For The Love Of Port

That’s a cool video, Roy! Having never tried it, I’m curious, though, as to how this differs from the Sommelier version? 2) don't mistakenly squeeze the hot tongs together on the neck with too much force. I almost shattered the neck off a bottle this way, which could have been very ugly because the ...

I like this quote There is no federal limit on the amount of alcohol a traveler may import into the U.S. for personal use, however, large quantities might raise the suspicion..... We have this “personal consumption” issue in the UK, too, where people visit France (on what is politely termed a “booz...

I quite like a Port Zabaglione. The standard method is to beat one egg yoke, per person, with some sugar, until it becomes pale. Then put it on a double boiler and add about a shot-glass of wine per yoke and beat it until it increases in volume. I think the best type of wine is a mixture of half Mar...

I’ve often thought that the fact that the Nicholas chain stocks Rozès in their UK shops is evidence that they must be importing all their stock and not using British suppliers! I’ve had the 97 on a couple of occasions. I remember thinking that it was a reasonable Port but not quite interesting enoug...

Thanks for posting the note on the 85. That’s one of the others that I was thinking about buying so it’s interesting to see what you made of it.

I’m sure I’ll have a chance to open a bottle of Madeira sometime in June. Perhaps we should go by style or shipper to make it easier for people to acquire bottles (as it looks like at least two of us will be doing)?

I suppose once that 1977 Niepoort is released, a few more of us will have a chance of trying this style! I wonder what the release price will be… Incidentally, having had a look at the dates of the previous garrafeira, they seem to have been about twice a decade between the 30s and 77, which I think...

Moses Botbol wrote:Buying Madeira may be better served on EBay.

I was thinking about that. Afterall, they’d have to try quite hard to do any damage to it! Unfortunately, I haven’t see any on EBay in the UK (nor even very many Madeira tags which is a pain as I’d quite like one!).

As I hinted at a recent tasting note , having eyed up the Port that goes for sale on EBay for some time, I finally took the plunge this week (albeit with a fairly standard bottle). From what I have seen, there is a steady stream of vintage port, of a variety of ages, most of which seems to either be...

An interesting buy. I think it would make for interesting reading Jacob, to gain your insight and hear more about your experience with the Ebay wine buying adventure. Please do share in a Forum thread which I think will be well read and generate some fun discussion. Thanks for the fine note on the ...

I’m quite curious about the Garrafeira, too, though I suspect I haven’t drunk enough quality colheitas to appreciate it. Perhaps something that is more likely to be achieved, if more for novelty reasons than anything else, would be a bottle that’s over a century old. Of course, this could all be set...

Nope, Vintage Character was a term that was pushed out of the lexicon by the IVDP in 2005 when they changed the nomenclature within the new special categories they arranged. Ruby Reserve (or Reserva) or Reserve Ruby is now the name of the category formerly known as Vintage Character. It really equa...

Andy Velebil wrote:Thats OK, we can do it for you :twisted:

Presumably you’d have to wait until at least 2011. Or 2016 to commemorate the divorce!

Incidentally, isn’t “vintage character” a now-banned term for a better-quality Ruby rather than Crusted?

This bottle was a speculative purchase on ebay to see what the port-buying ebay experience is like before committing to something more serious. The cork was pretty firmly stuck and, after splitting it by using the wrong corkscrew :roll:, I ended up pushing it in. Not a great deal of sediment but tha...

Nikolaj Winther wrote: My "trick" is drinking VP from half-bottles or simply switching to tawny. That can last for weeks and weeks.

That's pretty dangerous advice; it's comments like that leads people away from Port and into Madeira!

In fact, it appears there is an entire website devoted to them...

That's a cool bottle. I wonder what the IVDP would have to say about it today! Having just typed "Wedgwood" and "Sandeman" into Google, it appears that yours is one of a pair which contained Scotch and Cream Sherry, respectively: http://i12.ebayimg.com/03/i/000/f1/4f/e7f1_1.JPG h...

As for the "oak barrels"...they are oak and they are technically barrels, but when you see the massive size of them they really are just large holding tanks. Most are over 100 years old and they are so big they are constructed in place. Here is a pic of a Tonnel...and this is a small one....

I was given a bottle of this some time ago. According to the bottle it has been “aged in oak barrels”. A day in the decanter blew of the spirit that was fairly dominant on opening. After that, there was very little of anything on the nose. On the palate, inoffensive and uncomplicated port flavours. ...

Extracted from the Virtual Tasting Room. Opened May 2008 As should be expected, the cork came out easily in one piece, and there was only a little sediment. 8+ Hours . Surprisingly large on the nose, but aromatic rather than powerful. Very fruity, with, if it is not too clichéd, lots of plums and a...