An Outstanding Article on Port Wine

[Roy Hersh]

http://www.thewinenews.com/febmar06/cover.asp

For beginner or expert, this is a worthy read which will provide lots of useful information. Comments welcome.

[Andy Velebil]

Quite a read with some very interesting comments. When I have time later I'll post some thoughts. But well worth the read.

[Glenn E.]

Great article! Far too much information in there to absorb in a single reading, though... I'll have to come back and read it again!

[Roy Hersh]

Yep, I read many a Port wine article every week and this is the first in a long time that I felt was really outstanding and worthy of sharing. Most are just "more of the same."

[Elyas Beria]

Really great article. It seems to point to a future where young VPs will cost more and not be as phenomenal a value that they are today. At least that's one interpretation I took from it. I definitely agree that the US palate is trending toward super fruity, highly extracted, high alcohol wines as evidenced by the over-the-top Australian Shiraz we're guzzling in this country. Port sales will probably continue to increase in the US. I wonder how long until other countries (Australia in particular) start producing Vintage Port-style wines to take advantage of the market. Australia already makes some really fantastic Tawny wines that are a great value. Maybe some competition would help keep prices in check as far as the general drinking public is concerned--whether or not Port purists feel that these wines are "real" Ports though is perhaps a whole other topic of discussion.

[Nikolaj Winther]

@ Elyas Beria (any relation?)

"I wonder how long until other countries (Australia in particular) start producing Vintage Port-style wines to take advantage of the market. Australia already makes some really fantastic Tawny wines that are a great value. Maybe some competition would help keep prices in check as far as the general drinking public is concerned--whether or not Port purists feel that these wines are "real" Ports though is perhaps a whole other topic of discussion."

- Well, many a californian producer makes a splendid "bordeaux"-blend, as does SA, Australia and even Italy and Spain. And no one questions the quality of these wines. Sure, they don't call them "bordeaux" (some does ?!!!?), but that doesn't make them any worse. And many people use these wines as substitutes to the great bordeaux'. I've had several splendid australian tawnies, so I don't see why different countries shouldn't begin producing more port-styled wines of very high qulity. They may not have the pedigree - but that's maybe what makes them so much more interesting and affordable (you don't pay for a label - yet).

[Elyas Beria]

Relation to whom? Lavrenty Beria? No.

I'm sure if the market in the US becomes hot for Port we'll start seeing VP-style wines from other countries. I had a dry wine from Brazil made with Touriga Nacional, Alfrocheiro, and Tinta Roriz which was surprisingly excellent. Given the Portuguese connection and the amount of Portuguese grape varieties grown there, Brazil might be a likely candidate.

[Roy Hersh]

There are already vintage port style wines. The first I know of from the USA was in 1982, but I am positive that was not the VERY first time. In fact, ports were replicated in the USA (Missouri for sure ... back in the 1800s). South Africa makes Vintage port too. I have a 1991 Allesverloren in my cellar and have done verticals of their vintage port and had many other while there ... so this is by no means a new idea.

[Andy Velebil]

Really great article. It seems to point to a future where young VPs will cost more and not be as phenomenal a value that they are today. At least that's one interpretation I took from it.

I can see where that article can point people in that direction. But prices will always go up, thats just a fact of inflation year after year. Some years they will go up more and more. However, I would dispute people that say Port is not a great value. Where else can you get a wine in the 95-100 point range for under $200-300 per bottle on release...not many these days. And most Ports are under $100 in that super high scoring range.

I definitely agree that the US palate is trending toward super fruity, highly extracted, high alcohol wines as evidenced by the over-the-top Australian Shiraz we're guzzling in this country. Port sales will probably continue to increase in the US. I wonder how long until other countries (Australia in particular) start producing Vintage Port-style wines to take advantage of the market. Australia already makes some really fantastic Tawny wines that are a great value. Maybe some competition would help keep prices in check as far as the general drinking public is concerned--whether or not Port purists feel that these wines are "real" Ports though is perhaps a whole other topic of discussion.

