You'll notice many port houses have British names: Churchill's, Cockburn, Graham's, etc. In the 18th century, very little wine was available from Napoleonic France, so Brits turned to Portugal. Because port is fortified, it survived the journey to England better than most table wines. British importers set up shop in the Douro, and the rest is history.

Vintage ports are a port house's top bottle, traditionally only produced in the best vintages. In years where the vintage is not declared by the producer, "Quinta" ports are often made -- they are vintage-specific but not as massive (or expensive) as the flagship ports. Vintage ports tend to be around $60 and up, whereas LBVs are between $20 and $30.

Substantially darker than the tawny, the Pousada looks just like a red table wine. It delivers a black forest cake of a nose -- dark chocolate and cherry with a hint of sweet whipped cream. It's moderately heavy, coating the palate with flavours of raisin toast -- juicy raisins, cinnamon and a dollop of butter. The alcohol comes on a little strong, almost overpowering the modest finish, but it's still a great value.