New Member (relatively speaking)

[Jeffrey Karp]

Hello Friends,

I've been a member since 11/05. I thought I'd take a moment to come out of view-only mode and introduce myself. Please forgive my length of post. I'll keep subsequent posts shorter. I simply want to share my passion and love of port with the group.

Vintage port has changed my life. I had my first VP (probably an LBV) just over 3 years ago after dinner at a Morton’s Steakhouse. I knew right away that I was onto something BIG. Fortunately for me, my wife and I shared that first experience together and immediately we dove into the world of port head-on and never looked back.

We started with the Graham's tawny sampler from Costco: splits of 10-yr, 20-yr, 30-yr and 40-year tawnys. What an incredible way to flesh out the differences between the blends and even as a novice, find a preference for the varied styles. My preference was for the 20-yr, my wife's for the 40-yr. It remains that way today.

Shortly thereafter, we tried an '85 Smith Woodhouse as our first true VP experience. We decanted it for all of 10 minutes (!!!!), which is embarrassing in hindsight, but we both managed to find something extraordinary in that attempt that made us want to continue further.

Well, being a rookie, I scoured the websites looking for deals on highly rated VPs. I found the Premier Cru website. Mind you, I knew very little about VP as I was more experienced with tawnys at that time. After reading the reviews of all of these wonderful and majestic VPs for sale, I decided to by half a case: two Graham's '63; three Dow '77, and I can't remember the other three, but I do remember very well the day our port arrived.

The Graham's '63 came in what appeared to be brand new looking green bottles with no labeling whatsoever other than a capsule that indicated Berry Bros, Graham's '63. I thought I had been hoodwinked, after all those were not cheap bottles! After being reassured by someone very patient at Premier Cru that they were British bottles and authentic, we decided to throw caution to the wind and open the Graham's later that evening. Crazy, but my very first in-depth venture with VP was with a Graham's '63!!!

Some of you may think I was fortunate, some might think I was foolhardy. I agree with those who thought me foolhardy or just plain stupid! Our decant time was as long as it took to strain the sediment. Essentially we drank straight from bottle to glass yet it was good, really good, but it had this strange metallic (what I thought at the time) taste in its core that I did not and could not appreciate back then. I wrongly deduced that something must be wrong with the Port; maybe it needed time to decant. I let it decant for 2 hours, metal taste still there, 4 hours, 6 hours, 8 hours later and it was still there so I gave up and went to bed. Sixteen hours later the port was weak and sweet (ruined) and the rest went down the drain. I learned a very important lesson that day, somewhat akin to buying an Aston Martin without *really* knowing how to appreciate the experience of the drive.

Before I opened my next bottle of VP, I went out and purchased as many books on Port as I could find. I studied those books as one would study in preparation for final exams. Richard Mason's books were indispensable, but Suckling and others too helped to educate as well. When I found finally my sea legs with VP, I found I wanted very little of the tawnys and that holds true today unless I'm at a restaurant or in Portugal. I do however appreciate Colheitas very much as an alternative to VP.

I still have that sister bottle of the first shipment of Graham's '63 in my vinotemp. It now comprises a Graham's vertical of '55 through '03. Also joining the vertical at different times are most of the major VP players from '63 onward, sans the Quinta do Noval Nacional. I've yet to have a Nacional. I'm honestly terrified to throw down for a '63 Nacional for fear of a bad bottle. I do however have what's left of half a case of the '63 Fonseca, the cornerstone of my collection, along with a bottle of both the Taylor '63 and '77, which I purchased directly from the Taylor Fladgate lodge in Nova da Gaia for the fun of it and the sheer provenance of the bottles.

Since those early days, my palate has developed and my knowledge base has been "fortified." Port has become a both a hobby and a ritual that I share with my wife routinely. Even my nine year-old stepson understands and verbalizes that "it's all about the port!"

In May of 2005, Laura and I spent ten days and took a private cellar tour of Northern Portugal. We went for the port and fell in love with the Portuguese people, their culture, their food, their history, their music (Fado) and their Saudade (national sentiment).

As Laura and I are Jewish, we focused part of our trip on the Jewish Heritage of Portugal. We were stunned and moved as we learned of the significant Jewish contribution to the halcyon days of global exploration for the Portuguese people and conversely, deeply saddened learning of the subsequent decline of Portuguese power as a result of strong and painful Spanish influence in Portugal during the 18th century, i.e., The Inquisition.

As I mentioned earlier, Port has changed my life and the life of my family. For those who have yet to travel and see the Douro, Oporto and Lisbon for yourselves, I strongly suggest you to do it without haste. Roy's trips have the perfect itinerary for the real deal feel of the whole country, especially the people and the port! Again, we went for the port and fell in love with everything Portuguese!

Roy, I truly cherish this website and all of the members who post their thoughts, questions, tasting notes, etc. Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication for the love of Port. I'd love to raise a glass with you someday if you're ever in Scottsdale.

I guess that's more than enough of an introduction for now. I'll try to contribute more often to this site but in shorter form.

Until then, keep decanting! It's all about the port!

Jeff Karp
Scottsdale, Arizona

[Roy Hersh]

Thank you for the kind words Jeff. It is nice to see you clearly in the light of day (or night). We look forward to many more of your posts in the future.

May you and your wife, always share the passion of and for Port!

[Andy Velebil]

Jeff, Welcome to the site and I am glad you are now a "poster." Your post was great to read as I love to hear how people first "discover" port, get hooked, and fall in love with it. I look forward to more posts from you and your wife.