For The Love Of Port

Google offers a far better (IMHO) translator than the Babel. Try this: http://translate.google.com/translate?p ... highlight=

I know several Americans who swear by VP with chocolate but I couldn't possibly comment.

Tom,

Ah, that accounts for it. I haven't bothered with the recent ones since so much content is now online.

But the original (1988), new (1989), third (1993) and fourth (1996) are still useful!

Yes! - try pages 9-10 of his wine buyers guide vol 1 where he all but dismisses the notion of maturation, or lookup the ports in vol 2, pages 1172-5 (just four pages coverage out of a total of over 1500). He doesn't mention a single bottle earlier than 1994 Tom, I'm afraid you've lost me: There is ...

I tried an Aussie so-called-port once. OHMYGAWD!

It used to be popular in the UK to serve Stilton by scooping it from the middle of a whole cheese and to keep filling the hole with Port. (I've never had it that way and never even seen it done but it may still happen in some of the traditional London clubs.) The purpose was to moisten what is often...

Another large UK auctioneer worth checking is Straker Chadwicks in Abergavenny, who hold 1000-lot wine sales alternate months. Catalogues and bidding forms are online from about two weeks in advance. They are by far the biggest provincial wine auctioneers in the UK, charge lower commissions than the...

Roy,

I've enjoyed your comments and benefited from your advice for long enough to know that I want you to be around for as long as possible. So a few coppers (!) of subs wouldn't be a problem and I couldn't care less if you gained some advertising support.

Best wishes.

Stuart,

If I were looking for a '77 I'd much rather bid on a lot that was IB at Octavian - or a similar temperature-controlled facility - than one that was DP and had possibly spent ten years in someone's loft.