I disagree somewhat. Everyone likes to point to the US as the only place that drinks fruity high-alcohol wine. The worlds tastes are changing and so is technology, and not just the US. This is a bit complicated, but I remember helping out every year on a friends vineyard starring in early 1990's. At that time we prayed to be able to get 24-25 brick (apq 12% ABV when finished) out of the grapes before harvest. Now with new clones, planting, fertilizers, etc 24-25 brick is a piece of cake. 30-32 brick is now fairly easy to get to. A big difference in just over 10 years. But again, technology had a lot to do with that.

Sandeman says it best here;

Sandeman notes that, "Thirty years ago it was tough to find decent, drinkable wines at reasonable prices - it was safer to drink beer in many places. Better technology is making better wines."

For me one of the most fascinating things brought up in the article was this

"I think nothing has changed," Broadbent reasons, "except the availability of cask samples and young vintages. Think about it: Prior to 1985, how often did you taste cask samples of Vintage Port? I hazard to guess that the young Ports we were tasting were in bottle for about two or so years and therefore tasting closed, as they [still] do today. We never tasted Vintage Ports so young, so we don't remember them being unapproachable," he concludes.

WOW! He has a great point. The Douro was basically unreachable by all but a few until recent years. There was no B&B’s and you had to be invited to go up there and a long journey it was. It was rare that anyone but a handful of reviewers tried cask samples and there was no internet to spread the word at a moments notice. And just like dry wine, Port was cellared for many years before drinking. How many people do you know back in the 1970’s and prior who were drinking a ton of young high end VP’s or wines super young. I’m sure it happened, people gotta drink something right? But when they did there was no internet to spread the word instantly. Plus in the old days there was no “offlines” as we know them today. If you look at wine sites there is TON of offlines around the globe every week and a lot of really high end wines being drunk young. I think a function of that is there is also now a TON of wine on the market that is in the upper to high end range. Just look at how many more wineries there are in the world now and how many of them now turn out high scoring wines.

The other thing to note is how many companies have gone BACK to making VP like they did decades ago. Lagars are making a comeback and old brands are being brought back to life (look at Croft for example). Granted some companies now make a “second” VP in non-declared years but this is an economic move. In the old days companies really had to dig deep to some how survive between declared vintages, especially in the first ½ of the 20th century. There was the depression, 2 world wars, and a host of other smaller wars around the globe that really put the hurt on Port companies from time to time. These “second” labels have helped them to increase their capital to make improvements and better all their produces, at the same time give us stuff to drink young and old.

Ok enough of my

[Moses Botbol]

Let’s see if the Far East gets a taste for vintage port and then watch out… All of the older vintages will dry up quick and there will be higher premiums for 1st and 2nd tier ports on release. I am surprised port has not caught on as quick in China as it is easier to drink than dry wine (to someone who has never tried wine). There’s so much history to port and the availability of 50+ year old bottles to add to the prestige of collecting port.

Japan has already done it with Madeira from what I gather, just waiting for Chinese to gobble up the vintage port.

[Elyas Beria]

Yeah, this is true. If the Far East starts drinking like we do in the US then we'll definitely be paying more irrespective of inflation. And, yes, the overall global profile is changing but the US is the largest wine market in the world so any changes or trends here have a larger influence.

[JacobH]

Let’s see if the Far East gets a taste for vintage port and then watch out… All of the older vintages will dry up quick and there will be higher premiums for 1st and 2nd tier ports on release. I am surprised port has not caught on as quick in China as it is easier to drink than dry wine (to someone who has never tried wine). There’s so much history to port and the availability of 50+ year old bottles to add to the prestige of collecting port.

That’s a really interesting point: I can see it going either way.

In the first instance, I think that amongst those people who would be importing VP to China, wine tastes are not that different to those elsewhere in the world, so perhaps the innate appeal of a sweet wine like Port will be less significant. Equally, Port is not really the sort of wine whose prestige value is easy exploitable, as, unlike table-wines, you can’t really order a trophy bottle of it at a restaurant and, I gather, Scotch is pretty big in China as the after-dinner drink of choice, which removes the main Port setting.

