A sweet port to sip with your sweetie on Valentine's Day | Phil Your Glass

Phil Masturzo, Akron Beacon Journal
·2 min read
Menéres white port pairs perfectly with baklava and American Classic Snack Co.'s sea salt turtle pecan flavor of popcorn.
Menéres white port pairs perfectly with baklava and American Classic Snack Co.'s sea salt turtle pecan flavor of popcorn.

There’s no better time than Valentine’s Day to sip on a glass of port with your sweetie. This fortified sweet wine from Portugal is versatile enough to please all lovers of wine, from sweet to dry.

Menéres white port is made from gouveio, donzelinho, viosinho and malvasia fina grapes grown in the Douro Valley of northern Portugal. While the grapes are fermenting, juice is drained off the skins and stems and then fortified with a fine 150-proof grape brandy. It is then taken to be matured in large oak vats before it is blended and bottled.

Typically served with dessert or paired with a nice after-dinner cigar, port wines can be enjoyed in many ways. Fine restaurants will often serve a glass with the arrival of the cheese cart to your table, and it's especially delicious when paired with blue cheese.

I love the versatility of Fernando van Zeller’s $19.99 Menéres white port. It has wonderful toasted pecan flavors with nuances of butterscotch and dried apricot.

It could be a liquid dessert on its own, however, I like how it went with the homemade baklava from Krieger's Market.

A $4.49 bag of sea salt turtle pecan popcorn made locally by the American Classic Snack Company in Wadsworth is also delicious with a glass of this port. It is made from locally sourced Ohio corn and sold in Acme Fresh Market Stores. It's caramel corn with the chocolate trifecta − white, dark, and milk chocolate − topped with pecan bits.

White chocolate pairs exceptionally well with this white port. If you should crave further experimentation, other varieties of their popcorn are sold at Giant Eagle stores as well.

Buy this wine at Beau’s Market in Copley, Mustard Seed Market in Montrose, Krieger’s Market in Cuyahoga Falls, Papa Joe's in the Merriman Valley, and BLU-Tique Hotel in downtown Akron.

You can reach Phil Masturzo at philyourglass@gmail.com and follow him on Instagram @pmasturzo_philyourglass

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: This Menéres white port will make Valentine's Day even sweeter