Porto Tonico Cocktail

By Toby Turlay

As owners and winemakers of our own boutique winery, my husband, Chris, and I do everything from processing the grapes, taking them through fermentation, aging, bottling. And cleaning. A lot of cleaning. It's true 90% of being a good winemaker is knowing how to clean your equipment. So glamorous!

There's not much time for vacation, so when we do take a little time off, we like to travel and discover wine regions we haven't explored. Last March, we chose to travel through Portugal. It's a beautiful country and the people are lovely. Although the food wasn't very exciting, the port wines and the Vinho Verde were spectacular! Each winery, or quinta, makes their own signature port. We were fortunate to have been able to try many 40+ year old tawny ports, most of which were from small quintas rather than the big houses. One type of port I was in search of was a white port. Whites are much less common and have very different aroma and flavor profiles. I finally found one and have it sitting in my cellar waiting for the right moment. During our three week adventure, I found only one rosé port. This is now on my project wish list! If you can get your hands on a white port or a rosé port, I would highly recommend both.

After days of tasting so many ports we were both very happy to discover the Porto Tonico, a cocktail they often serve at bars and cafes along the coast. I refer to it as a Portuguese sangria. There is only so much port you can enjoy in one day, so this was a wonderful surprise! It has become our favorite summer libation and we have introduced it to many friends. A good bottle of port, a bottle of tonic water, a few oranges, limes, and fresh mint placed in a nice basket makes a unique and lovely gift.
Porto Tonico is easy to make and is very refreshing. It's also very versatile. You can make one glass or an entire punch bowl. It's all about the proportions. If it's too sweet or if you'd like to cut back on the sugars, you can substitute light/diet tonic water. Ruby, white, or rosé port is recommended, but we have used a tawny and it was also delicious.

Porto Tonico
Combine 1/3 port to 2/3 tonic water
Serve over a full glass of ice in a wine glass

Garnish with orange slices, lime, mint, berries, pineapple. Whatever fruit you prefer! Use any port you'd like, but I'd save the good stuff for dessert!

Cheers to a warm, sunny August and ripe grapes!

August 2022

Ducleaux Cellars is a boutique Estate Winery and Vineyard located in the Rocks District of Milton Freewater, Oregon. This harvest will be Chris and Toby's first 100% estate fruit harvest. They have eight acres under vine and are focused on Rhône varieties, including Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Cinsault, Viognier, Roussanne, Marsanne, and Grenache Blanc. "Our humble tasting room is on the crush pad, with views of the Blue Mountains and entertainment by our free range chickens." They are one of the few wineries in the area where the winemakers pour the tastings.

www.ducleauxcellars.com