Pass the Pink Port

Hands up if you thought Port was a rather fusty, old-fashioned tipple traditionally poured at the end of a meal, particularly around Christmas time? Well in that case it's time to think again - and think pink.

Raspberry, cherry, grapefruit and honey are some of the flavours found in Croft Pink. Mix it with melon, chilli and ice and you have one of selection of delicious cocktail recipes devised by cocktail supremo and former UK Bartender of the Year winner, Mickael Perron.

Deluxe Pleasure , Pink Jasmine and Frozen Pink Festival are some of the lip-smacking cocktails using this rosé style of Port as the base ingredient. Add fresh fruits, like strawberries, raspberries and melons, and the cocktails are great seasonal summer drinks. Alternatively, keep it in the fridge and simply serve it on the rocks.

Although Port is known as a fortified wine, it begins life just like any other wine. In September the grapes are picked by hand and taken to the winery for pressing. Most of the grapes from the vineyards are still trodden by foot in large stone tanks called lagares and not surprisingly there's a real party spirit during harvest time. Later on a grape spirit brandy is added. This stops the fermentation process, keeping the wine sweet, but raising its alcoholic strength to almost double that of a table wine - between 19% and 22% of alcohol.

Croft Pink has been made by a new technique which extracts fresh, fruity flavours and a subtle and delicate pink colour from limited contact with the skins of classic Port grape varieties, which are grown in the vineyards of Portugal's Douro Valley.

So although Croft is the oldest Port house on record (founded in 1588), this new pink baby has redefined the tipple loved by retired colonels. If you get a taste for it you might want to be one of the first to drink in the atmosphere at a new hotel, opening in June 2010 and also showing Port in a trendy new light. The Yeatman, Porto's first luxury wine spa hotel, is being developed by the company that owns Croft and all the rooms will be themed around famous wine companies - including one room with a barrel-shaped bed! The swimming pool will be shaped like a wine decanter and there will be natural grape-based treatments in the spa.

Get mixing!