WHAT TO DRINK INSTEAD OF PORT
Five wines similar to Port, and a tasting game to find your favourite.
THE SHORT ANSWER
If you like Port, try these five wines: Madeira for the same richness wrapped around a blade of searing acidity, Pedro Ximénez Sherry for the darkest, most decadent sweetness in the wine world, Banyuls for the French answer to Port and the best partner chocolate ever found, Rutherglen Muscat for Australia's liquid marmalade, and Recioto della Valpolicella for a sweet red made without fortification at all.
Five wines to try if you like Port:
- Madeira (Madeira, Portugal): rich, nutty, immortal (£15 to £40+)
- Pedro Ximénez (Jerez, Spain): raisin, molasses, espresso (£12 to £30)
- Banyuls (Roussillon, France): the chocolate red (£15 to £35)
- Rutherglen Muscat (Victoria, Australia): toffee and orange peel (£12 to £25)
- Recioto della Valpolicella (Veneto, Italy): sweet red, no fortification (£18 to £40)
THE MAP
| Madeira | Pedro Ximénez | Banyuls | Rutherglen Muscat | Recioto | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sweetness | Off-dry to sweet | Intensely sweet | Sweet | Sweet | Sweet |
| Body | Medium to full | Full | Full | Full | Medium to full |
| Acidity | Very high | Low | Medium | Medium | Medium |
| Closest match to Port | The structure | The decadence | The grape | The aroma | The mood |
| Price band | £15 to £40+ | £12 to £30 | £15 to £35 | £12 to £25 | £18 to £40 |
| Best occasion | Cheese, cellar | Pour over ice cream | After dinner, chocolate | The fireside glass | Christmas pudding |
QUICK LEGEND
If you want Port's richness but crave freshness to balance it: go Madeira.
If you want sweetness taken to its most extreme and delicious: go Pedro Ximénez.
If you love a glass of Port with dark chocolate: go Banyuls.
If you want orange peel, toffee and pure comfort: go Rutherglen Muscat.
If you want a sweet red wine that was never fortified: go Recioto.
WHAT CONNECTS THESE WINES
Port is the wine people remember from one good Christmas and then forget for the rest of the year.
That is a shame, because Port is one of the great winter pleasures: a red wine whose fermentation was stopped early with grape spirit, leaving it sweet, warming and strong. Ruby and Late Bottled Vintage give you bramble and plum with a kick. Tawny gives you nut, caramel and dried fig. Vintage Port gives you something built to outlive you. What every Port shares is the same shape, sweet fruit, real weight, and a finish that wants a fire, a chair and good company.
That shape is what these five wines deliver from different directions. Some are fortified, like Port. One is not fortified at all and gets its sweetness from grapes dried almost to raisins. What unites them is the after-dinner role: a small glass, slowly, with cheese or chocolate or simply the conversation.
The Sherry world sits next door to all of this. Sherry deserves its own conversation, and gets one, so here Pedro Ximénez stands in for the sweetest end of that family and we point you onward rather than repeat ourselves. If you want the full dry-to-sweet story of fortified Spain, read what to drink instead of Sherry.
Serve all of these cool, around 12 to 16 degrees Celsius, and in small measures. They reward attention, not volume.
THE FIVE WINES
1. Madeira, the Immortal One
Madeira is the wine that survives everything, including you.
Made on a volcanic Portuguese island in the Atlantic, it is deliberately heated and oxidised during ageing, a process that would ruin any other wine and instead makes this one indestructible. An open bottle keeps for months. The styles run from bone dry to lusciously sweet, named after their grapes: Sercial and Verdelho at the drier end, Bual and Malmsey at the sweet end. The sweet styles are the Port lover's entry point. They give you caramel, walnut, dried apricot and burnt orange, all carried by an acidity so high it stops the sweetness ever turning heavy.
This is the wine for the Port drinker who finds Port a touch syrupy and wants the same richness cut with freshness.
What you will recognise: dried fruit, nut, caramel, real sweetness and weight. What changes: a searing acidity that keeps everything bright, and a smoky, tangy edge all its own. Look for: Bual or Malmsey for sweetness, Verdelho for a halfway house, with a stated age of five or ten years. Budget: £15 to £40 and beyond.
2. Pedro Ximénez, the Decadent One
Pedro Ximénez, almost always written PX, is the sweetest wine most people will ever taste.
It is a Sherry made from white grapes that are laid out on mats in the Andalucían sun until they shrivel to raisins, then pressed and aged. The result is nearly black, thick enough to coat the glass, and tastes of raisin, fig, molasses, liquorice, espresso and dark treacle. It is less a drink than a sauce, and many people use it as exactly that, poured straight over vanilla ice cream. As a Port alternative it is the move for anyone who wants sweetness with no apology whatsoever.
This is the darkest, richest corner of the wine world, and a small glass goes a very long way.
