Port & Chocolate pairing in Seattle

[Glenn E.]

I just got a mailing from Fine Wines & Cigars at Redmond Town Center announcing this:

PORT & FRAN'S CHOCOLATE DELECTABLY PAIRED
Sat Nov 7th 2-6PM
We have teamed up with C&G Imports and Fran's Chocolate to bring you an afternoon of fun! We will be pouring a wonderful selection of Ports matched with the marevelous sweet concotions from Fran's.

You will not want to miss this!
$10 Members
$15 Non-Members

Fine Wines & Cigars
16535 NE 76th, Ste. D-105
Redmond, Washington 98052
425-869-0869

I've gone to similar events in the past and they're a lot of fun, and I plan to show up for this one as well. The mailing actually had a typo saying the event was Sat Nov 24th but since that's not actually a Saturday and they refer to "next week" at one point I'm pretty sure they meant the 7th.

Anyway, hope to see some FTLOP people there!

[Eric Menchen]

pssst ... don't tell Roy, as we know how he feels about chocolate and Port mixing

[Roy Hersh]

No worries, I have already booked Port/Douro events in Edmonton Alberta for that weekend.

Time to eat some more moose. Might even run into Todd, Conrad and a few other FTLOPers besides Richard Beeken. Afterall, one of the couples on our recent Port Harvest Tour is from up there too. I need my snow fix, much more than a cocoa bean induced Port coma.

[Eric Menchen]

I need my snow fix, much more than a cocoa bean induced Port coma.

About 14-18" on my back porch this morning. I need some sun.

[Roy Hersh]

Yeah, my brother was telling me about the snow yesterday and I was jonesing. Can't make it back out to CO until Feb. though. Time for skiing and wine!

[Glenn E.]

Oops, I guessed wrong. The date is actually Saturday, November 7th. I'll update the original post as well.

[Roy Hersh]

Any clue as to what they will be pouring?

I am not a fan of that shop ... the prices are typically way over the realm of reality, even though they do have a nice selection.


Edit: I just noticed in the original post in this thread that it is C&G that will be the guest host. They are the local distributor of Rocha and Kopke, so I guess we know what's coming after all.

[Glenn E.]

the prices are typically way over the realm of reality, even though they do have a nice selection.

If you're a member you get a 15% discount, and that brings their prices down to a reasonable B&M markup over the internet. But yeah, I'm careful what I buy there because even with the club membership I still have to pay attention.

[Roy Hersh]

How much do they charge these days to be a member of their wine shop, in order to get a discount?

[Glenn E.]

You know, I don't remember. My membership may very well be expired because as I recall it renews in August and I don't think I've been there since then this year.

My often faulty memory says that it's $49/year. Since they feel about 10% overpriced to me, that means I'm really only getting a 5% discount with the membership. So I need to spend $1000 a year there to make it back, which isn't really a problem because members also usually get a discount on the premium tastings (such as this one).

[Glenn E.]

Here's the lineup for Saturday:

Rocha Lagrima Branco & Dark Chocolate Ginger
$17.99(R)/$15.29(C)/750ml

Rocha 10 year Tawny & Smoked Salt Caramel
$14.99(R)/$12.74(C)/375ml - $26.99(R)/$22.94(C)/750ml

1991 Dona Matilde Colheita & Grey Salt Caramel
$32.99(R)/$28.04(C)/375ml - $56.99(R)/$48.44(C)/750ml

Kopke 2000 LBV & Dark Chocolate Caramel
$12.99(R)/$11.04(C)/375ml - $20.99(R)/$17.84(C)/750ml

Kopke 1988 Colheita & Hazelnut Diamond
$25.99(R)/$22.09(C)/375ml - $47.99(R)/$40.79(C)/750ml

2007 Rocha Vintage & Dark Chocolate Imperiales
$33.99(R)/$28.89(C)/375ml - $57.99(R)/$49.29(C)/750ml

[Roy Hersh]

Back up the truck and fill it up with 2007.

[Glenn E.]

Yeah, that seems like a really good price for the 2007 Porto Rocha. Especially with the club discount. I have it tied with the Duorum for 3rd out of the 25 or so 2007s that I've had the pleasure of sampling. I only have Quinta do Vale Meao and Quinta do Portal rated higher, and only slightly higher at that.

Of course there are several big names I haven't tried - including Porto Rocha's sibling Kopke - but that's still a great price for an extraordinary Port.

[Glenn E.]

Also available (according to a flyer I received in the mail today):

2007 Graham $94/$80
2007 Dow $83/$70
2007 Smith Woodhouse $60/$51
2007 Vesuvio $75/$64
2007 Porto Rocha $56/$48

Prices are listed for non-members/members. The Rocha is the only one being poured during the tasting, and the price I just received on this mailing is lower than the one listed for the tasting. I'm not quite sure how that's going to work, so perhaps one or the other is a typo. Either price is very good for an extraordinary VP.

[Glenn E.]

The chocolate pairings today were really good. I liked the two salted caramels best (one milk chocolate, one dark chocolate).

Port-wise, the 1991 Dona Matlide narrowly beat out the 1988 Kopke out of the tawnies. The 2007 Rocha easily won on the ruby side. I'll post notes on everything later once I have time to process them.

I picked up a 6-pack of the 2007 Rocha after the event. $48 was just too good to pass up!

[Roy Hersh]

At that price, who can blame you for a six pack of that gorgeous young thang.

[Glenn E.]

Yeah, I'm running low on storage space again or I probably would have picked up a full case of it.