Tonged my First Bottle of Vintage Port

[Kris Henderson]

The Port tongs I ordered from Vinologia arrived last week. Thanks Gustavo! After practicing on a few empty bottles, I decided to open a full bottle of Vintage Port. Here are a few pictures of the experience.

[Moses Botbol]

What kind of torch are you using? Got the tongs really hot! Sure is fun to use the tongs!

[Andy Velebil]

Awsome, glad you were able to get some and I hope others that want them contact Vinologia for a pair. But I started laughing when I saw Kris holding that huge blow torch I do like it...where did you get it at? It really spreads the flame out for better heating.

[Moses Botbol]

I use a similar can of gas, but the torch looks much different. Looks like the spray pattern is wider than on mine. The yellow can is much better than the blue one to heat it up quick!

[Kris Henderson]

That torch is made for burning weeds. It was a gift so I'm not sure where it was purchased though I'm sure it could be found in a gardening supply catalog. The MAPP gas definitely helps heat the tongs up quickly since it burns hotter than propane. I'd like to get a roofing torch, it puts out an even bigger flame than what I used above.

[Moses Botbol]

Yes, MAPP - I could not think of the name. I have a pinpoint torch to it. Only takes 3 minutes to heat, so I cannot complain really... If we are doing a lot of of bottles, we may use charcoal in the grill, but the last time we did that, we did not know the MAPP was so much better!

[Elyas Beria]

That looks great. Seems like a torch is definitely the way to go. What are you planning on cracking open next now that you have practice?

[Kris Henderson]

Haven't given much thought to what I'll open next with the Port tongs. It will probably be a regular bottle of wine since I'm not likely to drink Vintage Port for a few more months and it would seem like overkill to open a Colheita or Tawny that has a t-cork with Port tongs.

[Roy Hersh]

For the down and dirty ... or clean for that matter, using a torch is how it is most often done in Portugal. I still think tossing the end into a fireplace has its charms too and on a char-grill is quick and ez.

Thanks Kris, nice job and welcome to the TONG club.