Newbie intro and a question

[Keng Yong]

Hi Everyone!



Ok, I've been caught red-handed for lurking by Roy and some introductions are in order.

I'm very new to drinking port, having had only had a taste here and there but I'm partial to it. It so happened that I also chanced upon a book called "The Port Companion" by Godfrey Spence that provided me with it's history, and so I'm hooked. I came upon recently and found a wealth of information here shared by a very friendly crowd. So here I am. My name's Keng Yong and I live in the little dot of a tropical island called Singapore. Hope to learn much from you!

I have a question concerning storage temperature. When we talk about too hot a temperature which will degrade Port during storage, what is considered too hot? In Singapore, the average temperature range in a day is 24-30 degrees C. In my home, I have a store room which is away from sunlight and vibrations but I would say ambient temperature is maybe about 26 degrees C in there during the day. Is this considered too hot to store the bottles?

Thanks!

cheers,
Keng Yong

[Eric Menchen]

Welcome Keng! While Singapore is beautiful and those warm temperatures make for wonderful flora, I dare say 26 C is too warm for Port or other wines for the long term.
-Eric

[Glenn E.]

Hi Keng, welcome!

As Eric said, 26 degrees C is too warm for long-term Port storage. I'd be very wary of anything over 21 degrees C. It might not damage the Port exactly, but even 21 degrees C will cause Port to age significantly faster than it would normally age if stored at a more normal temperature. 26 degrees C might "cook" the Port over time, giving it a somewhat oxidized and "stewed fruit" flavor.

The usual temperature for wine storage is more like 12-14 degrees C.

[Roy Hersh]

Hi Keng,

Great to see you here "LIVE" and in person.

i don't know how many bottles you have but here are two options. You can buy a small and relatively inexpensive 50-bottle wine keeper that will hold your bottles at the correct temperature and given the limited access to Ports there that we've discussed, that might just be perfect. If you don't want to have to go through the expense, a not-so-great option is to keep your bottles in your refrigerator if you only keep 5-10 on hand and then it won't cost you anything. They are not going to age at that 40 degree F. temeperature, but at least they won't spoil either. It takes a good Port about 45 minutes at room temperature to rethermalize to the ambient temp., so keep that in mind.

Great to have you come from the shadows in to our midst to join in discussions. Glad you were willing to take the leap of faith. The rest will be easy from here. Enjoy!

[Andy Velebil]

Keng,

The others have given some good advice so I'll just say.... it's great to have you with us!

[Keng Yong]

Looks like I have to drink up fast or get one of those wine fridges in future!

Thanks all!

regards,
Keng Yong

[Moses Botbol]

Welcome.

How is the port selection and prices in Singapore? Has anyone opened an off-site wine storage facility there yet?

[Keng Yong]

Hi Moses,

Typically supermarkets carry the usual Ruby, Tawny and LBVs from the well known names like Graham, Dow, Fonseca and Warre. A bottle of Graham's Six Grapes goes for about $50 USD and Warre's Warrior $39 USD, so it's not cheap here. Vintage port can be found in some wine shops but not sure of the selection. Usually Port does not enjoy a big focus in the establishments.

There are a number of offsite cellaring available from distributors and larger wineshops. There're even temperature controlled self storage available for wines.

regards,
Keng Yong

[Godfrey Spence]

Hi Keng Yong,

I’m glad you enjoyed the book. I agree with the other commentators about the temperature is too high for long term storage, but wines like rubies and most LBVs should not be kept anyway, they are bottled ready to drink anyway. Hopefully the shops you buy from are rotating stock carefully and are air conditioned or have cool storage. Vintage is a different matter. I find keeping VP in my house in London, without a cellar, is too warm for long tem storage, and it is not 26 – 30 degrees here!

I’m hoping to get to Singapore again soon, maybe we can share a glass.

Godfrey

[Roy Hersh]

Godfrey,

I truly appreciate you making an appearance here and sharing with us at FTLOP.


For any of you that do not own Godfrey's great Port book, you can goodle to find out exactly who he is.

[Keng Yong]

Wow Godfrey,...indeed it's great to have you respond. Yes I enjoyed your book thoroughly.

I buy the wines from supermarkets, as I've not ventured into VP territory yet. They're air-conditioned, so far I've not had any disasters. Certainly welcome you to drop me a note when you visit Singapore, no problems to meet, although I'll be terribly embarrassed by my lack of knowledge in anything wine, esp Port. Mine is a "Yes, sweet, tastes good, not too acidic, doesn't leave a bad aftertaste, I like, buy more! " or "Yucks, tastes like wet cork, don't buy again!" kind of approach to Port.

regards,
Keng Yong