For The Love Of Port

Outside of MA and RI, I don't think there are many people using this airline from other US locales. There are more people from the Azores in MA than there are in the Azores! Fair point if the Azores are your destination. It looks like SATA is also positioning themselves as a low cost gateway into E...

TAP - Why don't you want me to visit Portugal this spring?

Round trip Boston to Lisbon in June is now $1800 (2 checked bags)
Round trip to Seville Spain, stopping in Lisbon with the same dates is $1100.

Both airlines are very popular and friends like what they offer for the price. Most going to the Azores aren't looking for a top dollar airline to get there. They're visiting family and any savings is appreciated... I totally agree Moses. I don't overly care about how fancy it is, I just want to ge...

Does anyone have feedback on Azores Airlines? I’m considering them for a flight from the U.S. to Madeira this spring. They are significantly cheaper than TAP, a stopover in the Azores might be fun, and I bet the customs lines are shorter than Lisbon. However, the online reviews seem quite bad. Many ...

Damn, round trip to Funchal from Boston on TAP has been sitting around $1500 for weeks and up to $1634 this morning. (Classic level fare - you get to choose your seat and bring 2 checked bags). The other major airlines are around the same rate. Some deals available on sketchier airlines or if you wa...

Very interesting, thanks Roy.

Has anyone dealt with these folks? If it’s all they are claiming, their videos and help guides would be well worth the money.

The video sales pitch quickly becomes insufferable, just click on the transcript link and read through the pitch in a fraction of the time.

Are there any recommended or must-visit wine shops around Funchal? The producer gift shops are certainly a good start but what about hunting for non-current bottlings, or producers that have gone out of business? For instance - a bottle or two of Artur de Barros e Sousa would be fun.

Thank you!

Up $100 for Classic and $2000 for Executive since last night.
I'm going to have to monitor this silliness every day ...

What’s going on with airfare to Portugal? I’m planning a trip to Lisbon and Funchal in June. A week or so back TAP was showing $1700 for economy “Classic” and $3200 for first class from Boston. That economy price is much higher than the last few years and first class (not that I’d pony up for it) a ...

jeff t. wrote:I opened a 30 yr S.Leonardo yesterday unfortunately it was turning.

How so? Too long in the bottle?

Eric Menchen wrote: Return on a second tour, or return to the website again? I interpreted the question to be the latter, but all the answers thus far are for the former.

Taking a second tour will not be an issue. The trick is wowing folks when they see the new website and getting them to take that first tour.

Roy, I know you don’t like to publicize your full itineraries because you’d be giving away secrets to competing tours, and some of the visits likely don’t want the world to know they exist or what they offer you. So some sanitized example itineraries might be all you can do there. I like the idea of...

Will gladly assist with quality control.

I had the V. Sattui ‘Madeira’ last night. Considering the heresy, it was quite good. It had a great deal of depth and richness.

Had a Madeira themed get-together with some friends in the D.C. area last night. I brought along bottles of RWC Porto Moniz Verdelho and Malvasia. Other folks brought a variety of Barbeito and D’Oliveiras, including a Vo Vera 30yo. The highlight of the evening was the host breaking out a 1863 Miles ...

H&H 50yo Tinta Negra Blandy's 50yo Malmsey Got to taste these during the last Fortification Tour and brought home bottles of both. Decanting both for a few days and will try them side-by-side this weekend. I’m very interested in your thoughts about the H&H I enjoyed both the H&H and Bla...

My favorite of the year is easy: D'Oliveiras Malvazia 1875 . Massive and complex, with all my favorite flavors of caramel, chocolate, and gingerbread. A tie for second place between D'Oliveiras Malvazia 1907 and D'Oliveiras Verdelho 1890 . There were so many other excellent wines it's hard to choose...

I don't drink a lot of table wine during the year - that's my wife's domain. I appreciate them, but prefer fortified. Forced to pick a favorite I'd go with Casal Sta. Maria Ramisco 2009 Since we don't have sub-forums and threads for "Other Portuguese Fortified Wines" - I'll show my love he...

RWC Historic Series George Washington Special Reserve. From RWC's press release, and to over simplify, half of the wine is 10-20yo, and the other half is a variety of old to ancient barrels and demijohns Ricardo blended together. It definitely has that Barbeito / Ricardo house style. Very nice, medi...

Let me know how it works out. My order is shipping today. [cheers.gif] My order shipped Monday and arrived today. Their customer service was great (they called to verify the shipping and billing addresses since I was a first time customer) and they shipped quickly. Bottles look perfect. I'll crack ...