How long does Port last after opening?

How long each style keeps

The source is the IVDP’s detailed storage guide (in Portuguese). It separates filtered and unfiltered LBV. If you’re unsure which you have, read the label or check the producer’s page for that wine.

Why the advice doesn’t always match

Even the IVDP’s pages differ. Its choosing and enjoying Port guide lists four to five days for LBV without separating filtered and unfiltered wines, and eight to ten days for Ruby. The more detailed page used in the table above gives different periods. Neither page explains the discrepancy.

Producers can give longer advice for a particular bottle too. Taylor’s recommends two months after opening for its 2018 LBV, kept upright, cool and away from direct sunlight. That recommendation applies to that wine; other LBVs may have different instructions.

Check the producer’s instructions for the exact bottle first. If there are none, use a style guide to plan when you’ll open it, and allow less time when the sources disagree.

The IVDP says its keeping times describe the gradual loss of a wine’s original aromas and flavours. They don’t mean a bottle suddenly changes on the last day. The number of days alone won’t tell you the condition of your bottle.

Vintage Port: plan for the first day or two

A wine that can develop for decades in a sealed bottle can still change quickly once opened. Taylor’s gives that distinction directly for its 2017 Vintage Port: long bottle ageing before opening, but one to two days for drinking afterwards.

Older bottles need particular attention. Premium Port Wines’ serving guide warns that Vintage Ports over 40 years old can lose freshness and complexity quickly. Don’t assume that a valuable old bottle will last longer on the sideboard.

Use the decanting guide to prepare for sediment, and the old-cork guide if the cork looks fragile. Time in a decanter is part of the time since opening, not a new storage period.

Why Tawny usually gives you longer

Tawny has already spent time in contact with oxygen while ageing in wood. Premium Port Wines explains that this helps it remain fresh longer after opening than bottle-aged Vintage. It is a useful style to consider when you want occasional glasses over several evenings.

Read the full label. Ordinary Tawny and Tawny with an age on the label have different keeping times in the table. Colheita is Tawny from a single harvest, aged in cask. A year on its label doesn’t make it Vintage Port.

How to keep an opened bottle

The IVDP advises keeping opened Port cold. At home, use the fridge rather than leaving it beside a radiator or on a sunny shelf.

• Close the bottle between pours. If the original cork has broken, use a clean stopper.
• Write the opening date on a small label, so you’re counting from opening rather than purchase.
• Check any bottle-specific storage instructions as well as its recommended drinking period.

You don’t have to serve it straight from the fridge. For example, Taylor’s suggests serving its 2018 LBV at 16–18°C. Pour what you want to serve and let it warm towards the producer’s suggested temperature; the rest of the bottle can stay cold.