Port · Explainer
What is colheita port?
Colheita is tawny port from a single harvest year. According to the IVDP, the wine matures for at least seven years in cask before it is bottled, and the harvest year is on the label. A tawny with an age statement of 10, 20, 30 or 40 years, on the other hand, is a blend of different years. Colheita is therefore not vintage, because vintage matures in bottle.
In brief
The key figures
| Meaning | Colheita is Portuguese for harvest |
|---|---|
| Style | Tawny port from a single harvest year |
| Ageing | At least seven years in cask, according to the IVDP |
| Label | The vintage appears in full on the bottle |
| Difference from tawny 10 years | That one is a blend of years, a colheita is not |
| Difference from vintage | Vintage matures in the bottle, colheita in cask |
| Serving temperature | 10 to 14 degrees for the tawny style, according to the IVDP |
| Shelf life once opened | According to the IVDP, tawnies keep for weeks to months |
What does the word colheita mean?
Colheita means harvest in Portuguese and appears on the bottle for port that comes from a single harvest year.
The label states that year in full. A bottling year is often given as well, because the wine only goes into the bottle after years in cask.
A colheita is always a tawny. The IVDP counts it among the special categories, alongside vintage, late bottled vintage and crusted.
How long does colheita port mature in cask?
According to the IVDP, Colheita port matures at least seven years in cask before it may be bottled.
In practice, much colheita is left to age longer. The longer the wine rests in wood, the further the colour shifts towards amber and the more the aroma moves towards dried fruit and wood.
Because maturation takes place in cask and not in bottle, the wine is ready at bottling. Opening it years later does not make it older.
What is the difference between a colheita and a ten-year-old tawny?
A colheita comes from a single harvest year, whereas a tawny with an age statement is a blend of wines from different years.
With tawny 10, 20, 30 or 40 years, the number refers to the character of the blend as a whole. The IVDP describes the tawny style as wine from casks that have lain for different lengths of time.
A house that bottles a 10-year-old tawny aims for a consistent style that turns out the same every year. With colheita that is impossible, because each harvest year gives a different wine.
Is colheita the same as vintage port?
Vintage and colheita both come from a single harvest year, but vintage matures briefly in cask and then in bottle, whereas colheita stays in cask for years.
The IVDP writes that vintage is bottled two to three years after the harvest and can then lie in the bottle for ten to fifty years. Colheita goes into the bottle only after at least seven years in cask.
The difference is visible in the glass. Vintage holds on to its deep red colour; colheita shifts towards amber.
How do you serve colheita port?
Serve Colheita lightly chilled: the IVDP recommends a temperature of 10 to 14 degrees for the tawny style.
An opened bottle keeps for a long time. The IVDP gives three to four weeks up to several months for tawnies, depending on the age of the wine.
Take a glass with a generous bowl and do not pour up to the rim. The IVDP mentions older tawnies with coffee and with strong hard cheese.
From the shop in Bathmen
Which colheita ports are available in Bathmen?
The shop in Bathmen stocks 39 colheitas from 2 different brands. Prices range from € 19.99 to € 719.99. The alcohol percentage ranges from 20% to 21%.
- Kopke 2013 Colheita Port 20% · 75 cl · Portugal
- Kopke 2013 White Colheita Port 20% · 75 cl · Portugal
- Kopke Colheita 1960 20% · 75 cl · Portugal
- Kopke Colheita 2009 20% · 70 cl · Portugal
- Kopke Colheita 2010 75 cl · Portugal
- Kopke Colheita 2011 20% · 70 cl · Portugal
- Kopke Colheita 2011 20% · 37 cl · Portugal
- Kopke Colheita 2012 20% · 75 cl · Portugal
- Kopke Colheita 2012 37.5CL 20% · 37 cl · Portugal
- Kopke Colheita Port 1951 Tawny 20% · 70 cl · Portugal
Related questions
What is the difference between ruby, tawny, LBV and vintage port?What is white port?Which port goes with chocolate?
Short answer
Short answers to related questions
- Is the harvest year always stated on a colheita?
- Yes. The harvest year belongs to the category and is written out in full on the label, often together with the year of bottling.
- Does colheita get better with keeping?
- No. Maturation takes place in cask. After bottling, a colheita hardly changes any more.
- Is colheita sweet?
- Usually a little. The fermentation is stopped with wine spirit, so grape sugar remains in the wine.
- Is there also white colheita?
- Yes. A white colheita is white port from a single vintage, with that year on the label.
- How much alcohol is in colheita?
- Het IVDP geeft voor port als geheel meestal 19 tot 22 procent. NIX18 geldt onverkort.
The reasoning
Sources
- Special Categories, Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e Porto (accessed 2026-09-06)
- Port Wines, Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e Porto (accessed 2026-09-06)
- Choose and Enjoy, Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e Porto (accessed 2026-09-06)
- Port Wines, Digital Knowledge Portal, Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e Porto (accessed 2026-09-06)
- Verordening (EU) nr. 1308/2013, EUR-Lex, European Union (accessed 2026-09-06)
This page was written and checked by ’t Bockje Bathmen, wine and spirits shop at Brink 2 in Bathmen. Last updated on 7 September 2026.
Verkoop van alcohol onder de 18 jaar is verboden. NIX18.