For The Love Of Port

Light amber color at first pour. Heavy brandy-like aroma. Stays the whole time. Fruit flavors come out stronger than I thought. Best part is, the butterscotch flavor at the end. Even after it goes down, the butterscotch remains. However, I am usually put off by the aguardente and it seems to be pret...

The Port-tini is just something I thought of. I used to bartend in college around the time Cosmos came out. I'm thinking, 3 parts vodka, one part ruby port. Kind of like using Chambord. Or maybe float ruby port over a regular martini. And the ruby gives the Port-tini its distinct taste. Then, when y...

It all boils down to taste. Read up on wine ratings and labels; they will give you an insight into what flavors and aromas are in each port before you buy. Love cherry but hate licorice? Try one, avoid the other. You don't have to spend a lot of money either. Some cheaper LBV's or vintages can do wo...

Todd, How ironic. My birthday is also January 28th and my first son was also a preemie! Wow. I know how hard it is. Shane spent his first 2 weeks in the NICU, born 6 weeks early. He is now 5, in kindergarten, plays soccer, and kicks my butt in Playstation. Needless to say, I am a proud Papa who coun...

Stephen,

Re: Crimson. Gin with a ruby port? Ugh. Pass.

I would think the gin is exact opposite of what could be paired with port.

Even bourbon might pair better.

I'm sticking with my Port-tini

Quinta do Noval Coleheita 1986?

Really?

As I mentioned in the Tasting Notes, Cockburn's 2003 vintage. A leftover bottle from a shipping mishap (not our fault). Fed Ex admitted fault, covered the cost. So, basically free. Yay! Dad's birthday. He's Portuguese, so I broke open this one to celebrate. Very smokey, very fruity full bodied port....

Yes, a bit early to open, but the bottle was a victim of a Fed Ex drop (label stained from a broken bottle nearby, cannot sell) and we were too eager to let it sit. And, Fed Ex covered the cost. So... Very smokey, very thick. Full-bodied. I first thought tobacco aroma, everyone else said the same. T...

Port and lemonade? What the? Would that be best with a tawny, perhaps? Ruby? How about a Port-tini? 3 parts Vodka, 1 part port wine? Hey, I got dibs on that one! Anyway, you still have to pry younger people away from what they normally drink - that being beer, martini's, rum and cokes, etc. My frien...

Does anyone know if some ports use beet sugar as opposed to cane sugar? And which ones?

Got to admit...scratching my head on this one...

Moses said it best. Endorsements. If we can get Snoop Dogg to promote it, port wine would be the po-shizzle. I am still relatively young. Most of my friends are 25-45. You need to pry them away from Stoli Martinis, Cosmos, and Coors Light. Port could be convincing at a dinner party at home - but eve...

Taylor Fladgate 10 yr tawny. Keeping it simple. A darker tawny than others I've tasted. Not bad. Raisins stand out - we're halfway through the bottle. I have a Cockburns 2003 staring at me, daring me to open it. But its too soon. It was stained in a damaged shipment and I got credit for it from Fed ...

Hey Blair,

Now that the Canadian dollar is worth more than the US, how does Pt. Roberts or Bellingham look as alternative port destinations?

I'm sure there are deals while you're filling up on gas.

Mark
ex-Lower Mainlander

Ahem.

http://www.portwine2u.com

Taking a Dow 20 year to our inlaws. Past experience says they are tawny fans so...

At least I don't have to cook.

Great tricks there, guys. I doubt most waiter's would know port wine glasses, nor possibly bartenders. I guess the trick is, find a restaurant that doesn't look sophisticated, see if they happen to have a good selection of port, then ask them to pour into a white wine glass.

Nice.

My wife and I were at the Pelican Hill Golf Course in Newport Coast last night for a few cocktails. I noticed they carried, among other ports, Taylor's 40 year and Graham's vintage 1970. I has never seen these high end ports in any bar before and I didn't ask the price. I imagine they would be very ...

Say you wanted to impress a port lover at his birthday party that he'd open in front of his guests.

What vintage would you bring?

Something you'd stand behind taste-wise, not based on scores or price...

Andy, Likewise. Would love to meet other FTLOP'ers. Usually, its just the wife and I at tastings - sampling them ourselves with no one we know to compare to. We're working on the babysitter angle to attend this. Lately, our sitters have gotten their driver's license and discovery of boys. Groan. Jus...

Thanks, Todd. We're lucky so far in that the fire has managed to circle the houses (for the most part) near us. It creeps up on a housing development, then moves around it. The firecrews are working tirelessly as they move along. Scary thing for us is the canyon behind our house. All the fire has to...