A QUESTION FOR THE PORT TRADE

[Roy Hersh]

Well if you actually NEEDED another good reason to subscribe to the FTLOP newsletter, here it is. The segment that disappeared last year, A Question for the Port Trade is back in the June newsletter that is less than 10 days away. Your feedback was instrumental in my decision to go back at this and do my best to keep it going this time, although it is a ton of work (dentistry = pulling teeth) to get the Port trade to get back to me in a timely fashion.

Hopefully, I am smarter this time around and since the newsletter will always come out no later than the 3rd day of the month now, it will be easy to plan ahead and provide a few week's for the emails to roll in.

I have chosen this months topic, but in future months, I really hope that like before, we'll see Forum participants come up with great questions to get a broad berth of responses from the Port trade. This month, I think you are going to get a great education about what goes into a vintage decision etc.

Keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming newsletter (those that choose to subscribe that is). :hello:
Another long one with more dozens and dozens of TNs included, as well as a great guest corner article by our own Alex B!

[Moses Botbol]

1. We see a lot of single quinta ports, but what about single varietal ports?

2. Why doesn't anyone sell unfiltered colheita; straight from the barrel?

[Roy Hersh]

Moses,

I can answer the first one quite easily and won't bother the trade with that one, but I do like the 2nd question very much. I think it makes a ton of sense to bottle the Colheita without being filtered (or fined) but I am no Port maker, so it will be a fine question to ask. However, I will have to be very particular of whom I send it to, because some folks in the trade don't make Colheitas or do so, very rarely.


Now to your question:

Experiments segregating varietals was first done in 1982 by Ramos Pinto's Joao Nicolau de Almeida. He is a brilliant character and I was recently on a plane with him and have visited him quite a few times in Gaia and the Douro. In fact, a couple of years ago, I set up a tasting with him for our guests on Tour, to try all of the single varietal Vintage Ports he made in 1983, the year of possibly their first very fine VP. These were vinified separately as had been done the year before. Few people have ever tried these and not a single bottle has ever been sold by them. I think that the reason they had their first good VP (maybe ever) to that point, is because they better understood the componenet parts before doing the blending.

Like Bordeaux, Vintage Port gains complexity from having a bunch of grape types. Wanna try a single grape VP? You may own it and not even know it. Broadbent 1994 Vintage Port was made with just one grape! Bordeaux and Vintage Port have various grapes bring different dynamics to the assemblage. But without the grape that adds the tannic structure, or the floral fragrant element or the smooth textural pleasure, a Port would be simple and uninspiring. Having a diversity of grapes and understanding which grapes are in the blend and when is the best time to pick each varietal, is the reason that bloc planting has grown in popularity in the Douro. Still, field blends abound and are still quite easy to find. I have a feeling though, as DOC Douro wines continue to gain in popularity, so will bloc plantings. I think this is going to be the "next big change" in the Douro over the next two decades, although there is currently no major movement to do this. That does not mean some companies are not already involved, just that there is no significant push ... yet ... to segregate the grapes in the Douro as a whole. Anyway, understanding what each variety adds to the cuvee that is VP, is what makes for a really top winemaker and Port maker as well. Although single grape varietal DOC wines makes sense, I am not so sure that we'll ever see much more of that with VP in the future. I liked the Ramos Pinto VPs we tasted with single grapes, but none stood up to the 1983 blended VP. I hope this adequately and directly answers your first question.

[Frederick Blais]

Moses,

I can answer the first one quite easily and won't bother the trade with that one, but I do like the 2nd question very much. I think it makes a ton of sense to bottle the Colheita without being filtered (or fined) but I am no Port maker, so it will be a fine question to ask. However, I will have to be very particular of whom I send it to, because some folks in the trade don't make Colheitas or do so, very rarely.

I did not want to add my opinion before the trade of Roy. But Colheita unfiltered happens very often!!!

Keep in mind that Tawny sediments after a few years come mainly from tannins, color and tartratic acids. Each barrels get a few rackings and after a few years, all the components that do drop sediments have dropped all they could. So when they bottle a 20 yo Colheita, filtered or not, there is aint much difference... My guess would be that only 1-2% of the barell when bottled would have sediments. With a careful bottling, no need to filter.

[Roy Hersh]

OK, I delivered a solid Question for the Port Trade.

Now it is time to send out the next question. Of course, I can come up with them all, but that is not the intent of this segment of the newsletter. So please do feel free to come up with a question that is worthy of a full column! :help: :help: :help:

[Roy Hersh]

Last chance!
:help: :hello:
Anybody who would like to have a shot at their question being included, please respond by Wed. Thereafter, I must mail the question out to the folks in Portugal that will be participating this month and will have no choice but to submit my own question.

This was really designed with "audience participation" in mind, as a way for folks here to get insight from those who work in the Port trade.

[Derek T.]

