1st Annual FTLOP Gala Port Celebration

[Andy Velebil]

Luc,
Good man, the hard training will pay off

[*podvodnic]

Have there been any schedule details nailed down yet? We are starting to plan for plane tickets and want to make sure we don't get in too late or leave too early!

Also, since we don't have much of a cellar to pick from, is there any theme or suggestions for what port we should be hunting down?

[Roy Hersh]

Shannon,

Thanks for your posting!!!

Yes, we have the dates set and I have three hotels putting in bids that are due on Monday Dec. 8th they told me next week they won't work on it for me. At that point, you can book at the hotel that I've arranged or one of your own choosing. We know the dates and then with the hotel, the other major factor will be the restaurant venues. I have a number in mind but it will depend on the hotels. Choosing the restaurants to work with is the easist part though. The hotels are located in Redmond, one in Bellevue and one downtown in Seattle. So once I know where the hotel will be ... they are pretty spread out but all are with great nearby restaurants that will work with me. So please be patient a little longer.

You can book your airplane tickets though. I can say that all 3 events will be later afternoons into the evening. Friday will probably be the latest start and may be more like a cocktail party ... we'll see, but we could still do a seated tasting that night too.

Saturday will definitely be a sit down and will probably start by six p.m. (+/-) one hour for sure. Sunday we'll be doing the oldest and best of the Ports. We'll likely start around 1 p.m. and have an earlier dinner so people can fly out by 8 or 9 p.m. p.m. or so.

As to specific themes, I would really like to have the venues in place and know about the glassware/decanters ... which are not hard to find ... but to get them rented and moved between venues and have them cleaned is no small feat given the numbers it looks like we'll have.

Feel free to enter any opinions you'd like. We will have themed flights, I am not so sure we'll have specific vintages chosen though. I can see more like 1900-1950 on Sunday. The 1960s-1980s on Saturday and the young ones and Madeira on Friday. Just some of my thoughts and not carved in stone yet. With this many people, specific vintage tastings get really hard to organize and decanting a couple of dozen bottles three days in a row should provide the greatest challenge of all. : )

I already bought the cheesecloth!

[Jeffrey Karp]

Ever since the dates for the gala port celebration were confirmed, each Giants victory is proving bittersweet. :help:

[Stewart T.]

...Although I have yet to figure out how to shut down the poll ..."

The poll has now left the building... :hello:

[Eric Ifune]

Colheitas on Friday along with the Madeiras?

[Rich N.]

Uhh...pardon my dumb question, but which weekend IS it? Based on the survey results, it looks like the last weekend in January - is that the one?

Ok, next dumb question: is there a list of hotels already or am I reading too much into the posts I've browsed?

Third (non) question: I decanted a 1994 Fonseca Guimaraens VP about 7 hours ago and am enjoying it as I type...

[Andy Velebil]

I have my flight purchased! I'll have to miss Friday -- it's my son's birthday. But will be there Saturday and Sunday.
I'm looking forward to meeting everyone!
-Dave-

[SEAN C.]

Fear not Todd , I've been training since "the Boston Upheavel"
Things are looking up

I hope so ...I've decided to bring a few EXTRA LARGE format bottles..so get ready!

[SEAN C.]

Should we discuss what we are bringing here so there are no doubles, etc ?

[Andy Velebil]

Should we discuss what we are bringing here so there are no doubles, etc ?

I'm bringing Port and some dry wines

Seriously, we do need to start getting this figured out so people can plan and if need be ship wines ahead.

[Julian D. A. Wiseman]

I’m bringing nothing†. Hence nobody else may bring nothing.

† Because I’m not going.

[Roy Hersh]

7+ weeks. Don't worry, this is not going to wait until the last minute. I will be in touch with all that confirm they are joining us, as soon as the final deal is done with the hotel.

Then we can work on wines. Please be patient! I am not going to let you down.

[Andy Velebil]

I’m bringing nothing†. Hence nobody else may bring nothing.

† Because I’m not going.

Julian,
You need to come, but I understand why you can't

[Alan Gardner]

Hi Roy (and everyone)
So far I've been watching this thread (with envy) but haven't committed.
HOWEVER, there have recently been some great air sales to Vancouver - and renting a car and driving from there is relatively straightforward - so impediments are disappearing.
What's the 'latest' you can accept new registrants?
The only potential restriction is that it is almost impossible to return wine (including Port/madeira) to Canada - so we would have to consume anything I bring down. I hope you can all help with that!
Of course I would hope I can contribute to almost any realistic aggregation of ports (and could even bring the famous Kopke 57 - although I suspect more people would be interested in my older madeiras).

Alan
PS Any other Canadians also intested in linking up can piggy-back on this.

[Roy Hersh]

Yesterday, an email went out to all 20 perspective participants to guage final interest. It will allow me to finalize pricing with the hotel that I am working with. They wanted to first know how many rooms and how many nights they'd get out of it, for giving us a good reduction in price. So thanks for returning them (those of you who were quick about it!).

I wish I could have had this done two weeks ago, but I had two major hurdles which have both been moved out of the way. So, results will be quick now and the hotel, restaurants and locations of things will all be apparent almost immediately. We'll start focusing on specific wines on Monday.

Just an update as we move forward. Alan if you are serious, please let me know and I'll include you on the details. We have one and possibly two Canadians coming at this time.

[Julian D. A. Wiseman]

Despite my absence, I’m willing to make placemats—provided that the relevant information is posted or sent to me. (Relevant information = date, location, bottles—flighted if required, drinkers’ initials, and if appropriate who brought which bottles.)

[Eric Menchen]

Well I have tickets for the wife and me. I'm guessing Seattle isn't too busy that time of year given the fares and rates I saw. I missed out on the $91 airfare (roundtrip, plus fees, etc., but still under $150 total), but still managed a good deal. Rental car seemed like a steal. I think you should be able to get good room rates too Roy. I hope so--I'd rather spend my money on ports.

[Roy Hersh]

I will be sending out another email to the whole group in an hour or so. It contains all of the information including responding to questions about the lodging & restaurant venues etc. Although it is always nice to see posts here ... for those joining us for the event itself, I would much rather stick to discussions by email within that group than here publicly. This especially pertains to the ongoing Port/Madeira/Douo wines coming for this event.

Thanks!

[Andy Velebil]

Got my tickets too and could not believe how cheap they were. I guess lower gas prices and a poor economy is helping out a bit.