A recent dinner at a friend's home reminded me of the joys of port, a wine too often overlooked by modern-day cabernet and chardonnay consumers. The 1963 Taylor Vintage Port our generous host extracted from his extensive cellar was served with an assortment of soft cheeses as a post-dessert savory course. Although this is the traditional British pairing for port, it could as easily have been served with dessert and, in fact, port is frequently chosen as the best match to serve with chocolate.

Although similar wines are made in Australia, California, South Africa and other European countries, port comes from only one source, the Douro River valley of Portugal. Extremely steep banks along the river range from 35 to 70 degree inclines. Conditions are harsh. The soil is granite and schist, with little earth, which forces the vine roots to seek water as far as 65 feet deep. Summer temperatures reach well into the '90s and rainfall is minimal. Because the vines grow on terraced slopes, most labor must be done manually. The production of each vine is the lowest in the world.

There are more than 80 grape varieties authorized for port production, although most new plantings today are of touriga national, tinta barroca, tinta franca, tinta roriz (known as tempranillo in Spain) and tinto cao.

Port is a sweet, fortified (with additional alcohol) wine with 10 percent residual sugar and 20 percent alcohol. It is probably an invention of British wine merchants dating back to the 17th century, when the wars between France and Britain prohibited the sale of wine between those countries.

To stabilize the Portuguese red wines for shipment, the British merchants added brandy. When added during the fermentation, the brandy killed the yeasts before all the sugars were fermented, leaving instead a sweet and alcoholic red wine.

Port labels can be confusing. There are ten different styles, one white and nine red, but all are either wood-aged or bottle-aged. Wood-aged ports are aged in casks for anywhere from two years to many decades.

Once filtered and bottled, they are ready to drink and will not further mature in the bottle. Wood-aged ports are divided into a number of quality and price levels. Because most wood-aged ports are filtered, they do not produce a sediment and need not be decanted before drinking. They are made to be consumed soon after bottling.

Ports labeled 'vintage' are of high quality and are most expensive. 'Vintage' only refers to the year the grapes were grown. However, don't be fooled by those labeled 'l ate bottled vintage,' or LBV, because they aren't the same quality.

• Ruby port: Deep red in color, it's straightforwardly fruity, sweet and not complex, and is aged for two to three years in cask.

• Tawny port: Paler in color than ruby, it is made from grapes from cooler vineyards with less ripeness and is aged three years in cask.

• Aged tawny port: Nutty character with soft and silky texture, this is an affordable port with lots of finesse. Plain aged tawny spends six or more years in cask. Those labeled 10-, 20-, 30- or 40-year tawny have aged longer. All will show the date of bottling on the label and should be consumed within two years of bottling as they often deteriorate in bottle. Once opened, they should be drunk at once as they rapidly begin to oxidize.

• Vintage character port: Not from a single vintage, this is considered to be more of a super ruby. Four to six years in cask.

• Late bottled vintage port: This wine is from a single vintage but one that has not necessarily been declared a vintage year. Spends four to six years in cask.

• Colheita tawny port: Colheita means harvest. These wines are from a single vintage and spend seven years in cask but can also spend up to 40 years, as do the aged tawny ports. They account for only 1 percent of the total port production and, along with aged tawny, are my favorite ports.

Bottle-aged ports in order of price are:

• Crusted port: This wine is not from a single vintage but is bottled without filtration so that it continues to mature in bottle, throwing off a sediment or "crust." It is reasonably priced.

• Single quinta port: This wine is made from grapes from a single vineyard, which might be located in a special micro-climate. They can produce exceptional wines in years when a vintage is not declared.

• Vintage port: This wine spends two years in wood before it is bottled. Because it is unfiltered, it continues to mature in the bottle. It normally requires a minimum of 10 to 15 years in bottle to reach maturity and is only made in exceptional years. Recent great vintages include 2000, 1997, 1994 and 1991. It is normally the most expensive port to purchase and then must be cellared, adding to the investment.