1930 The Savoy Cocktail Book

PORT

Port is still the most generally popular wine in England, and it is the only wine (even Sherry not excepted) that you may always be certain of finding wherever a British Inn Sign swings. Naturally it varies very much in quality, but it is always sure to be genuine Port, as it is a very serious offence to sell a wine as Port unless it satisfies the definition of being a " fortified wine produced in the region of the Douro Valley and exported through the bar of Oporto." At the same time there is considerable difference between the beverage you will obtain by signifying assent to the question, " Port, me lord ? " huskily whispered by the butler at a dinner-party in Carlton House Terrace, and what you get by falling in with the suggestion. What about a glass of Port Wine, dearie ? " in the Private Bar of "Ye Olde Duck and Chinaman," round the corner. Port, as we know it now, is produced by the judicious blending of various wines whose process of fermentation is then retarded by the addition of a small quantity of Brandy, which causes it to mature very slowly and to become mellow with age. The final product falls under one of three headings, de pending upon the way in which it is matured. It is either Vintage Port, or Tawny Port, or Ruby Port.