Lots of new faces ... please introduce yourself

[Kim Wiggo]

Hello from Norway everybody!

Yeah, that weird little country (actually quite large, just sparsely populated) way up north, at the very edge of Europe, possibly vaguely mentioned by Tacitus, back in the day, as an island at the edge of the word, occupied by barbarians. Either that, or not mentioned at all. No wonder the Viking invasions came as a shock when they kept a blind eye to us for centuries…

I am a 33 (very soon to be 34) year old male (Scandinavian Kims are male, not female) from Norway, happily married to a Japanese woman, whom I met while living in New Zealand for a couple of years. My current occupation is as a service-coordinator in the electronics industry. Soon to be ten years in the same spot now, becoming too much of a routine, so I have started to look around for new challenges. Hopefully a new occupation within my many interests…time will show.

Wine, various drinks and food have always been interesting to me, though I am a master of none. As in many other fields, I am a constant learner. And I am a much better consumer than creator! I started drinking wine just after legal age here in Norway, which is 18, when “all” the other boys were drinking just beer. Don’t misunderstand, I drank beer as well, and lots of it. But wine had character, history and diversity I did not see in beer. Perhaps because I had already delivered an essay on beer, in Norwegian, in school when I was 15 and another essay in English, during graduation class in high school, focusing on Guinnes and draught. Beer might have been thoroughly explored territory at the time, while wine was mysterious and sensual. Not much later, I discovered port wine. And I have been in love ever since.

These days, when I and my friends are becoming more and more established, we have both more time and resources to tend to our hobbies! I myself do not have room for any great wine cellar at the moment, but I have a very good friend who has, and hopefully I and my family will relocate into a place with a decent cellar soon. Or at least, an extra room to indulge in wine and books. More importantly, we are now an established group of six to eight guys who meet from time to time for thematic wine, drink and food gatherings, organized by either one of us. We are stepping up this autumn; we are going on our first wine trip together. First destination is Burgundy and Dijon. Shorty after that though, it is time for our annual port gathering. And hopefully, depending on importers and such, we will have 2011 as this year’s theme.

A trip to Portugal with FTLOP is definitely on my top-list of things to do. I hope to be able to very soon. Portugal looks beautiful and from what I have seen and read so far, it seems that the hospitality in the Douro valley somewhat above average when it comes to wine districts of the world. Lastly, but definitively not least, I really really really want that experience of having several glasses of port, readily poured in glasses in front of me, sitting in the more temperate climate of Portugal while a local explains about the bottle and its history, and in my hand, the first of those glasses ready for my indulgence. My taste buds and olfactory region peaked.

Sorry if my introduction became to long. I tend to get carried away when I write. But I am really glad to have discovered For the Love of Port (through Cellar Tracker) and this community. I look forward to exchanging experiences and anticipations.

Kim

PS! A tip for anyone travelling to the Japan: try umeshu. It has a lot of the same characteristics as port wine, but made on the local small plum called Ume. No vintages, it is not their culture, but they do have 18 yo., 21 yo., etc.

[Michael T]

I enjoyed reading your intro. From New Zealand to Norway, talk about covering the globe. I visited Norway about 5 years ago while on a Baltic Sea cruise and would love to go back, but I must see Portugal first.

[Andy Velebil]

Hi Kim,

A wonderful introduction, thank you very much Let me you to the Forum, I am very glad you've found us. I hope you enjoy your time here, we are a very easy going group.

[Roy Hersh]

Hi Kim,

Thanks for taking my advice and making the time to come visit our forum.

Great to have you join us and wonderful to read your first post. I have a feeling from our emails that you are going to love it here!

Nice to have you and look forward to meet and drink together someday on one of our tours!

We officially welcome you to FTLOP!

[Kim Wiggo]

I enjoyed reading your intro. From New Zealand to Norway, talk about covering the globe. I visited Norway about 5 years ago while on a Baltic Sea cruise and would love to go back, but I must see Portugal first.

Thank you Michael. Yep, now I just have to fill in everything in between...
New Zealand was a good place to enjoy young and fresh rieslings and really juicy pinot noirs stright from the wineries. They also had their own version of port style (they just called it port) wine which was quite nice. Still a far shot from the proper version, but good on them for trying. Beautiful place, very casual. My wife and I hope to see our friends there agains soon.

Glad to see you liked Norway. It is a beautiful country and lots of nature. Even here where I live in the northern outskirts of the capital the forest is just three minutes walk away and the closest lake just after. And still I can see the sea (the Oslofjord, that is) from the hill just out back. Expensive place though, and I guess, even more expensive for visitors than for us who are working and living here.

Portugal is definetly on the top must see (and soon!) places!

[Kim Wiggo]

Hi Kim,

A wonderful introduction, thank you very much Let me you to the Forum, I am very glad you've found us. I hope you enjoy your time here, we are a very easy going group.

Thank you Andy!

[Kim Wiggo]

Hi Kim,

Thanks for taking my advice and making the time to come visit our forum.

Great to have you join us and wonderful to read your first post. I have a feeling from our emails that you are going to love it here!

Nice to have you and look forward to meet and drink together someday on one of our tours!