What you will recognise: intense sweetness, dark dried fruit, a long warming finish. What changes: far sweeter and lower in acid than Port, more raisin and coffee than bramble and plum. Look for: PX from Jerez or Montilla-Moriles, younger bottles to start. Budget: £12 to £30 for a half bottle, which is all you need.
3. Banyuls, the Chocolate One
Banyuls is what southern France makes when it wants to answer Port, and it answers very well.
Grown on steep terraces tumbling into the Mediterranean near the Spanish border, Banyuls is a fortified wine built mostly from Grenache, the same warm, generous grape behind so much of the southern Rhône. It comes in fresher ruby styles and in older tawny styles aged in glass and barrel under the sun. Expect cherry, fig, cocoa, coffee and roasted nut. Its real claim to fame is chocolate: Banyuls and dark chocolate is one of the few genuinely great wine and dessert pairings in existence, and once you have tried it you understand why the French keep it quiet.
This is the choice for the Port drinker whose weakness is the pudding course.
What you will recognise: sweet red fruit, warmth, the after-dinner glow. What changes: a Mediterranean cocoa and roasted-nut character, and a natural affinity for chocolate that Port cannot match. Look for: Banyuls, and its neighbour Maury, in both young and tawny styles. Budget: £15 to £35.
4. Rutherglen Muscat, the Comfort One
Rutherglen Muscat is liquid marmalade, and that is the highest compliment.
Made in a hot corner of north-east Victoria in Australia, it is a fortified wine from the Muscat grape, aged in old barrels in baking sheds until it turns deep brown and thick with flavour. Orange peel, raisin, toffee, malt, cold tea and a whisper of caramelised sugar. The classification ladder runs from Rutherglen Muscat up through Classic, Grand and Rare, each step older and more concentrated. Even the entry level is gorgeous. It is the most purely comforting wine on this list, the one you pour without ceremony on a cold night.
This is for the Port lover who wants warmth and sweetness with no homework attached.
What you will recognise: deep sweetness, dried fruit, a long caramelised finish. What changes: a distinct orange-and-toffee Muscat perfume, rounder and less spirity than Port. Look for: Rutherglen Muscat, stepping up to Classic when you are ready. Budget: £12 to £25 for a half bottle.
5. Recioto della Valpolicella, the Honest Red One
Recioto is the sweet red wine for the Port lover who does not actually want fortification.
It comes from the Valpolicella hills near Verona and is the historic ancestor of Amarone. The grapes, chiefly Corvina, are dried on racks for months until they lose much of their water and concentrate their sugar, then fermented and stopped while sweetness remains. No spirit is added. The result is a rich, velvety sweet red tasting of cherry liqueur, dried plum, chocolate and a faint bitter-almond lift that keeps it from cloying. It is the natural partner for Christmas pudding and for hard, salty cheese.
This is the answer for anyone who wants Port's sweet-red mood with the texture of a still wine and a lighter touch of alcohol.
What you will recognise: sweet dark fruit, richness, a cherry-and-chocolate core. What changes: no fortification, so it feels more like a wine and less like a spirit, with a clean bitter edge on the finish. Look for: Recioto della Valpolicella from a serious Veneto producer. Budget: £18 to £40.
A NOTE ON PORT VERSUS SHERRY
These are the two giants of fortified wine, and they are almost opposites.
Port comes from the steep Douro valley in northern Portugal. It is usually sweet, usually red, and made by adding spirit partway through fermentation to keep that sweetness in. It is a wine for the end of the meal. Sherry comes from Andalucía in southern Spain, is made from white grapes, and most of it is bone dry, fortified after fermentation has finished. The great Sherries are aperitifs, not puddings. The two wines share a method and almost nothing else.
The overlap is only at the sweet end, where Port's tawny richness meets Sherry's Pedro Ximénez. Everywhere else they pull in different directions: Port towards the fireside, Sherry towards the table and the start of the evening. We have given Sherry its own full guide rather than squeeze it in here. If the savoury, saline, dry side of fortified wine intrigues you, that is where to go next: what to drink instead of Sherry.
THE TASTING GAME
What You Need
Five bottles, one of each wine above, though half bottles are perfect since these are sipping wines. Small glasses, one per wine per person. A pen and the rating table below. Something to eat alongside: a wedge of blue cheese, a square of very dark chocolate, and a slice of fruit cake covers the range. One person who insists Port is only for Christmas, so you can change their mind.
Optional but recommended: add a Tawny Port as the reference point everything else is measured against.
