International #PortDay

This forum is for discussing all things Port (as in from PORTugal) - vintages, recommendations, tasting notes, etc.

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Roy Hersh
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International #PortDay

Post by Roy Hersh »

In the newsletter that just hit mailboxes 24 hours ago, there was an announcement about a world wide effort to promote Port, especially using new media, which is EXACTLY what some of our greatest threads in the past six months have been about. So here is an INTERNATIONAL #Port Day effort spurred on by the Center for Wine Origins, which is going out on a limb to push the Port agenda. :scholar:

After reading this article, who here is going to become a Port "ambassador" on January 27th and try to win the :ftlop: contest? :winepour:

http://www.fortheloveofport.com/trade-n ... l-port-day
Ambition driven by passion, rather than money, is as strong an elixir as is Port. http://www.fortheloveofport.com
Jeff G.
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Re: International #PortDay

Post by Jeff G. »

awww, would love to do something but the new born is keeping my hands very very full =(

my local wine merchant is a huuge french dessert wine fanatic and he's given me some stuff to try but I 've always had afeeling if he had a decent port, he'd convert.
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Phil W
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Re: International #PortDay

Post by Phil W »

Roy Hersh wrote:In the newsletter that just hit mailboxes 24 hours ago, there was an announcement about a world wide effort to promote Port, especially using new media, which is EXACTLY what some of our greatest threads in the past six months have been about. So here is an INTERNATIONAL #Port Day effort spurred on by the Center for Wine Origins, which is going out on a limb to push the Port agenda. :scholar:

After reading this article, who here is going to become a Port "ambassador" on July 27th and try to win the :ftlop: contest? :winepour:

http://www.fortheloveofport.com/trade-n ... l-port-day
Should that date be Jan 27th as per here or is that page wrong? (July would allow more time to arrange something significant ofc, so would be useful to know)
Rob C.
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Re: International #PortDay

Post by Rob C. »

Phil - January 27th is correct, not July. Though it was only announced on December 14, so i agree not a huge time to plan anything - but maybe the idea is that this is supposed to be more spontaneous and informal! I will try to hold a tasting - though not sure about the "new media" shenanigans!

Roy's prizes look great and very generous.
In the penultimate paragraph [url=http://www.wineorigins.com/?p=1505]here[/url], Center for Wine Origins wrote:When shopping for Port and entering the contest, make sure to look for the seal of the approval and confirm that the wine comes from Portugal.
Tut tut - you'd miss out on a LOT of good bottles of port if you followed that advice!
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Re: International #PortDay

Post by Andy Velebil »

Yes January 27th is the correct date, I've corrected the above post. Sorry about that.
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Re: International #PortDay

Post by Glenn E. »

Rob C. wrote:
In the penultimate paragraph [url=http://www.wineorigins.com/?p=1505]here[/url], Center for Wine Origins wrote:When shopping for Port and entering the contest, make sure to look for the seal of the approval and confirm that the wine comes from Portugal.
Tut tut - you'd miss out on a LOT of good bottles of port if you followed that advice!
Yeah I'm guess that Roy's 100-point 1896 Dow VP didn't have a seal of approval on it! :lol: [friends.gif]

As Roy mentioned in the newsletter, we'll be holding an event here in Sammamish. Guess I'd better get started on that, huh? :oops:
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Re: International #PortDay

Post by Eric Menchen »

That is a short timeframe, and note that if you want to get materials, that takes one to two weeks too. I wish they had PDF versions of the documents readily available. I may just see if I can get a bunch of the full brochures and the minis. Not sure, however, if I can organize something for the 27th, but I have a couple of ideas.

p.s. I think real Port from Portugal is the best and real deal, but I wonder if the campaign is too focused on that aspect. Sell the quality, with a reminder on the authenticity issue, not the other way around. Just my quick first reaction.
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Roy Hersh
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Re: International #PortDay

Post by Roy Hersh »

Thanks for understanding and Andy I appreciate you correcting my faux pas typo with the incorrect date this morning. That's what I get for typing at nearly 4 a.m.

As per the newsletter and the Center for Wine Origins website, it is January 27th and no, we do not have much time to get this organized. Unfortunately, I found out about this pretty late in the game. I did not even know that the Center was behind so much Port promotion work and I will now do my best to make FTLOP a significant hub for them to announce some of their events in the future, although I've learned that funding is drying up a bit. That's why I love their idea of doing an annual #PortDay and hopefully, next year we find out the dates way ahead of time and can ALL get behind this in a more significant way. I still think there is time to get local grass roots events done in your locales as well as what I announced in the newsletter.

