For The Love Of Port

I disagree with your comment on those liquors as in the 1980s they were all hot, but then again you weren't old enough to drink yet, so how would you know?

Sogrape (Sandeman), TFP and the Symington's all have enormous advertising budgets that do get spent and are very visible. Maybe you are looking at the wrong place.

Roy Hersh wrote: Sogrape (Sandeman), TFP and the Symington's all have enormous advertising budgets that do get spent and are very visible. Maybe you are looking at the wrong place.

Exactly; their spending is visible to industry people, not to the consumers they long to attract.

I am not looking in the wrong places, I am the eyes of a potential consumer. They are advertising in the wrong places. Show me some advertising for anything port related directed towards a younger crowd?

Everyone knows Cristal, Dom, Remy XO, but no one knows Nacional or Fonseca... because they have not been force fed and have no association towards those products. Even the single malt crowd in their 20's-30's have little exposure or know what to buy in port. I get asked a million times if Six Grapes is any good, not the more expensive stuff.

The association the young have with port is at under $20, yet they have the pockets to spend more, they just don't know yet...

Check through the Wine Spectator where Graham's and Fonseca and Sandeman are frequent advertisers. Is that not main stream enough? Look I am sure more people read Playboy, Sports Illustrated and TV Guide, but you must choose your battles when it comes to where you spend your money on marketing. I certainly agree the shippers could be more visible in print ads.

Grahams did run some adverts for its LBVs in the sports section of the Times around Christmas/New Year which is a bit further towards the Gallo/Mateus end of the advertising market.

-Jacob

Roy Hersh wrote:Check through the Wine Spectator where Graham's and Fonseca and Sandeman are frequent advertisers. Is that not main stream enough? Look I am sure more people read Playboy, Sports Illustrated and TV Guide, but you must choose your battles when it comes to where you spend your money on marketing. I certainly agree the shippers could be more visible in print ads.

Roy,

You asked an interesting question to start this thread. Moses suggested Brand advertising to the masses. Therefore your point of whether Wine Spectator is not mainstream enough has to be answered in the negative. I would suggest there is a pattern emerging. Your very close to the industry, and it appears it (advertising) is all directed at the comfort zone. Your reasoning, and there's nothing wrong with it as a strategy, mirrors that view. That may get closer to answering your original question. There may not be a younger market out there, but advertising in Wine Society is never going to find it.

Alan

I also think it's a question of what you advertise and what you're trying to achieve with your advertising spend.

If you're trying to increase the awareness and sales of low end Ports, seen as a competitor to every day leisure drinking then the brands (presumably rubies and white ports) should be pushed in the mainstream press, supermarkets and bars - get the message of port 'n' tonic out into the bars for this summer. Sponsor a bar in a handful of cities for a month so that all the white port they sell you supply for free.

On the other hand, if you are targetting the nouveau riche and are trying to push your top brands in order to support an increase in price, then promote your top brand in the exclusive generalist magazines. "VVV - a Port made 3 times a decade and only available to the select few. Be one of only 1,000 people worldwide to own a case. Deliciously exclusive. Refreshingly expensive." Get it into the magazines being read by the conspicuously wealthy in Russia and Asia and watch the demand and price soar.

But this is not necessarily about getting the young into Port, this is more about getting more people into Port.

Mind you, I was in a pub last week and heard someone order a Port 'n' Lemonade for the first time in about 20 years - and it was being ordered by a woman I would estimate to be in her early 20s, so there may be hope yet...

Alex

Alan and Alex, good points and fun reads! Thanks.

I got a particular chuckle out of the Port n Lemonade mention.

Alex, this is something I have only read about and bet that 99% fo Americans and possibly Canadians too are clueless about this anachronistic drink. Tell us a story.

Roy Hersh wrote:Check through the Wine Spectator where Graham's and Fonseca and Sandeman are frequent advertisers. Is that not main stream enough?

Not at all. I don't know anyone who reads that except for wine mavens and that is not the crowd they should go after. How about various style & fashion or music magazines?

Why preach to the choir?

Port and Lemanade.....now that takes me back 30 odd years to the time when flared trousers were the rage and John Travolta was a god (First Time Around) :) Ladies just loved this drink in the Uk.

Isnt the way to attract younger people to Port through education.Specially through the internet as it is such a powerful tool the ideal media.Sometimes it would seem that port is in a time warp of old fashion ideals and branding.Its the 21st century time to move forward chaps.

Nigel

Port and lemonade? What the? Would that be best with a tawny, perhaps? Ruby?

How about a Port-tini? 3 parts Vodka, 1 part port wine? Hey, I got dibs on that one!

Anyway, you still have to pry younger people away from what they normally drink - that being beer, martini's, rum and cokes, etc. My friends all know I sell port, have many port wines at home, have tried many at various parties we've held, but still won't think about ordering it when we all go out or buying a bottle themselves at the market. I am not insulted by this by any means - to them port wine is an experience. A novelty. And it's a glass or two. Tops. On Friday night, that's not gonna fly. Maybe a Tuesday dinner, but weekends are reserved for more than that.

Awareness is key too. I contantly run into people who have never heard of port wine.

Now, rumor is, Snoop-Dogg actually moved into Coto-de-Caza about 3 miles away. All I got to do is wait by the Arco, hit him up with a few free vintages when he's hitting the self-serve, get him to sip some Dow 77 and flash my business cards on his reality show - and we're golden, baby! Who's with me?

For me 10 year old Tawny in the summer on ice is not acceptable. I think, I must respect winemaker and his work. It's like taking Vivaldi's "Four seasons" and mix it with Beethoven's "For Eliza".
But if somebody prefers this way, I respect this choice.

Mark DaSilva wrote: How about a Port-tini? 3 parts Vodka, 1 part port wine? Hey, I got dibs on that one!

There's a fabulous cocktail called a Crimson (The Big Bar Book has another... dare I say better...recipe for it), that is great with either Ruby, or dry with Tawny. Not yet known in most bars. Give it a taste sometime, but have a driver on standby.

Stephen,

Re: Crimson. Gin with a ruby port? Ugh. Pass.

I would think the gin is exact opposite of what could be paired with port.

Even bourbon might pair better.

I'm sticking with my Port-tini

Here's the recipe I've been using and it really is quite good...

1-1/2 oz Gin
1/4 oz Grenadine
1/2 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice. Strain into a chilled Martini glass
Float 1/2 (or 1) oz Tawny Port over the drink (makes a drier Crimson than using Ruby)

So, what's in a Port-Tini? I'd love to try it...

The Port-tini is just something I thought of. I used to bartend in college around the time Cosmos came out. I'm thinking, 3 parts vodka, one part ruby port. Kind of like using Chambord. Or maybe float ruby port over a regular martini. And the ruby gives the Port-tini its distinct taste. Then, when you use different ruby ports, each with its own flavoring and aromas, voila.

Sounds great to me.