Sequeirinha 30 Year Old Porto Branco

Port is graded on a scale of its own: the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto classifies it by residual sugar – extra dry (below 40 g/L), dry (40–65 g/L), semi-dry (65–90 g/L), sweet (90–130 g/L) and very sweet (above 130 g/L). Most Ports – Ruby, Tawny, LBV and Vintage – sit between 90 and 130 g/L and therefore count as sweet.

Portuguese labels rarely specify sweetness explicitly – unlike, for example, German wines. Portuguese wines are generally crafted drier than is common in many other countries, traditionally considered a mark of quality: fully fermented, without added residual sweetness. Exceptions include Port wine, Vindima Tardia (late harvest), and Vinho Licoroso, which are intentionally crafted to be sweet.