Excellent first question! A port is a fortified wine made in the Douro Valley region of Portugal, using grapes from that same region. In terms of color, it can be white, red, or rosé.

And when it comes to flavor profiles, port wines cover the entire spectrum from extra dry (not sweet at all) to Lágrima (so sweet it’s also called “The Tears of Christ”).

To be recognized as a port by the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto (IVDP), a wine must be cultivated and processed in the Douro region. On top of that, it needs to be fortified using grape spirits, like brandy or another high-ABV liquor with no sugar added.

It must also be aged in that region for at least two years, and preferably longer.

If any of those factors are missing, a wine cannot legally be called a “port.” Think of the difference between Champagne and Sparkling Wine, and you’ve got the idea.

If you’re asking us if you’re good enough to be a Fancy Countess, the answer is obviously—yes. Bridgerton wishes it could do what you do.

But the other thing? No. Historically, for a lot of non-Bridgerton-related British reasons, most ports were sweet red wine, fortified with brandy. Early 18th-century shipping tariffs restricted British importers from buying French wine, so they shifted to French wine’s cool cousin: Port.

Foreigners preferred the classic sweet aperitif styles of port, but locals had been crafting every style of wine in the Douro region for generations—it’s the oldest demarcated winemaking region on Earth.

Besides the amazing people, the life-changing wine, and a horizon so beautiful it makes you want to change your life and start a business selling portotonic to the rest of the world?

That’s easy: The land itself. The Douro DOC (Denominação de Origem Controlada) is a protected region of Portugal, because the mix of sun, soil, and water across a variety of different elevations makes for really good grapes. And you know what they say about good grapes.

The Douro is nestled around the Douro River Valley, and sheltered from Atlantic winds by nearby mountains. The winters are crisp and cold, and the summers are dry and hot. The region is broadly broken up into three areas surrounding the Corgo and Douro Rivers: Baixo Corgo (Lower Corgo), Cima Corgo (Upper Corgo), and Douro Superior (Upper Douro).

Portotônico is proudly made in Baixo Corgo, the oldest region of the three—and by extension, the wisest.

Hey. Who among us hasn’t gone with the House White, or brought home a bottle/box of something just called “Red Wine” after a particularly hard week? We have nothing but love for anonymous blends.

But that’s not the situation with port. Many brands—including any sort of malt-liquor-based drinks—build their drinks from a generic blend of leftovers or byproducts from other parts of the fermentation process.

But blended ports are made with the same effort and intention as any other sort of wine. Winemakers deliberately mix and match different grapes to create the exact taste they’re going for, and chasing the consistency each growing season is a true skill.

It takes an equal amount of skill and maturity to savor that flavor in Portotônico, and that’s why you’re going to love it.

We could absolutely make a fortified wine in California—and many people are doing just that right now! But we wouldn’t be able to call it a Port, and we’d be missing out on the unique aspects of Portugal’s ecosystem that makes their wines taste unlike anything else.

We’d also lose out on the generations of expertise we receive by working with 1100+ family-owned quintas in Portugal through our partnership with Caves Santa Marta.

There are countless examples of winemaking excellence from France, Spain, America, and more on store shelves. But we wanted to capture the essence of Portuguese wine making and Portuguese culture—that’s where the tonic comes in!

Also, “Calitônico” just sounds weird.

Adding tonic water to a dry fortified white wine sounds simple, but so do most of the best things that suddenly become your whole personality going forward. (Spin class? Biking indoors. Hot yoga? Stretching with no AC. OrangeTheory? Therapy with treadmills.)

There’s something about popping a cork without having it tied to the baggage of New Year’s Eve, weddings, or Pretending To Like Mimosas.

It’s a beloved, everyday drink all across Portugal: White port, tonic water, and a few slices of orange are ever-present during any lunch rush. It’s a drink that leaves you energized, rather than craving a nap. We’re just elevating it with our unique blend and extra-bubbly effervescence.

Yes and no! The fortified element of port is a game changer, but on a fundamental level, this is the same as a spritzer or sparkling wine.

But unlike a spritzer, we’ll never make you mix this yourself. Just pop that cork and enjoy champagne vibes without champagne prices.

We hadn’t, either! For a variety of reasons—we’re not blaming the popularity of Ratatouille entirely for this, but we do believe it contributed—France has overshadowed Portugal in the wine world for a very long time. But here’s the thing: Portugal kind of likes it that way.

Those in the know have always seen Portugal as a hidden paradise for wine lovers. And we want to expand that circle of trust to include you and yours. The knowledge and passion has been there for centuries, and we’re just making it more accessible for anyone who can’t hop a plane to Douro. We’re bringing Europe to you, instead.