My father was fond of saying, “All wine would be port, if it could.” For too many wineries, port is an afterthought, thrown together with overripe grapes resulting in a simple, sweet dessert wine that is anything but port. Unfortunately, these wines give California versions a bad name.  At St. Amant, port has been a focus since 1981 when my father bottled our first vintage port from bootlegged wine he reclaimed from a bankrupt vintner. That wine was a blend of five traditional varieties grown in our Amador vineyard, and set us on the path of starting our own winery. The rest is history – our latest version, the 2022 Bootleg Port is a blend of six Douro valley varieties. It has a dark ruby red color, crushed berry aromas, delicious ripe fruit flavors, and a smooth almost nutty finish.