Lots of new faces ... please introduce yourself

[Roy Hersh]

Hi Markus,

I'll see you in April for sure up in BC, wish I could make it to the Olympics but that's a busy month for me and obtaining tix is not what I'd call easy.

Anyway, if I don't get to meet you in Seattle before then, I look forward to the Playhouse Festival to drink some Port, Madeira and Douro wines together.

Have a wonderful time in Portugal ... actually, how can you possibly miss. Enjoy!

[Jay C]

I am a huge fan and love to learn everything I can about all things fermented. Currently, I'm on a huge Port kick trying to learn everything I can and at a tasting last night, met Roy and heard about the site. I look forward to learning, tasting, and most importantly, finding value in the world of Port.

[Andy Velebil]

Jay,

Welcome to I am glad you ran into Roy and joined our group of fellow Port lovers. Have no worries if you are new, this group will do it's best to turn you into an expert in no time flat. Of course that means getting to drink lots of Port, but whats not to love about that! Please feel free to ask any question you may have, even if it may seem too trivial to you. This group loves to help others learn about Port, Madeira, and Douro wines.

[Eric Guido]

Hey everyone,

I've been heavily into wine collecting for a number of years now but have only recently gotten into Port. I'm very glad that I've seen the light as I've been slowly experiencing these amazing wines. Looking at some older vintages now to try and also for some young vintage ports to lay down.

As for me, I've work in middle management for a nation wide retailer but I also moonlight as a caterer and private Chef in NYC. Over the years I expanded from restaurant work to private diners and now to wine tastings, seminars and writing food and wine articles for snooth. I was introduced to Port when a friend who's into cigars asked me to provide the wines for an event. Research led me to Port (a 1977 Warre Porto Vintage) and that first night was all I needed to be hooked. I found it difficult to even smoke the cigar, not because it didn't go well with the port, but because I was so in love with what was in the glass that I found it hard to take my attention away from it.

I'm looking forward to becoming a part of this community, to learn and hopefully contribute as my knowledge grows.

I guess that's about it. I am looking to grab some of the 2007's in the next month. Any recommendations would be welcome as I'm not qualified to judge these wines at a young stage... yet.

[Andy Velebil]

Eric,

to FTLOP, I am glad you found us and also introduced yourself. Our headmaster, Roy, is also into the culinary arts and should be along shortly. While I enjoy an occassional cigar, I prefer them with a nice aged Colheita that has lots of fresh acidity. Or Madeira is an even better match with it's high acid and VA. Anyways, I'm rambling on.....The Warre's '77 is a very nice bottle and I can see how it hooked you after drinking it. I always tell people to ask as many questions as they want, we're a friendly group who loves to share information. I look forward to your participation here.

[Roy Hersh]

Jay,

It was a pleasure to meet you the other night. Sadly, at the last minute I was unable to get over to Esquin's tonight and missed the tasting there. Were you able to make it? If so ... what did they pour and who did the pouring?

It is nice to have you here and I hope that you enjoy your stay and learning curve. Lots to taste and we have a great area here in Seattle and the Eastside with lots of Port tastings as you will find out if you continue to hang out here.

Look forward to sharing some great bottles in the future!

[Roy Hersh]

Hey Eric (homeboy),

Glendale eh? I was born and raised not too far from you, in Bayside. The only time I used to go to Glendale, seemed to be for funerals. Also when I was young my parents took my brother and me to see the gravesites of Harry Houdini, Mae West and as I was a baseball lover ... the final resting place of Jackie Robinson; all of which were in Glendale's cemetary belt.

Anyway, good to have another member from Queens here ... especially one who enjoys learning about Port!

I will add my to your questions about the 2007 vintage, but am giving others a chance to chime in before I respond. In about 3 weeks, my article comes out on the 2007 Vintage Port Forecast, so I can't get too deeply into producers/scores etc. but am happy to share some general impressions and respond to your questions.

Thanks for dropping in and we hope you will become an active participant and please do feel free to ask lots of great questions.



Now for the important question for you: Are you a fan of the Mets or the Yankees?

[Eric Guido]

Hey Eric (homeboy),

Glendale eh? I was born and raised not too far from you, in Bayside. The only time I used to go to Glendale, seemed to be for funerals. Also when I was young my parents took my brother and me to see the gravesites of Harry Houdini, Mae West and as I was a baseball lover ... the final resting place of Jackie Robinson; all of which were in Glendale's cemetary belt.

