When it comes to fortified wines, vintage and tawny ports are the two most universally recognized styles. But there are vast differences between them. Vintage ports are dense purple-black in color, thick with flavors of plum and heavy tannins, and are made from grapes harvested in a single year. Tawny ports are more translucent in color, with a reddish-amber hue—hence the name—and have a candied spiciness along with characteristic cinnamon and almond flavors. Moreover, tawnies are blended from por…