San Francisco Christmas Port
Port has been made in California at least since the days of the Gold Rush and is one of the most popular of all dessert wines. Conforming to the present tendency in the American taste, it is, on the whole, sweeter and deeper red in color than the red Port wines from Portugal. California port is produced from many different grapes, only a few of which are used for the wine in its native Portugal. To this selected group belong the Tinta Madeira, Tinta Cao, Alvarelhao, and Touriga. Another is the Trousseau, which has been identified with the Portuguese Bastardo. This grape was once quite popular in California as a varietal, but is now generally considered to lack sufficient color for that purpose, owing to the current preference for darker wines.