Garrafeira

Used in reference to Portuguese still wines, the word garrafeira indicates a wine of especially high quality. But the word also means wine cellar or bottle cellar (from the Portuguese garrafa—bottle). In addition garrafeira is a style of Port, albeit a rare one. Rich and supple, garrafeira Ports are usually from a single outstanding year and are aged briefly in wood and then a long time—as many as twenty to forty years—in large glass bottles. After aging, the garrafeira is decanted and transferred into standard 750 milliliter bottles and sold.