The Rating Table
| Characteristic | What you are looking for |
|---|---|
| Sweetness | How much sugar coats the palate |
| Richness | The weight and viscosity on your tongue |
| Acidity | The freshness that stops it cloying |
| Dried fruit and nut | Raisin, fig, walnut, caramel, coffee |
| Finish | How long the flavour lasts after you swallow |
Ourglass Benchmarks
| Characteristic | Port | Madeira | Pedro Ximénez | Banyuls | Rutherglen | Recioto |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sweetness | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| Richness | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Acidity | 3 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Dried fruit and nut | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
| Finish | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
The decisive row is acidity. It is the variable that decides whether a sweet wine feels joyful or heavy. Madeira sits at one extreme, all freshness and lift. Pedro Ximénez sits at the other, pure decadence. The exercise is to find where on that line your own palate is happiest, because sweetness without acidity tires quickly, and the balance point is different for everyone.
If you would rather have wines chosen for the way they actually behave at the table than the way they read on a shelf, that is what Ourglass is for. Start here.
WHAT YOUR SCORES REVEAL ABOUT YOUR PALATE
Loved the acidity and freshness most? You are a Madeira drinker, and you will enjoy dry fortified styles too. Next: Sercial and Verdelho Madeira, then a dry Oloroso Sherry.
Drawn to pure, dark sweetness? Pedro Ximénez is your wine. Next: older PX, Australian Topaque, sweet sticky wines in general.
Fell for the chocolate pairing? Banyuls and Maury are yours. Next: Grenache-based reds, and a tasting with several chocolates of different cocoa levels.
Wanted nothing but comfort? Rutherglen Muscat is the answer, every time. Next: Classic and Grand Rutherglen Muscat, Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise.
Preferred the unfortified red? You like sweetness with wine texture. Next: Recioto, then the dry Amarone made from the same dried grapes.
Not sure? Read our guide on how to taste wine, or browse the full alternatives map.
YOUR SHOPPING LIST
| Madeira | Pedro Ximénez | Banyuls | Rutherglen Muscat | Recioto | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region | Madeira, Portugal | Jerez or Montilla, Spain | Roussillon, France | Victoria, Australia | Veneto, Italy |
| Budget | £15 to £40+ | £12 to £30 | £15 to £35 | £12 to £25 | £18 to £40 |
| Start with | A 5 year Bual | A young PX half bottle | A young Banyuls | Rutherglen Muscat | Recioto della Valpolicella |
Port, Madeira and Pedro Ximénez are easy enough to find in a good UK supermarket or any decent merchant. Banyuls, Rutherglen Muscat and Recioto almost always mean an independent wine shop, which is exactly why they are still such good value and so little known.
GO DEEPER
What to drink instead of Sherry. The other great fortified wine, and its near opposite.
What to drink instead of Orange wine. Another wine worth meeting on its own terms.
What to drink instead of Shiraz or Syrah. For the rich winter reds.
What to drink instead of Cabernet Sauvignon. The other big structured red for cold nights.
The complete guide to Australian wine regions. Where Rutherglen Muscat comes from.
How to taste wine. The method behind the game.
If you like that wine, try this. The full map of alternatives.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What does Port taste like?
Sweet, rich and warming, with bramble, plum and spice in the young Ruby styles and nut, caramel and dried fig in aged Tawny. Fortification with grape spirit leaves it sweet and stronger than a normal wine, around twenty per cent alcohol, which is why it is served in small glasses.
If I like Port, what else will I like?
Madeira for the same richness with bright acidity, Pedro Ximénez for extreme dark sweetness, Banyuls for a chocolate-friendly French red, Rutherglen Muscat for orange and toffee comfort, and Recioto della Valpolicella for a sweet red made without fortification.
What is the difference between Port and Sherry?
Port is from the Douro in Portugal, usually sweet and red, fortified during fermentation, and drunk after dinner. Sherry is from Andalucía in Spain, made from white grapes, mostly bone dry, fortified after fermentation, and drunk as an aperitif. They share a method and little else.
Is Madeira similar to Port?
In richness and dried-fruit flavour, yes, especially the sweeter Bual and Malmsey styles. The difference is acidity. Madeira is deliberately heated and oxidised in ageing, which gives it a searing freshness and a tangy, smoky edge that Port does not have.
What is the best fortified wine with chocolate?
Banyuls, from the Roussillon in southern France. It is a Grenache-based fortified wine with cherry, fig and cocoa notes, and it is one of the very few wines that genuinely improves alongside dark chocolate rather than fighting it.
Is Recioto the same as Amarone?
They come from the same dried Valpolicella grapes, but Recioto is sweet because fermentation is stopped while sugar remains, whereas Amarone is fermented dry. Recioto is the sweet ancestor; Amarone is the dry modern version.
How long does an open bottle of Port keep?
Tawny and aged styles keep for a few weeks in the fridge. Vintage Port should be drunk within a day or two once decanted. Madeira is the exception in this group and keeps for months after opening, which makes it the most practical bottle to own.
Which Port alternative should a beginner try first?
Rutherglen Muscat. It is widely available, inexpensive in a half bottle, and immediately lovable, all orange peel and toffee with nothing difficult about it. Tawny-style Madeira is a close second for anyone who prefers a little more freshness.