For The Love Of Port

Wow. Thanks for the post Fred. This sure makes collecting a challenge. It certainly seems more restrictive than British Columbia (of course prices are very high there too).

-Dave-

I agree that it's basically true for the current and very new (1997 and 2000) release. However, as you noted, there are still good to great prices in the UK for older ports -- in spite of the low dollar (which surprised me). Maybe I'm wrong, but I think the provenence for Port in case quantities is ...

Thanks Roy! These are some of the best prices for these ports. Some of them are the lowest prices available in the US. With good provenance, this is a no-brainer!

-Dave-

I see your point on the 2003s. With the US importer having to pay duty and special labeling, and other state by state regulations to take care of - not to mention shipping over a very large country, I can understand the extra costs. And the prices do look better when you don't have to pay VAT :D Oh,...

I agree that's probably the case for the older ports, but what about the 2003? They are still cheaper in the UK. I'm actaully thinking of buying my 2003's over in the UK. For example, with air shipping, taxes, and duty, the 2003 Fonseca will cost me $63. In the US, the bottles I purchased here in th...

Yes, RyanAir is Europe only. There are no direct flights to Oporto from San Francisco, so I was going to have to make a connection somewhere. I finally did figure out (and purchase) my flight to Oporto. I am going United to Heathrow - and then taking TAP into Oporto. This is the easiest for me and s...

Wow. Those prices for the 1994's and the 1985 are outrageous! Of course most of Canada has provincial controlled stores, so I guess that's a result of that. What about the 2003 Vintage Ports? Any reasonable prices for those?

-Dave-

This question came up in another thread, but it seemed to me that this is a good topic for discussion. Here are a couple of examples to illustrate the price difference between port in the UK and the US: 2003 Fonseca UK - $52 US - $75 1994 Warre's UK - $35 US - $55 1994 Dow's UK - $47 US - $70 1985 F...

Prices in the US are around 80 USD per bottle for Fonseca and Taylor. The UK is significantly cheaper. What's the reason for this? I have some ideas - but who knows? I think this topic deserves a new thread.

-Dave-

I picked up some 2003 Fonseca and Croft -- despite my pledge to buy no more young vintage ports after the 1994 vintage. Oh well :) These two are some of my favorite producers. Having had old Crofts - when they are good, they are very good. I would love to see this port producer move up in the rankin...

Thanks for the tip Jason. I'm searching for flights right now and will check out Ryan Air.

-Dave-

As you know Roy, I will be joining you. I'm really looking forward to it!

-Dave-

I was in your situation a few months ago. I ended up getting (purchased in the UK and imported into the US): 1977 Taylor (a personal favorite) 1977 Gould-Campbell (awesome wine! One for the ages!) 1985 Fonseca 1994 Dow I also bought: 1992 Taylor 1994 Fonseca I don't know if I would call these last t...