while tawny ports mellow in wooden barrels through gradual oxidation. If your glass is red, it is probably one of the two red categories; if it is pale, ask.

How strong it is

Wikipedia says port is typically richer, sweeter, heavier and higher in alcohol than unfortified wines, and that it is usually 19% to 20% alcohol. It lands harder than a glass of table wine. The concert ticket covers no meal, so eat before you climb the street to the door or plan dinner afterwards.

How it is usually served

Wikipedia says port is commonly served after meals as a dessert wine in English-speaking countries, often with cheese, nuts or chocolate, and that white and tawny ports are often served as an aperitif. In continental Europe, it adds, all types of ports are frequently consumed as aperitifs. A small glass at the end of a concert falls somewhere between the two customs: a short, sweet close to the evening.

Who this isn't for

Anyone who avoids alcohol should ask the host about an alternative before the concert, since the glass of port is what the ticket lists. Anyone driving afterwards should factor in the strength noted above. And anyone hoping for a tasting flight in the manner of a cellar visit in Porto or Vila Nova de Gaia should adjust expectations: the ticket lists a glass of port tasted with the musicians, not a guided flight.