However, the scenario, where Port does become huge, also seems entirely plausible, so it will be interesting to see what happens…

-Jacob

[Roy Hersh]

There are a number of other countries that drink lots more Port than we do in the USA. France for example drink many many times what we do. Then again, "drink" is the wrong word, as who knows how much of the cheap stuff that they DO buy winds up being used in cooking rather than consumption. The USA and UK are the leaders in Vintage Port consumption overall, but not on a per capita basis.

[Elyas Beria]

There are a number of other countries that drink lots more Port than we do in the USA. France for example drink many many times what we do.

I didn't know that. I knew England was a big market but not France. But I'm sticking by my original point. That the US is the biggest wine market period and the potential for the US to drive up Port prices exists if Port becomes way more popular here than it is currently. I'm not saying that I believe this is very likely to happen just that it seems to me American tastes are trending more and more to fruit bombs and Port certainly is that.

[Andy Velebil]

Elyas,
You make a good point about fruit bombs that are so popular right now. But in all the wine circles here on the west coast that I hang out with, almost none drink Port (of course most don't drink fruit bombs either). And these are some very heavy hitters when it comes to drinking the best dry wines there are. I just don't see many dry wine people that are that into Ports. They do have some VP's in their cellars but they rarely, if ever, drink them.

[JacobH]

I didn't know that. I knew England was a big market but not France. But I'm sticking by my original point. That the US is the biggest wine market period and the potential for the US to drive up Port prices exists if Port becomes way more popular here than it is currently. I'm not saying that I believe this is very likely to happen just that it seems to me American tastes are trending more and more to fruit bombs and Port certainly is that.

Elyas, the statistics for Port are fairly unintuitive. According to the IVDP the countries buying the most Ports are:
Country (share of total market)
FRANCE 22%
PORTUGAL 15%
HOLLAND 13%
U. KINGDOM 12%
BELGIUM 7%
USA 5%
CANADA 3%

so France is not just a big market, but the biggest by a large margin!

However, if one considers the consumption of Premium Port (which is anything except the basic Ruby and Tawny), things look pretty different:
Country (share of total premium market)
FRANCE 10%
PORTUGAL 14%
HOLLAND 6.7%
U. KINGDOM 24%
BELGIUM 3.8%
USA 15.6%
CANADA 10%

Essentially the French and Dutch drink/cook with a lot of cheap Port, whilst the UK, by quite some margin, still consumes the most premium Port. If we go per capita, consumption in the US is tiny (especially compared to Canada) so you there certainly is the possibility for large increases in consumption.

-Jacob

[Roy Hersh]

LBV skews the UK market vs the USA. Look on a VP basis and the real story will be told.

[Moses Botbol]

That’s a really interesting point: I can see it going either way.

In the first instance, I think that amongst those people who would be importing VP to China, wine tastes are not that different to those elsewhere in the world, so perhaps the innate appeal of a sweet wine like Port will be less significant.

Chinese tastes are quite different from us in NA and Europe. Have you ever watched travelling shows where they go to China? The dry wines are purly presitege as not many are buying box wines or $7.00 a bottle Aussies. 1st growth's are purly for status. The whole wold has some hankering for sweet, and that is where port should/will catch on there. Many our earliest wines were sweet as this is a more basic enjoyment than dry wines.

The port producers like Taylor & Symington should really market premium port in China to no end along with India.

[Elyas Beria]

Wow. What a wealth of info. Thanks for the stats guys. It seems like the potential is there for growth no matter how unlikely that may be.

[Roy Hersh]

Personally, I hope the Chinese marketplace never catches on to Vintage Port. Yes, that is a selfish view, but within no time, all old stocks of VP would disappear and the prices paid for even 1994-2003 VPs would skyrocket. Who wants or needs that to happen? Quinta do Vesuvio 2015 VP on release for $120.00 could become a quick reality and I just don't want Port to go the way of many other wines.