Wine and Cigar Pairing: Port, Reds and Champagne

Short answer: Port is the classic wine to set beside a cigar, and aged Tawny Port is where we suggest starting. The head of the Taylor Fladgate group told Cigar Aficionado that the sweetness and texture of old Port coat the mouth and lift a cigar. For still and sparkling wine, our house rule is to match weight: a lighter wine with a milder cigar, a bold red with a fuller one. Every wine named here is on our wine menu.

Wine and cigar pairing at a glance

The wines are from our own list. The cigar beside each is a house suggestion by weight, not a sourced rule.

Port and cigars

Why Port works

Port is a fortified wine from the Douro Valley in Portugal. Cigar Aficionado explains that neutral brandy is added during fermentation, which stops the sugar turning to alcohol and leaves a sweeter wine of about 20 percent alcohol.

That is the reason it sits well beside a cigar. Adrian Bridge, chief executive of the Fladgate group, told the magazine that the viscosity and sweetness of old Port coat the mouth and throat and enhance a cigar. The magazine adds that Port's sweetness, strength and long finish are qualities a cigar smoker already looks for.

The styles, in plain terms

Taylor Fladgate divides Port into two families. Wood-aged Ports mature in oak casks or vats with some contact with air. Bottle-aged Ports spend most of their life in glass.

• Tawny. Aged longer in cask, where the wine moves from deep red toward amber and takes on nutty, butterscotch notes, by Taylor Fladgate's description.
• Aged Tawny. Labeled 10, 20, 30 or 40 years. Cigar Aficionado notes that the figure is the average age of a blend. Taylor Fladgate says the older wines show more pronounced spicy and nutty character.
• Ruby, Reserve and Late Bottled Vintage. Aged two to six years and kept for their deep red color and fresh fruit.
• White Port. Made from white grapes, in dry or sweet versions.
• Vintage Port. From a single exceptional year, two years in vat, then long aging in bottle.

For cigars, Bridge singles out Tawny. Cigar Aficionado reports that he recommends it as an excellent cigar partner, and that young Ruby is the less suitable of the styles.

The Ports on our list

Our Port list is mostly Tawny, which is no accident. What each producer says about its own wine:

• Fonseca 20 Year Tawny. Aged about two decades in small oak casks of roughly 630 liters. Fonseca describes it as deep amber, with ripe, plummy fruit, cinnamon, butterscotch and a nutty, spicy flavor. The house suggests serving it slightly chilled, and it needs no decanting.
• Taylor Fladgate 10 Year Tawny. Matured in seasoned oak casks. Taylor Fladgate describes ripe berry fruit with a delicate nuttiness, notes of chocolate and butterscotch, and figgy flavors on a long finish.
• Fonseca Siroco. A dry white Port, first released in the 1950s, made mainly from Malvasia Fina and aged in small oak vats. Fonseca describes it as crisp, with ripe fruit and a delicate nuttiness, and serves it chilled.

The list also carries Fonseca 40 Year Tawny, Taylor Fladgate Fine Tawny and Dow's 10 Year.

House suggestions. These are our own pairings, from the lounge.

• Fonseca 20 Year Tawny with the Padrón 1926 Serie, which Padrón describes as full-bodied. We like it in Maduro.
• Taylor Fladgate 10 Year Tawny with a medium cigar. Start in our medium-bodied collection.
• Fonseca Siroco, chilled, with a mild Connecticut Shade cigar early in the evening.

Red wine and cigars

House suggestions. We found no primary source that sets rules for still wine and cigars, so this section is our own practice.

We match weight first. A big red is the still wine we reach for with a full cigar, and a lighter red suits a gentler one.

• Cabernet Sauvignon. Our list runs deep here: Caymus, Silver Oak Alexander Valley, Duckhorn, Austin Hope and DAOU Soul of a Lion among them. We set these beside medium to full-bodied cigars.
• Bold red blends. Orin Swift Papillon, Montes Purple Angel and Tenuta di Biserno. We pour these with our fullest cigars, including Maduro wrappers.
• Merlot. Duckhorn Napa Valley or DAOU Reserve, with a medium cigar.
• Pinot Noir. Folie à Deux or Outerbound, with a mild to medium cigar. We keep the cigar light so the wine is not lost.

Champagne, white wine and cigars

House suggestions. Again, our own view.

• Champagne. Veuve Clicquot Brut, Moët & Chandon Impérial Brut, Piper-Heidsieck Brut Cuvée or Dom Pérignon. We pair these with a mild cigar. Padrón describes its Dámaso line, made with an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper, as mild to medium, and it is a good place to begin.
• Chardonnay. Cakebread, Wayfarer or Penfolds Bin 311, with a mild to medium cigar.
• Sweet wine. Our pairing menu suggests a dessert wine with flavored and infused cigars. The list includes Stella Rosa Imperiale Moscato d'Asti and Caposaldo Moscato.

At the table

House suggestions.

• Taste the wine first, then light the cigar. Go back to the wine once the cigar has settled.
• Keep water beside you and sip it between the two.
• Order by the glass when you are trying a pairing for the first time. Our list marks which wines are poured by the glass.
• If a pairing feels out of balance, change the cigar before you change the wine. A step up or down in body is usually all it takes.

The lounge is at 1651 S Arizona Ave, Yuma, Arizona. If spirits are more your evening, see our guide to bourbon and cigar pairing.

Frequently asked questions

What wine goes best with a cigar?

Start with Port. Aged Tawny is the style the head of the Taylor Fladgate group recommends for them in Cigar Aficionado. For still wine, our house suggestion is a bold red with a full cigar.

Is Port good with cigars?

Yes. Cigar Aficionado reports that Port's sweetness, strength and long finish make it a natural companion, and that the texture of older Port coats the mouth and enhances the cigar.

What does 20 Year mean on a Tawny Port?

It is an average. Cigar Aficionado notes that most aged Tawny Ports are blends labeled with the average age of the wines in them. Fonseca ages its 20 Year Tawny for about two decades in small oak casks.

Can you pair Champagne with a cigar?

We do, as a house suggestion: a Brut Champagne with a mild cigar, so neither covers the other.

Sources: Cigar Aficionado (Ports of Call; The Joy of Tawny Port), taylor.pt, fonseca.pt and padron.com. Pairings marked as house suggestions are our own. Last updated September 29, 2026.