For The Love Of Port

Has anyone had any luck contacting Durand about a defective opener? I ordered one this December and used it twice where it worked perfectly, but the third time the worm broke off in the cork! I went on their website and sent a note on their 'contact us' section but have not heard anything back from ...

Not all police station alcohol testing devices are created equal. For example, back in the 1980's, the Seattle Police Department decided to save some money by buying the cheaper BAC Verifier Datamaster in preference to the Intoxilyzer used by the State Patrol. Despite its impressive name, the Datama...

I just might have you beaten. 1980 Tuke Holdsworth VP. I can't find a score online, but it was ghastly the last time we dared try it. And we still have two more to go.

I'm writing this from China. Having been a frequent visitor to China over the past couple of decades, I can vouch for the fact that high end wine purchases are definitely impacted by the anti-corruption drive. Gifts of high end French wines were very commonplace in recent years, as were premier cru ...

Woodbridge Portacinco isn't too bad, though it isn't Port, of course. For those in range of Grocery Outlets on the US West Coast, the 2001 is available in some GOs for 9.99, or 20% off till Sunday.

We found this at the Pennsylvania state liquor store, Premium Division, while visiting over New Year's, so of course it followed us home for New Year's, since otherwise it was a boring champagne for the count-down. (Not port related--is there a more pointless holiday than New Year's Eve, where the w...

I'm not in the biz, but I do travel frequently to China, and I've seen first hand both the explosion of high end wine consumption there and the cratering of that market after the anti-corruption rules. Banquets--even those not affiliated directly with the government--are less lavish now, which means...

In some respects, the world of port is different from that of most other wine, or at least it ought to be in theory, because of the IVDP approval needed. Presumably if the port is of ghastly quality, it wouldn't get the selo from the IVDP. Or is that untrue? Is it just a question of typicity that th...

It would depend upon which food I wished it to accompany. The more I read on this forum the more I become convinced that most posters drink Port for the sake of drinking. Am I alone in believing that the purpose of wine is to accompany and enhance food? I accept that the wrong choice can mean that ...

Your notes aren't too far off mine. I found a distracting note of bandaid in the nose and palate--maybe that's your rubber? And brown sugar was the charitable descriptor of the flavor profile, though that may have been affected by the color, too. It looks like a bad version of a tawny. The interesti...

Well I'm at Crossroads now and pucking up both a TH83 in 375 and - risky business - a Tuke Holdsworth Porto Wine Reserve. That one is a 750 and may end up in bolognese later this evening. :-) Yeah, that reserve ruby is kind of nasty--its signature note seems to be Robitussin. But it wouldn't hurt i...

I have next to no Portuguese, but I can at least order red and white wine! But what about ordering port? What are the Portuguese terms for ruby, tawny, late bottle vintage, and so forth? Or will the English words do the trick? I'm fortunate enough to be traveling to Portugal briefly this spring, and...

Glenn, while on your recon mission to Grocery Outlet, check and see if they have any of the 2008 Croft Quinta da Roeda's for 20 dollars. (All of the GO owners order their own wine choices from an available list--so not every GO has everything.) That one is well worth the tariff. As for the Tuke Hold...

Croft 2008 Quinta da Roeda x 5 for 19.99 apiece at Grocery Outlet.

A related question--other than the TAP lounge in Lisbon, any airport lounges serve port?

Being in Western Washington, you're in range of Grocery Outlet and can try the Tuke Holdsworth 1980 and 1983. I believe you'll have your benchmark there...

United longhaul BusinessFirst serves Noval Ruby with its cheese course; on three class airplanes it's Graham's 20 year old tawny. (This I know only because they ran out of the ruby on a flight I was on, the FA apologized for the lack of port with the cheese when I asked, then snuck back to me later ...

I just had a lovely passionfruit cream served with a drizzle of port reduction. Yummm!

If you aren't in a passionfruit area, I would try it with mango instead.

Interesting discussion. I was in France earlier this summer and noticed quite a few 500 ml. wines in restaurants. When I asked about it, I was told that they are only available in restaurants--you can't find them in shops. And they are a response to tougher drink-driving laws that were depressing th...

I generally find it really hard to drink very young port, because I feel conflicted over having drunk it before it can strut its stuff. Having said that, maybe now I can do so without guilt or remorse, since I am not likely to be in this plane of existence when very young VP matures.