Prager Winery & Port Works

Tucked away past a lush garden, and through the barrel cellar, the Prager tasting room is like a secret hideaway – rustic and casual – and unlike any tasting room in the Napa Valley. Currency from around the world covers the walls and ceilings.

Our Wines

Prager Winery & Port Works hand crafts several styles of port, and a Petite Sirah dinner wine. All products are available for sale through the winery, in the tasting room and at our online store.

Royal Escort Port is a vintage style, is made from Petite Sirah, and is our flagship port. Noble Companion 10-Year Old Tawny Port is a traditional Tawny Style Port. Our Prager Port is produced with Petite Sirah blended with traditional Portuguese grapes we planted in Calistoga. We also produce our Aria White Port, a port created from 100% Chardonnay.
The only table wine we produce is a Petite Sirah from our St. Helena vineyard.

Because we specialize in the production of fine PORT wines, we are asked many questions about how port is made.

WHAT IS PORT, AND HOW DOES IT DIFFER FROM REGULAR TABLE WINE?
Port is a fortified wine. Ports can be produced from any grape varieties, and the resulting wine may be red, tawny or white. The main difference between port and other wines made from the same grapes is the addition of spirits before the fermentation is completed, this is called fortification. We fortify our fermenting wine with 169 proof California brandy. The alcohol content of the wine is brought up to between 18% and 20%, which stops the action of the yeast, leaving some of the grape sugars unfermented which is why ports are sweet. Prager Ports are generally a little less sweet than most other Ports.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT STYLES OF PORT, AND HOW ARE THEY MADE?
Vintage Style Ports are aged from 24 to 40 months in barrel. This relatively short time in oak allows the port to develop its complexities slowly in the bottle for decades.
Wood Ports include Tawnies, Rubies and White Ports. Unlike their Vintage counterparts these Ports are matured in barrel, and ready for consumption when purchased. You can hold them for years, but they will not improve with age.

HOW LONG WILL A PORT LAST AFTER IT HAS BEEN OPENED?
Because of the high alcohol content, young Ports have the potential for lasting 2-3 months after opening. Even after that length of time, don’t be in a hurry to pour it down the drain. Since the Port has been subjected to the influence of air, it has undoubtedly become softer with an intensified nutty character. In other words, the Port will still be drinkable. Ports do not spoil, but fade.