12 Blogs of Christmas- Nothing says Christmas quite like port!

“Christmas time, mistletoe and wine” I’m pretty sure Cliff Richard would have said port if it had rhymed. Maybe Christmas court, mistletoe and port…. Doesn’t quite work, does it??? Ah well back to the drawing board! Interesting fact about Cliff Richard- his calendar actually outsells David Beckhams every year (bizarre! but to be fair with photos like this how could he not... sorry if i just put you off calenders all together...). But enough about Cliff- we’re here to talk about Port and instead of boring you with all the details about Ports production, I’ve decided that what would be really useful is some drink recipes which use port- it’ll be a nice little festive surprise to your guests over the Christmas!

Our first one is Mulled Claret Cocktail- pretty easy but looks like it will hit the spot this Christmas. All you need is 5oz red wine (any will do… so long as its good wine!), 1oz Port, ¾ oz Brandy, pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg, couple of cloves and lemon rind! Just heat them all up in a pot, serve in a mug and relax in front of the fire!

The next one is Rudolphs Red Nose- its pretty easy! Just use 1 part vodka, 1 part cranberry juice, 2 parts lemonade, and 2 parts Port! Mix well with ice and pour into glass- it will go down pretty well right after that big Christmas Dinner!!

Now Port is great but one recurring problem people seem to find with it is its high alcohol content. But there is a alternative- Montezovo Recioto! It’s a method whereby they dry out the grapes for a long time, which condenses the flavour and gives it that sweetness like a Port but without the Alcohol content! It would work pretty well in both these cocktails too- so feel free to experiment and don’t hesitate to put up some of your own ones in the comment box! Enjoy your Port/Recoito this Christmas- hopefull it will go a long way to warming you up!