How is VP decanted at restaraunts?

[Scheiny S]

given that some Ports need to be decanted for hours, especially expensive ones, how are they served when people order a glass or bottle at a bar or with dinner?

[Al B.]

There are a handful of restaurants and bars in London who have got to know our port group and who allow us to bring our own bottles. Where we do this we always organise decanting ahead of times - sometimes we do it ourselves and other times we leave it to the restaurant to open and decant bottles at the agreed time. Where it's a single bottle the restaurant usually decants into one of their decanters; if multiple bottles then the original bottle will be rinsed out and refilled from the decanter.

Where I buy from the wine list I usually only buy from restaurants I trust. These are places where I can order a bottle and know it will be properly decanted and treated well. It's then usually served in the decanter together with the empty bottle and cork on the tray with the decanter. My main "go to" restaurant no longer looks at me oddly when I drop by at lunchtime and ask for the port to be decanted at lunchtime and to be served with the meal that evening.

Places which are not used to me usually get a visit a few days before my booking. Where I ask for a bottle of port to be decanted in the morning or afternoon before my dinner reservation I am sometimes asked to pay for it in advance - which I am always happy to do.

There are a couple of bars which I use from time to time which offer Vintage Port by the glass (currently between them they have Sandeman 1994, de la Rosa 1994, Fonseca 1985 and Warre 1983 available). All of them keep their decanters in reasonably cool places and have labels on the decanter giving the time and date the bottle was opened. All of them are happy to open a new bottle if you think the old one was decanted too long ago, but this is rare as these are some of the small number of places you can go for vintage port by the glass and therefore they empty the decanter pretty quickly.

[Moses Botbol]

If you order a bottle of VP at a restaurant, they are unlikely to decant unless asked. Some fancy places to do it, but your miles may vary. Keep in mind, you should set the expectations if ordering a bottle of VP which should be done at beginning of the evening. You need time for it to open it up; so order it first thing. I also like to have a little sample glass poured to taste along the evening.

If ordering a glass, ask when the bottle was opened and you use judgment. Some bottles they may go through a couple a week; others can languish for a long time. If they have Madeira; it's a safer option. I always ask for port to be poured into a wine glass. Sometimes to my benefit they'll pour it like it was a red wine. If so, keep ordering for before they correct themselves!

[Eric Menchen]

In the US in general, I wouldn't order a VP by the glass. I would have doubts about when (if) it was decanted, and how long the bottle had been opened. I tend to restrict my by the glass buying to tawnies and possibly LBVs, or other dessert wines. I can't say I've ever purchased a full bottle of VP at a restaurant in the US. There is one restaurant locally that I would trust to deal with it properly, and as others have said, I would order it first at the beginning of the meal, or even before then so that it could be decanted.