Do you remember....

[Alan McDonald]

...the first VP you ever tasted? Or the first ever Port type wine you tasted?

Sandeman's 1963 for me. Two bottles in a "Christmas" dozen offer in a UK farming magazine that I split with my father. Early 1970s so a long way from ready but I did not know that at the time. I have never seen it again. Being in the UK as a child, South African "Port" and "Sherry" were the mainstay Christmas fare for most folks in the 1950s. Nobody below Upper Class drank wine then. I remember it tasted good.

[Glenn E.]

I don't remember whether or not either of these was actually the first ever, but they're both the first that I remember.

The first Port I remember was given to me on my 40th birthday. That was a Porto Rocha 20 Year Old Tawny Port, and I still have the bottle on my trophy shelf. That friend created a monster.

The first VP that I remember was a 1983 Warre that I bought locally. I'd had LBVs before, but if I'd had a VP it was a younger one that I don't remember. I bought the Warre specifically because I wanted to try a VP with some age - something allegedly mature - but I was not impressed. I thought it relatively thin, hot, and uninteresting compared to my favorites which were 20-yr old tawnies and Colheitas. I've had other experiences with Warre's Ports since then, and I think I just don't like the style. VP in general, on the other hand... that I've learned to enjoy!

[Eric Ifune]

First Port was Sandeman's Founder's Reserve in my early teens. Sandeman 1970 followed about a year later. Both from my Father.

[Andy Velebil]

I don't recall the first Port I was given. But the first major one I bought to further explore Port beyond Six Grapes was a 1966 Taylor's VP. The second bottle was a 1970 Taylor's VP a little while later. Haven't looked back since

[Paul Fountain]

My first proper port (i.e. not an Australian "port") was a Kopke of some description at their tasting rooms, not that long ago really... 2008. My first vintage port was a 1985 Kopke, probably about 20 minutes after my very first port. I didn't know much about decanting back in those days!

[Peter W. Meek]

I966 Graham's at a casino comp dinner. I spent the next several years trying to recapture that nutty flavor. Unfortunately, I didn't know the difference between types of port (vp/lbv/ruby vs tawny/colheita) and spent a great deal of money on vintage ports (which take a lot of time and money before they get that nutty characteristic).

Once I learned (here at FTLOP) about the difference, I was able to explore tawnies more thoroughly and found my "dream port" (Warre's Nimrod).

When Nimrod was discontinued in 2008, I went back to exploring tawnies and have settled on Ferreira 20 as my regular port.

[Al B.]

The first port I remember drinking was a bottle of Taylor 1963, opened and served at my 21st birthday dinner in 1984 by my grandparents (and an unopened case to go with the bottle we shared). I'd had a taste for red wine by then, but the port really knocked my socks off. For about the next 10 years I included port in all my other red wine drinking, trying to learn about everything - Portugal, Australia, France, Hungary... You name a country where they made red wine (Tanzania!) and I would try to taste some and learn about it.

Then in summer 1993 I went on a river cruise on the Douro and was blown away by the beauty of the region that was making one of my favourite wines. On that journey I decided that there was not enough time in the world to learn in as much detail about all the red wines I enjoyed and so I decided to focus on my favourite - vintage port. Since then, probably 80% of what I drink is vintage port. I have the remnants of my red wine cellar left (it's about 10% of my wine stocks) but since 1993 most of what I bought has been ruby port.

I still remember that cruise. My wife was pregnant and wasn't drinking. We had several visits to several lodges and quintas and I was getting double pours while she was getting only water. I need to go back to my photo album to remember exactly where we went, but I recall two memorable bottles being drunk on that trip as Malvedos 1979 and Burmester 1937 colheita (which was the oldest wine I had drunk at that time). I do know that we visited the Taylor Lodge as we tasted the 1963 port while there - with the result that my wife bought my 30th birthday present for later in the year.

[Miguel Simoes]

Despite growing up in Portugal, the first contact I had w Port wine that got me excited about it was while I was studying abroad in Bristol, in the UK, in early 2002.

The Sainsbury's on Whiteladies Rd was running a promo on a Taylor LBV (cant recall which year) and for some 10-12 GBP I got myself a bottle.

Drank it over the next few months and really enjoyed it!

[Gary Richardson]

The first Vintage Port I ever had was a 1970 Graham's. Talk about setting the bar high! The 2nd was a 1963 Fonseca. Talk about raising the bar! The 3rd was a 1977 Graham's. Oh well ... 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

-- Gary

[Al B.]

Then in summer 1993 I went on a river cruise on the Douro and was blown away by the beauty of the region that was making one of my favourite wines. On that journey I decided that there was not enough time in the world to learn in as much detail about all the red wines I enjoyed and so I decided to focus on my favourite - vintage port. Since then, probably 80% of what I drink is vintage port. I have the remnants of my red wine cellar left (it's about 10% of my wine stocks) but since 1993 most of what I bought has been ruby port.

I still remember that cruise. My wife was pregnant and wasn't drinking. We had several visits to several lodges and quintas and I was getting double pours while she was getting only water. I need to go back to my photo album to remember exactly where we went, but I recall two memorable bottles being drunk on that trip as Malvedos 1979 and Burmester 1937 colheita (which was the oldest wine I had drunk at that time). I do know that we visited the Taylor Lodge as we tasted the 1963 port while there - with the result that my wife bought my 30th birthday present for later in the year.

I found my photo album with the cruise pictures in it. We arrived in Oporto on 28th August and spent the night on the boat in Oporto, with views across the river to the Port Lodges in Vila Nova de Gaia. Then we went upriver and through the Carrapatelo Dam, which still impresses me today when I go through it. We had lunch that day in the very impressive Palacio de Mateus, returned to the boat and cruised past Quinta do Sao Luiz, Quinta do Bomfim, Malvedos, Roeda, Boa Vista, Romaneira and Vargellas. On 31st August we left the boat and visited the town of Almeida, which was quite something for my wife - a keen gardener - and then on to Figueira Castelo Rodrigo and its amazing church. The evening was spent moored up at Barca d'Alva and watching the most amazing sunset on a crystal clear evening. As we returned down the river back to Oporto we visited Lamego and stayed the night in a Pousada created from an old monastery. Up until the following day when we returned to Oporto, we had had perfect August weather - clear skies, warm days, cool nights and not a drop of rain. Even Oporto was dull and grey rather than wet and rainy - I can't believe how lucky we must have been given the poor summer and vintage that plagued 1993. Our last day in Oporto was spent visiting the Taylor and Graham lodges and wandering round the city. What a great week that was - a wonderful way to see both the viticulture of the Douro Valley and also some of the other cultural sites that I tend to skip over these days.