Most (though not all) Port needs to be decanted before drinking. This is to prevent any sediment that may have formed in the bottle, being poured into the glass. Some Port wines have been filtered before bottling and therefore don't throw a sediment.

Decanting is such a very simple process though that I recommend you decant ALL of your Port before serving, as not only does it remove any sediment it also aerates the wine helping bring out the flavours of the wine on both the nose and the palate.

To Decant Port (or any other wine) :

- firstly, carefully stand the bottle upright and leave for as long as possible, (upto 2 days if possible, but even 10-20 minutes is beneficial). This allows any sediment to fall to the bottom of the bottle.
- second, remove the cork slowly so as not to disturb the sediment that has collected at the bottom of the bottle.
- lastly, very slowly pour the Port into a decanter, stopping just before the sediment starts to flow out of the bottle.

This method unfortunately leaves a small amount of good wine in the bottle (which I hate to see), so an alternative method is to place a piece of fine muslin cloth doubled over (or doubled, then doubled again) into a funnel, and place the funnel in the decanter. Now if you use the same decanting process as above you can continue to pour almost all of the Port out of the bottle because the muslin traps any sediment.

Port is not drunk solely for the wine itself. It is also drunk as a social activity and for the sense of the occasion.

It is therefore good etiquette, and also jolly good fun, to follow the rules :
- the Port should start with the host, who pours the guest to his right, and then
- the Port is passed to the guest on the left, (who in turn pours the guest to their right)
- and so on until the entire table has been served.

If a guest requires more Port it is extremely bad manners for them to openly ask for the Port. The correct method of obtaining the Port is to ask the guest nearest to the decanter whether they know the Bishop of Norwich. This 'signal' does not require an answer but should result in the decanter being passed (left-wards) around the table to the person requiring the Port. If unfortunately the guest to whom the question is put does not understand the 'signal' and mistakenly answers "No I don't" then your response should be appropriately scornful "The Bishop is a terribly good chap, but he never passes the Port !".

(This assumes of course that you are not in the company of people who do actually know the Bishop - which I suspect is not very often. If however you are then you will have to agree your own 'signal').


Another tradition is the 'Laying Down of Port' where a father or godfather lays down Port for his son or godson.
This can be done in one of two ways :
- either by purchasing an entire pipe (145 US Gallons) from the year of birth, or
- by purchasing a case every year until the son/godsons 21st birthday,
(the slightly cheaper alternative is to purchase a case of only the declared Vintages rather than every year).
The only caution I would advise however is that the Port needs to be stored OUT OF REACH of the father or godfather - lest he be tempted to consume it rather than pass it on !