I may have missed it elsewhere but has the question been asked about the trades thoughts on the use of different types of closures? e.g. screwcaps, plastic corks, reconstituted cork etc?

Another suggestion would be to ask for their rationale other than cost for ageing their wines in controlled conditions in the Douro or VNG (or vice versa). There seems to be a trend towards storing in the Douro and it would be interesting to know if this is purely a cost issue and why those who chose VNG think it benefits the wine.

If I think of any more I will drop them in here

Derek

[Roy Hersh]

Derek,

Your questions are both interesting and poignant. I will share my own views for the moment. I'll keep the door open to possibilities for other questions until Wed. at which time, I'll make a decision on which to use. So far it looks like one of these two has plenty of "legs" though.

As to alternative closures for Port wine …
The nectar from the Douro, first and foremost Port wine, is of course recognized as the oldest commercially released wine type in Portugal. Given that for the Port trade has been using corks from the native forests for centuries, (which are just a couple of hours south of the Douro) it is more than just a matter of tradition. Some would say it is a matter of nationalistic pride, others, a way to preserve the heritage of one of the most natural and eco-friendly-self-sustaining-commercially-viable products that Portugal has to offer (outside of wine itself), not to mention the deep ties that go along with 3-400 years of buyers using a successful product offered by very few competitors.

Whether one believes the failure rate is a low of 3% (the number I’ve heard most often from the Port trade) or a high of 8% as some “experts” espouse, (which would be about 1 bottle in every case of Port) reality probably lies somewhere in the middle. Regardless, the success rate of even 97% is not good enough for many consumers.

I just don’t see the Port trade, save M. Champalimaud, willing to go out on a limb with alternatives to cork. I can see Dirk Niepoort experimenting with lower end table wines and basic ruby/tawny but this is not like LBV, Colheita or VP which I can’t see folks changing anytime soon. There is always the spectre of more new companies with financiers from other countries (there have been quite a few in recent years) who are willing to consider other options. Therefore, it never hurts to ask the question, though we already know the answer that a few of the majors would put forth and have during our tours.

As to your second question … re: Gaia vs. Douro storage, this is an even more fascinating topic. I will respond to your question but will also take a circuitous route in doing so.

As Gaia continues to evolve as you’ve read in my reports and elsewhere I am sure, the idea of where to store Port has less to do with choice than necessity. Some of the modifications to roads and infrastructure are taking place regardless of what is going on with -- or the desires of -- the Port trade. Politicians see new housing needs, the financing of roads and permits for hotels and restaurants as essential for Gaia to morph into a “newer” city, less historic possibly, but more user-friendly and navigable for inhabitants and tourists alike.

Port stored in the Douro is a rather new phenomenon in the scheme of its centuries old history. 1986 saw IVP regulations change to allow not only the storage of Port wine in the Douro, but the ability of the small grower to become a producer because they were then able to market and ship (even export) Port wine directly from their Quintas. This was the beginning of the revolution in the Douro that a decade later saw the major emphasis towards the Single Quinta movement. Sure, SQs existed before that time, but they had to operate differently and there were not dozens popping up in such a short period of time. Of course, SQ is the antithesis of the industry’s consolidation that we’ve seen (once again) in full gear over the past seven years. But how does this answer your question?

Port wine no longer has to come down river to be stored or aged until ready to sell. In fact, with only 15-16 Port Lodges still in existence in Vila Nova de Gaia, (although one or two probably won’t survive the next decade, while Kopke is being fully revitalized as was Calem a few years ago) and the closure of some of the old byways through the narrow streets; there are far more Lodges that will be shipping their goods up river by the end of this decade or certainly by the middle of the next one, than will be maintaining their status quo. The number of Lodges is now small enough in comparison to the active Port Quintas in the Douro, that there is little question that far less Port will head down river in the foreseeable future. That much is clear. The wave is happening just the other way around and will continue as Gaia’s unfortunate progression continues to take place.

As much change as we’ve seen in the Port trade during the past two decades+ since the aforementioned law change (1986-2008); it is my personal belief that the metamorphosis in Gaia, the Douro and the Port trade as a whole … from 2009-2020 will be far greater. I foresee a few more key opportunistic consolidations, a handful of new investors coming into the Douro from other wine regions (keep an eye on France!) to make Port while concentrating on table wine, a VERY different look and especially “feel” to Gaia and the all but inevitable exploitation of tourism opportunities in the Douro.

In this regard, I am neither a pessimist nor anti progress! However, the pace at which Gaia’s traditional "feel" is going to be dismantled is not something I relish to observe. I may be a cynic, but having seen the Douro go from zero hotels as recently as 1994, to having 1000+ Euro a night “fantasy” destination spots … it is not a stretch for me to envision Douro-Disney on the horizon or at least Marriott and Hilton hotels encroaching someday sooner rather than later. If I seem curmudgeonly or a tad disdainful, it is because I don’t always view progress as a positive. For those of you who think I am crazy, let’s talk while sharing a bottle of Vintage Port circa 2020, (1970s should be drinking perfectly at that point) while watching the crowds wait in line for their hot air balloon expeditions in Regua or Pinhao.