Anyway, good to have another member from Queens here ... especially one who enjoys learning about Port!

I will add my to your questions about the 2007 vintage, but am giving others a chance to chime in before I respond. In about 3 weeks, my article comes out on the 2007 Vintage Port Forecast, so I can't get too deeply into producers/scores etc. but am happy to share some general impressions and respond to your questions.

Thanks for dropping in and we hope you will become an active participant and please do feel free to ask lots of great questions.



Now for the important question for you: Are you a fan of the Mets or the Yankees?

Yeah, I live in the land of cemeteries but at least it's quiet. Spent a good amount of time in Bayside, you guys had cuter girls in your neighborhood. I'm a Mets fan but not the over the top type. Spent my youth loving the Yankees of the eighties but as guys like Don Mattingly, Dave Righetti and Willie Randolph faded away (or became a MET in Willie's case)... not to mention the big strike. My love of the game died. When I got back into it, the Yankees were a stacked deck and I've always been a lover of the underdog. (Hope I didn't offend anyone).

Thanks for the great reception guys, I'm looking forward to this 2007 review. I have my own interests for long term drinking but it's also the birth year for my two year old. Where my four year old has a case of 2005 Barolo put away, I have a feeling that my terrible two will have Port. My goals are very long term, my wife and I hope to be drinking well after the kids leave for college.

[Brad A.]

Hello FTLOP Forum,

Another newbie here looking to further my knowledge in the world of this wonderful vino. I've enjoyed port for a number of years as I'm a bonafide cigar aficionado and there's nothing more I enjoy more with a fine cigar than an accompaniment of a fine glass of port.

Unfortunately I'm a collector (memorabilia) and got into cigars over 15 years ago. I now have a cigar collection that encompasses 75+ boxes. I'm familiar with the parallel concept between cigars and port in acquiring and aging for future, improved enjoyment. My problem in storing wine is that I only have a 32 bottle wine refrigerator, so storage space is very limited. I would hope that by increasing my knowledge in the world of port that my other half will come to appreciate port even more than she already does and approve of an expenditure for increased storage capacity. Send positive karma my direction!

My experiences are somewhat limited in this arena, but my favorite port to date is Taylor 40. I have an unusual 1917 vintage bottle, though it may not be worth much or even drinkable at this point. It's a bottle of Old Castle Old Tawny produced by C. da Silva. I purchased it at a local flea market from a friend who said she got it at an estate sale. It was originally purchased as a wedding gift and supposedly stored in a cellar. It appears to still be sealed, but who knows. I would appreciate it if anyone can tell me anything about it.

Initially I'm looking to acquire bottles that are ready to drink now and some special occasion vintages--the year we were married (1990) and the years my kids were born (1998 and 2001)--none of which appear to be declared years, so they should be affordable. Suggestions here would be great.

Hopefully someday I'll have the capacity to cellar my own. I realize this may be a challenge given that I live in Oklahoma, a state that prohibits shipping wine in. I'd be open to any suggestions anyone may have in this regard as well.

Thanks for reading my novel and I look forward to getting to "know" some of you soon! I hope I can contribute to the forum in some fashion, and not just ask for advice. Any cigar questions out there?? LOL!!

Brad

[Roy Hersh]

Hey Brad,

to !

Your questions are very valid, but they are best expressed as individual threads, where people in our Port Forum area will be happy to respond. This particular thread is for introductions and you probably won't get a lot of responses to your queries.

Please know that cigar related topics can be discussed in our OTHER DISCUSSIONS Forum area and there are plenty of people here who are cigar aficionados who discuss them on occasion too. Maybe not as serious as you, but with more than a basic knowledge.

Anyways, it is great to have you here with us and we look forward to your future participation. We have lots of info we can and will share with you. Don't be afraid to ask!


Roy

[Andy Velebil]

Brad,

Welcome to ! Roy is right, there are a number of people here who also love a top quality cigar with their Port, so you'll have fit right in This group is good at getting people to expand their cellars so have no worries there, I'm sure we can convince your significant other to allow you more storage space.

I also encourage you to post separate threads for your questions, as they will get far more responses and recommendations.

Again and I hope you enjoy this little group of Port lovers.

[Brad A.]

Yeah, I guess that was a bit more than just a hello . . .

[Roy Hersh]

Cool, we can use a sense of humor around here!