Please note that the Center for Wine Origins is involved because they are the group that has been lobbying to get the name change implemented and although there was some legislation passed back in 2006, after a 20 year effort to get it done ... the verbiage in the legislation was watered down quite a bit and not what the group had really hoped for in protecting the name of wines from the 16 regions included in the effort. But that's what happens in American politics: compromise. So while even the new law does not have the teeth to enforce much, it does make a good start and hopefully things can progress in the future. I am going to do what I can to see if the discussion can be reopened. One of the detriments to how things panned out was the many domestic port-style wine producers were "grandfathered" ... part of the compromise ... and that has really weakened things in my opinion. I am just beginning to learn more and will report it in the future whenever possible with updates. I do have a ton of respect for the Center for Wine Origins and their level of knowledge which was not only professional but quite impressive. The people I am in touch with really know many of the major players.

I also will begin a new thread in the travel and offlines area specifically for helping to organize #PortDay events, discuss what is being done elsewhere too, as I was asked today to report on our progress so that FTLOP and the Center for Wine Origins would be aware of what efforts are coming from #PortDay. They are also doing a contest and offering an iPad as a prize. On the :ftlop: contest, I felt bad that I could not offer airlines tickets and a pair instead of an individual trip to Portugal so that a couple could come with us, but straight up ... Mario and I can't afford that at this point. I figured a magnum from my cellar that is of good age, by well-respected producers and from a great vintage(s) would hopefully make for a nice 2nd place prize. In full candor, I put the designed the entire contest and wrote the piece within 12 hours of emailing Glenn about doing a #PortDay event here and the newsletter getting mailed out. This was done "off the cuff" in order to create some incentive for having others organize and hopefully it will help motivate some to do the videos etc., which may have some lasting power for Port's promotion. After all, we've been looking for out-of-the-box solutions to promote Port in cool ways and the Center for Wine Origins has done exactly that. This is about as win-win as i could ever hope for!

As for the Social Media aspect of the promotions, I am happy to blast this out and make YOUR events as popular as possible and they should be cross-promoted on the Center for Wine Origins link as well. I'll get to that later today and build out a separate thread for all to see on this site!
Ambition driven by passion, rather than money, is as strong an elixir as is Port. http://www.fortheloveofport.com
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Roy Hersh
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Re: International #PortDay

Post by Roy Hersh »

Eric to your last point about focusing on the "real Port" wine being promoted ... that IS the whole point, the protection of the name, first and foremost. I realize we all see this as a way to promote and help Port in general, but one of the biggest ways we can do that is to clarify WHAT IS PORT. So while I understand your questioning the critical nature of this, I truly believe it is every bit as important as promoting Port itself. While you know that I write about and promote other port-style of wine whether from CA, WA, OR, Texas, So. Africa, Australia or wherever, there is no question the reason there is a FTLOP is solely because of Port from Portugal. Period. :scholar:

Therefore, I applaud the efforts of the Center for Wine Origins purity of their message and staying on point. [berserker.gif]
Ambition driven by passion, rather than money, is as strong an elixir as is Port. http://www.fortheloveofport.com
Marc J.
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Re: International #PortDay

Post by Marc J. »

I'm not quite sure what I'll be able to arrange by the 27th, but I've already ordered some promotional materials and I have an idea or two that I'm hoping to flesh out. Hopefully everything will fall into place over the next couple of weeks...
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Re: International #PortDay

Post by Andrew E »

Oh man, I already had my day on Dec. 28th. A bunch of us got together for cigars and I introduced them to different tawnies. I may have jumped the gun a month early.

I use cigar sessions to push port, so maybe next time we get together they'll bring a bottle instead of me, haha.

