Tawny vs. older VP for those new to Port

[Andy Velebil]

A recent reply to a thread had me thinking about this topic. While most of us love older VP's that are fully in their secondary stages some people new to Port don't always agree. I've seen some gravitate to tawny's instead when the two were served together.

I'm curious as to what others have discovered when they've shared Port with those newer to it. Did those people who were newer to Port prefer the older VP or the tawny (of whatever type)? Did they say why they preferred one over the other?

[Eric Menchen]

I think some of my less experienced friends have more generally preferred older tawnies over VPs, but when served a 1970, 1960, or 1955 VP, there was lots of love and accolades for those. I think the middle aged VPs (I'm thinking 1977, 1983, 1985) have been enjoyed and appreciated, but those might be the ones that come behind the tawnies. Maybe having had more vertical tastings, the geeks among us find the turning point of evolution in these more fascinating?

[Glenn E.]

I recently served a 1977 Fonseca VP and a 1976 Porto Rocha Colheita (bottled 2006) to a group of people who were mostly new to Port. All but one preferred the Porto Rocha, including the one person who had previous experience with Port. (6 tawny, 1 ruby.) This is pretty a normal ratio in my experience. The one person who preferred the Fonseca VP was, perhaps coincidentally, the only person in the group who self-identifies as "someone who drinks red wine."

That last tidbit is actually the opposite of what I normally find. My usual experience when introducing people to Port is that the "red wine drinkers" in particular tend to prefer tawnies to rubies. I've speculated that this is due to the fact that rubies are pretty similar to red wine other than the intense sweetness, which might be off-putting in something that's otherwise so familiar. Tawnies are just completely different, so I speculate that the sweetness doesn't seem so weird. That said, this was also the first time that I've "introduced" people to ruby Port with something as old as a 1977, so the more mature profile may have been sufficiently different.

[Gary Richardson]

I find that this is really dependent on the person. Some like Tawnies, some like VPs. Most have at least a moderate preference for one versus the other. I actually keep a spreadsheet, as any well-balanced and sane person would do, to keep track of individual preferences. That way, I can serve what they like. Personally, I like both ... but in my circle I find that I am more of an exception.