Premium Tawny Ports on the Rise in U.S. Restaurants

In The Past Decade, On-Premise Sales of Tawny Ports Have More Than Tripled. Tawny Port is a type of fortified wine produced only in Portugal’s Port region.

Although similarly styled wines are produced in other regions of the world, notably Australia, South Africa, and the USA, we refer in this article only to those from the Port wine region.

Tawnies are Ports that are matured in wood to the point of mellowness, and then bottled. They are usually somewhat “tawny” in color, thus their name. Unlike Ruby Ports, which are generally robust and fruity in flavor, Tawnies are gentler, smoother, and slightly drier wines.

There are two types of Tawny Port, standard (or basic) Tawny Port, and premium Tawny Port. Approximately half of all the Port produced is Tawny Port, and of that, standard Tawny accounts for about 90 percent of production, premium Tawny about 10 percent (meaning that premium Tawny is approximately 5 percent of total Port production).

They are extremely versatile, and may be enjoyed as aperitifs, with various soups (broths), melon with prosciutto, with cheese courses (specifically, semi-hard, mildly flavored cheeses), with desserts (especially nut-based tortes or melon), with coffee, or as digestifs.

Among the classic wines of the world, they represent excellent value for money, and can be offered in restaurants for $6 and upper glass, which is quite reasonable for the quality of wine.