We officially welcome you to FTLOP!

Thank you Roy

I have only one concern...I get really thirsty every time I stop by!

And it would be absolutely great to dine and drink with you and other FTLOP members in a not too distant future.
Hey! You even got a little Viking smiley in here! (nerdy fact: the Japanese have translated the word viking with "eat and/or drink as much as you can". And they say the Vikings never got that far...hah!)

[BEN BBB]

From one Scandinavian to another, welcome. Live in Sweden but have lived/worked in Norway (hamar)

Do you have acces to systembolaget and their vines?

[Tony Carter]

Hi My Name is Tony Carter and I am from Hampshire in the UK.

I have had a fascination for vintage port for many years since learning about its history. I the whole cycle of growing, harvesting, production and declaration to be 'against the odds' and yet the end product can be amongst the fines wines in the world. I started collecting vintage port as a hobby after trying some about 20 years ago and developed this into a business, which over the past few years has blossomed. The Uk is a great place to find some rare bottles, particularly at auctions and private cellars. I have managed to put together a reasonable collection (including a few vintages of Nacional) which I do hope to add to over future years.

I think this is a great website and community. I really look forward to participating in some of the discussions.

Tony

[Miguel Simoes]

Welcome Tony!
Tell us more about your business. Am curious.
Love drinking port and def get super excited about collecting it, not sure how to turn it into something economically sensible though

[BEN BBB]

Hi My Name is Tony Carter and I am from Hampshire in the UK.

I have had a fascination for vintage port for many years since learning about its history. I the whole cycle of growing, harvesting, production and declaration to be 'against the odds' and yet the end product can be amongst the fines wines in the world. I started collecting vintage port as a hobby after trying some about 20 years ago and developed this into a business, which over the past few years has blossomed. The Uk is a great place to find some rare bottles, particularly at auctions and private cellars. I have managed to put together a reasonable collection (including a few vintages of Nacional) which I do hope to add to over future years.

I think this is a great website and community. I really look forward to participating in some of the discussions.

Tony

Welcome to the forum. Does your business have a website?

[Tony Carter]

Hi Miguel & Ben

Thanks for responding to my first post on this forum!

Yes there is a market in the UK and Europe for older ports - especially for anniversaries where it seems increasingly popular to give an aged wine or port. To this end I have sold several hundred bottles of 63 so far this year. If memory recalls Uk and Netherlands are amongst the largest market for vintage ports so there are a few around. There must be a thread on this. And yes, I actually have a couple of websites - However, I think forum rules prevent me from promoting them.

Cheers

Tony

[Eric Menchen]

And yes, I actually have a couple of websites - However, I think forum rules prevent me from promoting them.

I don't make or enforce the rules, but IMHO there is a difference between promoting and responding politely to a question
In any case, welcome to !

[Seven L.]

Hello there! I am a complete newbie when it comes to Port. I've never been much of a drinker of any wine or spirits, but after recently moving to Lisbon I was compelled by the relatively cheap prices to start experimenting a little.

I tried a few regular red wines that were just ok, but didn't really do much for me before I decide to spring the few extra Euros for a bottle of Port. Knowing my luck, I probably made a horrible choice, but I really enjoyed it (it was a Calem Velhotes Ruby Porto). I have a sweet tooth, so I really like the extra sweetness that I find (when compared to other wines.)

I liked it so much that I went online to learn more about Port which, obviously, brought me to this website.

I'm going to be living here for about 2 years, so I want to take full advantage of my time here and enjoy the Port while it is easily available to me.

I welcome any advice or expertise that anyone here can offer.

[Miguel Simoes]

Welcome!
Plenty of room for improvement there :)
If you liked Velhotes, then try the Fonseca 2007 LBV (also a ruby style wine). You should be able to get it under €15 a bottle. You'll be blown away.
There are a few threads on the Forum reg what ports to try first. Check them out, will give you a good sense for what the different styles of Port are and how to approach them!
Take advantage of being in Portugal to visit Porto and the Douro!
Again,

[Andy Velebil]

Seven,

to the Forum, glad you found us and signed up. I'm sure you will get lots of advice on things to try to expand your knowledge, and satisfy your thirst, for Port with this group. Please ask any questions you may have, as no question is to "small" for this merry group of Port lovers.

[Seven L.]

I haven't seen any Fonseca yet. So far, the names I've seen most are Calem, Offley, and Ferreira. The store I was in tonight had a sale on Offley 10 Year Old Tawny for 50% off, so I was tempted to try that, but we were in a hurry and were only grabbing a few necessary groceries.

I just bought a car, so maybe we should just make a road trip up to Porto during one of the upcoming weekends.

[Andy Velebil]

More recent bottlings of the Offley 10 are quite nice. Id go back and get some if they still have them.

[Seven L.]

We are planning to go back Saturday for a bigger grocery trip, which was why I didn't mind passing it up yesterday.

[Joni H]

Hello from Finland! :) I'm a 34-year-old port wine lover just registered. I'm slowly building knowledge and have been reading this site once in a while. I've tasted various fortified wines and I have to say aged tawny ports (and colheitas) are the ones I enjoy the most.