[David james]

Good afternoon,

Having just found this site and forum from the CellarTracker site I thought, in accordance with the title, I would introduce myself. I live in Bristol, UK and developed a love of port when I 'joined' my wife's family some 20 years ago, (my father in law is an extremely sensible man who loves port and malt whisky).
I have, relatively recently, started educating myself about wines, particularly fine wines and port, finding it a fascinating subject but am, of course, a complete novice at the moment.
As I married a teetotaller I don't get too many opportunities to open good bottles but push the boat out when they do come along, Christmas, Easter etc.
If anyone can recommend something special from 1966 I would appreciate hearing about it as I'm looking to buy something to celebrate my 50th in a few years time.
Anyway I'm going to spend some time watching the forums and hopefully learning and I'll probably ask the occasional stupid question.

[Roy Hersh]

Hi David,

It is great to have you here with us and I think you will find a perfect place for enjoying learning about Port and discussing other topics as well.

We are a nice mix of novices to experts and every stage in between. We like to help new members and hope to make their experience here so comfortable that they'll keep on coming back for years to come.

May I ask a small favor?

We do try to avoid providing feedback in this location, as to specific Port questions. So if I may ask you to please put your 1966 question, on the regular area of our Port Forum (above Port Basics) I am positive you will have a slew of brilliant responses.

Thanks again for taking the time to introduce yourself to the folks here.


aboard and hide your wallet or you'll need to find room in the cellar for all of the Port we recommend for your drinking pleasure. Cheers!

Roy

[Chris D]

Hello FTLOP Forum,
My name is Chris, I live in SE Mass, which is predominantly Portuguese and fell in love with Port Wine from a couple of co-workers. I have yet to start a collection of Port Wine, mainly due to the $$ of vintage bottles.

After trying several different brands I grew found of Quinta do Noval, and hoping to get my hand on a 40 yr for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately I have yet to find a liquor store with a wide variety, but I hopefully through a friend,I will be able to buy from a distributor direct.

[Roy Hersh]

Chris,

to !

Stick with us and I believe you will find others in your area from here who are not only posters, but active Port ambassadors. I am sure you'll get to meet Moses B. and others.

A couple of months ago, we had an "importer direct" offering for newsletter subscribers which offered the Quinta do Noval 40 year old Tawny Port about $50 per bottle less than the next lowest price in the USA. Now that was a steal and lots of people here loaded up.

Right now there's a great "buying opportunity" for ALL FTLOPers. Go check the newsletter on the homepage that is open to all (this month only) so you can see AND buy in on the current producer, Quinta do Portal and their great Ports and Douro wines.

Anyway, we are very pleased to have you here and hope that you will enjoy learning along with the rest of us and sharing in our collective Port wisdom!

Enjoy the ride.

[Andy Velebil]

David and Chris,
to the forum and I am very happy that more Port lovers have found our little nitch in the world. I do apologize for being a bit late in welcoming you both, but work this week has been quite a bit more time consuming than normal and I haven't been on the forum as much as a result. I do hope you enjoy your stay and I encourage you both to participate as often as possible. Even if you're not sure of something, please feel free to ask away. Spreading information about our favorite liquid beverages is what we are all about.

[Frank Carrano]

Hi all--Ive been a lurker for some time here and not ashamed to say this site, and your great TNs, have been a huge source of info for me when seeking new Port to try.

I live in Boston, MA (dont get me started on the PITA shipping issues I deal with), and really only started collecting Port seriously in the past 2 years or so. I have a little free-standing wine room in my garage that I've been filling with Port and red wines, and I'm moving into Madeiras.

Pity for me that my wife isn't a big fan, so I am often hard-pressed to open a bottle except when I'm visiting my family on holidays, so my collection to drinking ratio is way off. My favorite bottles so far have been the 1963 Taylor, a 1970 taylor, and the 1977 Fonseca.

Seeya...
Frank

[Glenn E.]

Pity for me that my wife isn't a big fan, so I am often hard-pressed to open a bottle except when I'm visiting my family on holidays, so my collection to drinking ratio is way off.

Hi Frank,

I hear ya - I have exactly the same problems. Though with some time and effort, my wife is coming around to where she finds Port enjoyable in the right circumstances. (Mostly when I drag her along to a "Port dinner" with others.) Baby steps!

At least she tolerates my collecting. But I really do need to ramp up my consumption or I'm going to fill the house with wine refrigerators!

Do you drink tawnies? Those last longer once opened. It takes me about a week to finish a bottle, and at least for me tawnies are great the whole week.