Raise a glass to state's sweet and potent ports

This state's vintners have done such a bang-up job with red wines as diverse as merlot, sangiovese and syrah (to name just three) that I jumped at the chance to taste through a selection of Washington ports.

Why, you may wonder, do winemakers call their wines port, though they are clearly not from Portugal nor (with rare exceptions) made from traditional port grapes?

What they really mean to say is that they are making wines in the style of port, and borrowing some of the same fermentation techniques. They choose extra-ripe red grapes from the hottest possible vineyard sites, often ones that have ripened past the point where they are well-suited for making still wine. Then fermentation is stopped well short of completion by adding brandy to the vat. The resulting wine is both higher in alcohol than ordinary still wine and sweeter, since the grapes have not fermented to complete dryness. Not exactly port, but certainly port-like.

By law, a wine's alcohol content must be shown on the label. For port it will fall between 17 and 20 percent. Sometimes the sweetness level is listed (check the back label), given as a percentage of residual sugar — generally around 7 or 8 percent. As you can see from the notes below, the grapes used to make port-style wines here in Washington vary widely. If you are looking for flavors closest to true port, seek out wines that use some of the six classic Portuguese grapes: touriga nacional, touriga francesa, tinta roriz, tinta barroca, tinta cao and tinta amarela. More commonly, syrah, lemberger, cabernet and zinfandel are the grapes used here in Washington, sometimes with excellent results.

Making port is time- and labor-intensive, and wineries rarely make more than a few hundred cases in a given year. The wines are usually offered for sale from tasting rooms and mailing lists, and only sporadically turn up on retailers' shelves. If you are ordering by phone or mail, and you do not have the bottle in front of you, be sure to ask if the price quoted is for a full-size bottle (750 ml) or a half-size bottle (375 ml). And be forewarned: Prices for Washington ports tend to run high, especially when compared with ports from Australia and even Portugal itself.

Because it is sweet, fortified and quite concentrated, port is generally drunk at the end of the meal. It is often recommended that you serve it with strong cheeses, such as bleu cheese, or rich chocolate desserts. Personally, I don't find that either cheese or chocolate is a friend to port. I prefer to sip it alone or with a simple accompaniment of sweet figs, dates and fresh walnuts.

A final note: Regrettably, a startlingly high percentage of the ports opened for this tasting were corked. Corked wines suffer from a pronounced mustiness that cannot be detected until the cork is pulled, and therefore it is not possible to give them a fair review. Though every effort was made to cover the complete spectrum of Washington ports, two corked Hinzerling wines, along with ports from Portteus and Yakima River, had to be omitted from this article.

Here are my notes on the ports that were successfully tasted, listed in order of preference. Winery tasting-room phone numbers are also indicated, as many of these wines are for sale at the winery only.

Thurston Wolfe 2000 JTW Port ($20). T-W has been making some of Washington's best ports for the past 15 vintages, usually blends of lemberger and cabernet. This one has some touriga in it as well, and it's a rich, creamy, silky wine with intense flavors of cherry syrup, caramel and chocolate. Just 158 cases were produced. 509-786-3313.

Powers 1999 "Mercer Ranch" Port ($18). Lemberger and cabernet from the famed Mercer Ranch vineyard blend into a powerful wine with concentrated cherry/kir fruit and plenty of brown sugar and caramel flavors in the long, smooth finish. It comes in a half-liter bottle, a third smaller than a standard wine bottle. 800-643-9463.

Hedges NV Port ($50). Three traditional Portuguese grapes were blended with Red Mountain-grown cabernet to make this perfumed, high-toned, slightly minty wine. Balanced and youthful, it reminds me of the vintage character ports made by the great port houses such as Fonseca, Graham and Taylor. 425-391-6056.

Whidbeys 1998 Port ($17.50). Whidbeys is part of the Stimson Lane group, which also includes Columbia Crest and Chateau Ste. Michelle. Grapes from the excellent Cold Creek vineyard go into this stylish, affordable and pleasurable wine. Flavors of raisins and crème caramel dominate. 425-488-1133.

Preston 1998 "Tenrebac" Port ($32). Tenrebac is cabernet spelled backwards, and this 100 percent cabernet-based port invokes varietal flavors of cassis and black cherry, along with nuances of smoke, earth and sweet prune. 509-545-1990.

Willow Crest NV Syrah Port ($14/half bottle). Syrah seems like a natural for a Washington port, and this spicy wine, with sweet, slightly peppery fruit flavors, makes a very pleasant ending to a meal. Sold in half bottles, it's perfect for an after-dinner glass for four people. 509-786-7999.

Duck Pond 2000 Port ($40/half bottle). Though Duck Pond is based in Oregon, the grapes come from a vineyard on the Wahluke Slope in the Columbia Valley. Big and fruity, like a young ruby port, it's a fun wine to sip but not as complex as the wines above. 503-538-3199.

Preston 1998 "Royal" Port ($28). Preston makes this port from a rarely-seen red grape called royalty, a grape mostly used in the making of Central valley (California) jug wines. High-toned and somewhat bitter, it is much less interesting than Preston's "Tenrebac." 509-545-1990.

Hinzerling "Three Muses" Ruby Port ($20). Hinzerling "Rainy Day" Tawny Port ($35). Hinzerling 1990 Vintage Port ($50). Winemaker Mike Wallace is one of the pioneers of both grapegrowing and winemaking in this state, and one of its nicest guys as well.

For at least the past 15 years, he has specialized in dessert wines, particularly ports, which he makes in several different styles that he labels vintage, ruby and tawny.

I think the ruby offers the best value, with sweet, raisiny, candied fruit flavors. The tawny we tasted seemed a bit tired, oxidized, without the compensating rich nutty flavors that can make Portuguese tawnies such a delight. The 1990 vintage bottling also seemed a bit past its prime, with the leathery fruit now being overtaken by hot, alcoholic flavors.

Paul Gregutt is the author of "Northwest Wines." His column appears weekly in the Wine section. He can be reached at wine@seattletimes.com.