Stepping down now:

[Andy Velebil]

I thought Erik came up with a good question in the "Port Forum" about normal bottles vs. half bottles here
http://www.fortheloveofport.com/index.p ... r&Itemid=8

[Derek T.]

Roy,

Is this "Questions for the Port Trade" or "Questions for Roy"?

I would expect that the trade would give very diplomatic answers to the cork question so perhaps best not going there. I think the Douro v VNG question is perhaps more interesting, so long as they don't just read your reply and steal your ideas!!

Derek

[Roy Hersh]

There is something definitely wrong with me. For a moment I had delusions I was in the Port trade.

[Roy Hersh]

Derek,

I must say, you are going to love reading the response to your question. Brilliant answers to say the least and a great read for anybody serious about Port. Extremely informative!

I hope someone will do as well for the August newsletter. It was very clear from the responses, that the trade really enjoyed sinking their teeth into this particular question.

[Roy Hersh]

I hit the wrong button the other day which locked this thread. Sorry about that!

Anyway, it would be great to get some input for the next newsletter (Aug.) as I won't be sending the question to the trade until the 11th of July, a week from today.

So give some thought to this and I'd be happy to include another great question from anybody who comes up with something that would elicit great reponses like the ones we just had.


Roy

[Derek T.]

Is it too early to ask all of the non-TFP shippers what they think of the concept of Pink Port? :devil:




...sorry, I will go to the back of the class and put on the pointy hat

[Tom Archer]

OK, here's a question:

'A comparison of the IVDP data on the sale prices of vintage port, with the retail prices of the product in the respective markets; indicates that the distributors and retailers make a greater profit from the sale of the product, than do the producers.

It would therefore seem rational for the producers to offer visitors to Portugal the opportunity to buy case quantities at a price that would afford the purchaser a substantial saving, whilst also rewarding the producer with a considerably better profit.

Yet in practice, the trade seem very reluctant to offer product directly at anything less than their tourist prices, which often compare unfavourably with retail prices in the principal markets.

Why is this?'

Tom

[Glenn E.]

I can answer that one because I'm sure the same is true in virtually any form of manufacturing and sales.

They don't sell to the public at a discount because it would piss off their distributors and retailers.

Want to go out of business fast in the US? Sell direct to consumer at a discount. Wal-mart, Costco, Target, and all of the other major chains will drop you like a hot potato.

Now granted, Vintage Port does not have a MSRP. But I'm sure the practice is the same, and that if the shippers started selling direct to consumer even if only from within the Port lodges that the major distributors would no longer carry their product. Middlemen have a surprising amount of power in retail sales.

[Roy Hersh]

They don't sell to the public at a discount because it would piss off their distributors and retailers.

Tom,

Your question is very sound and makes a lot of sense. However, Glenn's response is spot on. They can't undersell the distributors. Given they typically have to align with either the average or top end of their global marketplace's distribution system ... the prices in Gaia are anything but advantageous.

Sadly, this is not going to change. We've discussed this here in the past and I've actually asked that question before (in private) and was given this specific reason.

A great question though and I wish more were willing to provide at least one outlet store ... where consumers could go to purchase case quantities. There ARE retailers there, that will provide much better prices to consumers and you can arrange case buys with them. That is the best option at this point and as close to buying direct as you'll get. Obviously that still includes one middleman's markup though.

[Tom Archer]

I don't really buy the argument that the local distributors would run away if a producer started selling direct in Portugal; but they might start working a little harder, and cut their margins in order to keep up.

The distributers (in the UK, at least) are a lazy set, who make minimal effort to get product sold. They often fail to stock all the current products of the producers they claim to represent. Even if the producers retain the current system, some hiring and firing in this department would not go amiss.

I don't really expect the biggest names to be the first to walk away from the cosy distribution deals, but some of the less well known, yet competant producers, might improve their sales volumes, profits and standing through a more efficient approach to marketing.

- Q. Roriz perhaps??

Tom

[Glenn E.]

I understand that the vineyards in Portugal are planted with mixed varieties of grapes intermingled, but have the major houses ever considered producing single variety ports? Why or why not? (The fact that the vineyards are currently intermingled isn't a good answer to me, because there's always replanting going on so if they wanted to do it they could very easily.)

I recall you saying recently that the 1994 Broadbent VP was a single variety, but I have no idea which one it might be because it doesn't say so on the label. I'd like to see more of that kind of information about Port, though!

[Roy Hersh]

Thanks Tom & Glenn. These questions are certainly worthy of consideration!