For The Love Of Port

The last time I was at Corti Brothers (more on this wonderful Sacramento store in the "Places to buy Port and Madeira" thread in the Marketplace Forum), I picked up a bottle of Henriques 10-year-old Sercial. This is a very nice apertif Madeira, with the nice savory taste of Madeira, but without nearly the sweetness of a Malmsey (though it was sweeter than I expected it would be), hence its good for pairing with food (Malmsey can also be paired with some, typically sweet, foods, but definitely a more select range than with drier wines).

I was wondering if anybody might have suggestions of good cheese pairings with Sercial. So far, I've been drinking it with aged Gouda, which has been a nice pairing. Any other ideas about cheeses or other foods to have with Sercial?

Also, what's a good serving temperature for Sercial, presuming that one wants to enjoy it as an apertif or food wine. 55 degrees F? What's the best trick for getting wine to this temperature if one doesn't have a wine cellar? 15 minutes in the refrigerator? An hour or more refrigerated, then 1/2 hour (or more) out?

Peter

Peter do you know Darrell Corti?

Serve your Sercial with either a Serra de Estrella or aged English Cheddar or a 5 or 7 year old cheddar from E. Canada. Temp should be about 60 degrees f. Just slightly warmer than celler temp. Any colder than that and you risk losing significant aromatics and that would be a darn shame and a waste of great Madeira. I'd but the bottle in an ice bucket just for 5 minutes and it will lightly chill the wine. You definitely don't want it cold.

Peter

I'd recommend a simple salad of tomatoes with a drizzle of olive oil and some shavings of the best fresh parmesan you can lay your hands on accompanied by a warm foccacia.

This went very well with a bottle of Barbeito 1978 Sercial a few weeks ago - the wine perfectly complementing the sweet and sharp flavours of the salad.

Temperature of the wine? Just just a shade below room temperature, say around 18-19 degrees.

Enjoy!

Philip

Philip,

I've got to say, that does sound delicious! I might try that one day.

Alex

I agree with the great Caprese salad and might add a couple of drops of an well-aged Balsamic vinegar to liven things up even more for the pairing.

Forgot to answer Roy's previous question - I don't know Darrel Corti, though I have met the manager of their wine section, Don (forgot his last name).

Peter

I only met Mr. Corti on one occasion, which was the first unveiling of the 2003 VPs last June.

But his legend lives on as having one of the most incredible palate-memories in the world. He has nailed more wines blind tasting than everyone on this Forum combined. Of course, hyperbole ... yet I have heard enough stories over the years from respected sources that I have to be impressed. Supposedly, if he has tasted it, far more often than not he'll remember exactly what wine it is the next time it enters his mouth ... even years later. So the legend goes, and I have met folks ITB on both coasts that have told me the same thing, from their personal experiences.