Port Tasting for Beginners - 8/2/2008

[Stewart T.]

I had the pleasure of joining my friends Patti and Mike on Saturday to conduct a Port tasting for some of their friends - many of whom didn't know that much about Port. This was the second such tasting I've been asked to do by friends in the last couple of weeks.

Patti and Mike provided all of the food - wonderful homemade flat bread pizzas, sushi, chocolate, cupcakes and the works.

We did a straight tasting of the Ports, and then many people returned to pair up some of their favorite Ports with the chocolates and other foods.

I'll post my TN's in the TN Forum, and apologize in advance for the sparse notes - i was trying to socialize and educate and neglected to take detailed TN's.

The lineup was:

1975 Cockburn Vintage Port
1996 Dow Quinta do Bomfim Vintage Port
1990 Graham Quinta dos Malvedos
1997 Osborne Vintage Port
2001 Taylor Late Bottle Vintage Port
Porto Rocha 10 Year Tawny Port
Porto Rocha 20 Year Tawny Port

It was a really interesting lineup - I recently purchased both the 1975 Cockburn and the 1997 Osborne at auction, so I was very excited to taste them.

[Andy Velebil]

Its always fun to do tastings like this. Alex R and I are doing one this coming week. I am looking forward to it, especially to find out what people like and don't like as much.

[Derek T.]

Excellent.

I wonder how many of these events would have happened if it were not for the esistence of the online port comunity.

Spread the word, Port is good

[Todd Pettinger]

Great to see - and what a nice line up for Port newbs...

Good job Stewart.

Derek: check, spreading word = "Port is Good!"

[Moses Botbol]

I remember turning a roommate onto port back around 1996... That turned into a 3-4 bottles a week habit for him (not to mention all the Heinekens in between glasses of port). I unleasehd a monster! :devil:

No way was I going to leave the 20 year tawny unlocked in the kitchen. :help:

[Todd Pettinger]

I remember turning a roommate onto port back around 1996... That turned into a 3-4 bottles a week habit for him (not to mention all the Heinekens in between glasses of port). I unleasehd a monster! :devil:

No way was I going to leave the 20 year tawny unlocked in the kitchen. :help:

Good call... a 20 year old tawny would be dangerous in the hands of ANY port nut...

[Andy Velebil]

I remember turning a roommate onto port back around 1996... That turned into a 3-4 bottles a week habit for him (not to mention all the Heinekens in between glasses of port). I unleasehd a monster! :devil:

No way was I going to leave the 20 year tawny unlocked in the kitchen. :help:

Wow thats a lot of any wine in a week (excluding offlines and drinking with others). No wonder you locked the stuff up, at that rate anyones cellar would be gone in a flash.

[Roy Hersh]

I must say that the most ultimately gratifying facet of having started is all of the Port ambassadors it has spawned here in the USA as well as Canada, the UK and even Portugal and other European countries. From the PORT offlines which now take place all over the map, to the launch of TPF, to small altruistic educational Port tastings like the one that Stewart described in the first post of the thread ... the word of Port continues to spread and you are all to blame for having done just that. Cheers!

[Moses Botbol]

I remember turning a roommate onto port back around 1996... That turned into a 3-4 bottles a week habit for him (not to mention all the Heinekens in between glasses of port). I unleasehd a monster! :devil:

No way was I going to leave the 20 year tawny unlocked in the kitchen. :help:

Wow thats a lot of any wine in a week (excluding offlines and drinking with others). No wonder you locked the stuff up, at that rate anyones cellar would be gone in a flash.

Even worse that the "port" was Whiskers Blake Tawny- the most sugary awful stuff ever. Hence needing a 6 pack every night to wash away the sugar. I had to wait till he went to his girlfriend's house to open a '77 Dow