For The Love Of Port

David Guimaraens recently stated that the change in 1991, allowing port houses to buy their spirit, has been the single most important factor in the improvement of port quality. Do you agree with this assertion? Could you talk about exactly what the change was, how it came about and how it has impa...

Hi Dominic, We have shipped a small amount of Cockburn's 10 to Australia so if you look hard enough (!) you may find some - good luck. I already have! [cheers.gif] The Cockburns bottle is quite distinctive with the square shoulders. The 500 ml bottle has become the default size for the local fortif...

Today I'm going to start by not answering any questions but to tell you a couple of things that happened today. Firstly I went to the Douro to deal with some issues at my mothers house. But the best thing was the Douro is looking absolutely spectaular at the moment with the leave turning, it really ...

HI Dominic, Thanks so much for answering the questions I posed earlier. I just thought of another question for you. Obviously your company is going to be part of any decision by the port trade to generally declare a vintage. There seems to be an unwritten rule about three generally declared vintage...

Hi Dominic, Your mention of drinking the Warres Otima made me think of something I'd been meaning to ask about. I see that the Warre's Otima and the Cockburn's 10 year old are available in 500ml bottles (I'm sure there are others too, but they don't make it out my way) while other tawny styles such...

Hi Dom, A question about Douro table wines; It's safe to say "modern" Douro wines started round about the late 1990's to early 2000's. What changes have you seen from the early days to now, such as oak treatment, changes in styles, etc? What changes do you predict will happen in the futur...

Mr. Symington, Bom dia. I've been reading your answers, and am intrigued by the question of stock management. You mentioned feeling like you need a crystal ball. My question is whether you retain someone whose background is in mathematics, like an actuarial, to help predict stock management. To tha...

Hello Dominic! In my previous question about the importance of the Douro wines in the years to come, you replied: "Douro DOC; we are sure that the Douro wine category will continue to grow and will become an increasingly important part of our business." Do you have plans of releasing new ...

Hi Dom; Many thanks for coming on board for this week---has been so much fun to read and I appreciate your generosity. My favorite go-to ports are Late Bottled Vintages and you make some of the very best--particularly Warres and Smith Woodhouse which are made unfiltered. I was curious about your pl...

Lastly, make sure you only serve Port in decent glasses, at least white wine size. Even the standard ISO is too small. Hi Dom, Does your comment about the larger size glasses apply to wood-aged Ports as well? Thanks so much for answering our questions. It has been very enlightening. Cheers, Steve H...

Hi Dom, Me again with another question. You mentioned about the new lagars at Bomfim, are these fully up and running now? Given how exceptionally well the 1963-2011 Dow's VP's are, and being made using the old concrete auto-vinifiers, have the old auto-vinifiers been completely phased out? If so, w...

Hi Dom, Earlier you spoke about block planting versus the old field blends as well as the experimental vineyards. What are some of the lessons, good and not so good, your company has learned from block plantings and from the experimental vineyards? Hi Andy, great to hear from you, I hope all is wel...

Hi Tolga, Midnight was a Reserve Ruby introduced to the UK market. The name was allusive to the very dark and concentrated colour of the wine and a play on the "after dinner" place for port. We haven't used this brand name for a few years now.

Hi Dominic, A good friend of mine, Robert Maliner asked me if I'd post this question on his behalf: Bob wrote: "In regards to Colheita Ports are they at their best when opened soon after bottling or do they improve with age? I am trying to learn more about Colheita — in the past I only drank V...

Moses Botbol wrote:Dominic

I live in Boston and Classic Wines had been an importer of your ports for a long time. When did that start and end?

Hi Moses, Classic have distributed Dow's for at least 15 years and continue to do so.

Hi Dominic. I have been enjoying colheitas since my recent trip to Porto. I am doing a wine tasting for my wine group next month comparing aged colheitas with a its corresponding tawny. I have two questions: since we will be tasting ten bottles among 22 people what food accompanments would you sugg...

Dom A light-hearted question. As you read our questions and compose your answers, do you have a glass of port on hand? If so what is it? If not, what was the last port you drank? Alex Last night I did, Warre's Otima 20 year Old, beautifully chiiled - I have to admit to more than 1 glass!!! As I wri...

Mr. Symington, Is there currently a single individual overseeing viticulture at the various Syminton Family Estates; or is each individual quinta doing their own thing? Thank you. Hi Eric, all our viticultural operation is overseen by Charles. He has a team of Agronomists and Viticulturalists, most...

Hi Mr. Symington: I have some general questions about the definition of “Library” releases of old vintages. Does the term apply to older vintages that just happen to be held in the cellars of the producer and released primarily for marketing reasons? Does it only apply to wines bottled by the produ...

Something that we have noticed here in the US is that these recent releases of ultra-premium very old tawnies such as Ne Oublie seem to have very limited releases (which makes sense due to limited quantities), and those limited releases always seem to be in the UK. But according to the IVDP's data,...