Peking/Beijing, Tokay/Tokaj and... Port/Porto

[AlexR]

Which do you say?

OK, I can see that they make "Port" in countries other than Portugal, but I still find it hard to change gears after all this time.

I notice that almost none of the posts on this forum refer to "Porto".

Would it be fair to say that the name hasn't caught on?

What do twenty-something English-speaking wine lovers call it?

Best regards,
Fifty-something Alex R.

[Jason Brandt Lewis]

Alex,

I do say / write / post "Porto."

I say / write / post "Beijing."

I say / write / post "Tokaj" when referring to Hungarian wines like "Tokaji Aszu," and Tokay when refering to wines like "Tokay d'Alsace," and "Tocai" when when refering to wines like "Tocai Friuliano."

But I say / write / post "Burgundy," instead of "Bourgogne"; "Piedmont," instead of "Piedmonte"; "Tuscany," instead of "Toscana" Go figure.

Then again, I'm a 50-something American, and not a 20-something one . . . .

Cheers,
Jason

[Andrew Stevenson]

Good question Alex - I was just wondering the self same thing, as I was reading through other threads.

In the UK I think virtually everyone will refer to port, not porto. This probably reflects the British preference to assimilate and anglicise foreign words. (Cf. Hock, Claret, Burgundy etc, though it's not restricted to wine and food!)

I wonder why porto is more common in the USA? It's one more letter to type after all! :)

Nowadays I would say Tokaj(i) not Tokay.

I'm not 100% converted to Beijing yet, and certainly would always eat Peking duck, not Beijing duck!

Mumbai for Bombay is one I've not got at all used to yet.

[Jason Brandt Lewis]

Andrew,

In the FWIW mode, although it is Beijing, I think it will ALWAYS be Peking Duck, regardless of the name of the city. And although I do call it Mumbai -- I only do so when on the phone with the completely unhelpful person on the technichal help/support desk ("So, how are things in Mumbai?" I say with a completely sarcastic voice after they've failed to understand the problem for the fourth time . . . . )

And Burma remains Burma, too, though I'm not sure why.

Cheers,
Jason

[Derek T.]

Let's not forget "Oporto" !

[Jason Brandt Lewis]

Oporto is the town (and it just means "The Port"); Porto is the wine.

[Tom Archer]

The Portuguese name for Oporto is Porto - same as the wine.

The reason the US market uses the name Porto is to distinguish between the real product and other fortified reds, whose manufacturers resisted the protests of the Portuguese producers at the use of the name Port.

In the UK it is almost impossible to find Port that is not made in Portugal, so there has been no need for a distinction.