Winemaker Notes
You will not want to wait for dessert! Heitz Ink Grade Port is also terrific paired with your favorite cheese or by itself as an aperitif.
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The Heitz Cellar Ink Grade Port is as close as one can get to the classic Portuguese Porto as one can ever find in the New World. The Ink Grade Port is a delicious treat. TASTING NOTES: This wine is dark, bold and powerful. Its aromas and flavors of super ripe berries and long and lasting. Pair its richness with decadent desserts, or just by itself.
Renowned for crafting Napa Valley's first cult wines, Heitz Cellar is globally recognized as the crown jewel of American wine. The timeless post-Prohibition style of winemaking endures with esteemed winemaker, Brittany Sherwood, producing elegant and balanced wines sourced from 100% organic and biodynamic Napa Valley fruit. Pioneering pure varietal, single-vineyard wines that can age for decades, including the iconic Martha’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Heitz Cellar wines hail from the region’s most premier vineyard sites including Oakville, Rutherford, Howell Mountain, St. Helena, and Oak Knoll. Family-owned since its founding in 1961, Heitz Cellar continues to embody the artistry and legacy of classic winemaking with single-vineyard wines that position it as one of the world’s leading wine estates.
Port is a sweet, fortified wine with numerous styles: Ruby, Tawny, Vintage, Late Bottled Vintage (LBV), White, Colheita, and a few unusual others. It is blended from from the most important red grapes of the Douro Valley, based primarily on Touriga Nacional with over 80 other varieties approved for use. Most Ports are best served slightly chilled at around 55-65°F. To learn more, see our full Port Wine Guide
One of the world's most highly regarded regions for wine production as well as tourism, the Napa Valley was responsible for bringing worldwide recognition to California winemaking. In the 1960s, a few key wine families settled the area and hedged their bets on the valley's world-class winemaking potential—and they were right.
The Napa wine industry really took off in the 1980s, when producers scooped up vineyard lands and planted vines throughout the county. A number of wineries emerged, and today Napa is home to hundreds of producers ranging from boutique to corporate. Cabernet Sauvignon is definitely the grape of choice here, with many winemakers also focusing on Bordeaux blends. White wines from Napa Valley are usually Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that claim specific wine characteristics based on situation, slope and soil. Farthest south and coolest from the influence of the San Pablo Bay is Carneros, followed by Coombsville to its northeast and then Yountville, Oakville and Rutherford. Above those are the warm St. Helena and the valley's newest and hottest AVA, Calistoga. These areas follow the valley floor and are known generally for creating rich, dense, complex and smooth red wines with good aging potential. The mountain sub appellations, nestled on the slopes overlooking the valley AVAs, include Stags Leap District, Atlas Peak, Chiles Valley (farther east), Howell Mountain, Mt. Veeder, Spring Mountain District and Diamond Mountain District. Napa Valley wines from the mountain regions are often more structured and firm, benefiting from a lot of time in the bottle to evolve and soften.