You should see the reactions though when the revelation of what a good pairing they've just tasted. People who dismissed port as dessert wine find themselves staring at the bottle so they don't forget it for next time.
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Re: International #PortDay

Post by Roy Hersh »

Andrew,

Why not organize something really simple, like everyone bring a bottle of Port that doesn't suck. [cheers.gif]

It can be a very causal get together and doesn't have to be an elaborate theme or scheme, just a bunch of people enjoying Port all together on the same day from around the globe!
Ambition driven by passion, rather than money, is as strong an elixir as is Port. http://www.fortheloveofport.com
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Roy Hersh
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Re: International #PortDay

Post by Roy Hersh »

It is odd that the Port trade does not seem to be embracing or helping to promote this event for the Center for Wine Origins. If ever there was a low-cost no-brainer that is designed to help the Port trade, this seems to be it. [shrug.gif] [friends.gif]
Ambition driven by passion, rather than money, is as strong an elixir as is Port. http://www.fortheloveofport.com
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Roy Hersh
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Re: International #PortDay

Post by Roy Hersh »

International #PortDay is Jan. 27th 2012. Please tell all of your friends and colleagues to open a bottle of Port on that day, share some Port with people they know or introduce someone new to Port. Anything that YOU can do to help promote #Port Day, would be a step in the right direction. Are you willing to help in this world wide effort? [help.gif]
Ambition driven by passion, rather than money, is as strong an elixir as is Port. http://www.fortheloveofport.com
Rob C.
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Re: International #PortDay

Post by Rob C. »

Roy Hersh wrote:It is odd that the Port trade does not seem to be embracing or helping to promote this event for the Center for Wine Origins.
It is also hard to tell what the Center for Wine Origins are themselves doing. Beyond the announcement on their website, the (US-only) ipad competition, and making leaflets available on request, is there any active promotion of this day being done by them? (the website refers to information for organised retail and restaurant tastings "coming soon"...)

As far as i can see you have gone above and beyond the call of duty in promoting this but it would be interesting to know what (if anything) is happening beyond your efforts.
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Re: International #PortDay

Post by Andrew E »

Roy, I think you're going to have to call upon your Puyallup Fair skills and whip them into shape.
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Re: International #PortDay

Post by Roy Hersh »

Rob,

I found out about this event because the Center for Wine Origins did send out an email to the wine trade here in the USA which was distributed far and wide from what I am aware of. So, I do believe they are very involved in spreading the word to the "gatekeepers" rather than directly to consumers.

I believe it is OUR job, the people who post on various wine and Port forums, to spread the word; use social media as much as possible and get the energy moving around the globe. I have done a lot of this during the weekend, in a variety of FB pages that I know will help, and also a number of wine websites.

Who else here is going to help do the same? [shrug.gif]

I can't do this all alone. [beg.gif]
Ambition driven by passion, rather than money, is as strong an elixir as is Port. http://www.fortheloveofport.com
Ronald Wortel
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Re: International #PortDay

Post by Ronald Wortel »

I'm a bit skeptical about this. Although I can't be against an initiative to promote Port wine, I don't think that creating an International Port Day is the way. There are so many International Something days that there are not enough days in the year to fit them into. As a consequence these Something days have an added value of absolutely nothing. For exceptional causes like cancer awareness, AIDS day etc, this method will surely work, but the promotion of a product needs a different approach, like a long lasting promotional campaign aimed at consumers, combined with an educational campaign aimed at the trade. This however needs the support of boards such as IVDP and ViniPortugal... and we all know how active they are... Still, I feel that would be the only way that works. Just my :twocents:
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Rob C.
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Re: International #PortDay

Post by Rob C. »

Roy Hersh wrote:
I found out about this event because the Center for Wine Origins did send out an email to the wine trade here in the USA which was distributed far and wide from what I am aware of. So, I do believe they are very involved in spreading the word to the "gatekeepers" rather than directly to consumers.
Ok - this is fair enough - i did not appreciate this.

I am not particularly a social media person (nor are the majority of my friends) but i will be holding a tasting with some non-port drinkers to take them through the styles of port available at the UK supermarkets and one VP/colheita (perhaps also something special from the cellar).

Was thinking:

Ruby: Cockburn Special Reserve (waitrose/tesco)
LBV: Warre 2001 (waitrose)
Crusted: Graham 2003 (tesco)
10 yr Tawny: Sainsbury own-label
Supermarket VP: Tesco 94 or Sainsbury 03
Colheita: ?
VP: Churchill 85
Then something a bit older with good pedigree!

Croft 04 LBV half bottles are back on sale at Tesco for £4.00. I might dish a few of those out amongst my department at work as well since they are drinking quite nicely right now...
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Andy Velebil
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Re: International #PortDay

Post by Andy Velebil »

While I planned on having something for this work decided to toss a curve ball in and I was scheduled to work. Did some serious bargaining today and looks like I'll have this day off again. Must figure a plan of action quick....
Andy Velebil Good wine is a good familiar creature if it be well used. William Shakespeare http://www.fortheloveofport.com
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