For The Love Of Port

I've been mostly a table wine guy, recently discovering the glory of Port. I hadnt even heard of Maderia until I found this site.

I see Maderia at a few of my favorite wine haunts, but dont know what to try as my first? Are there different kinds, like port (VP, LVB, Crusted, Tawney, Ruby, ...).

Or is one Maderia of a year pretty must the same as another Maderia of the same year?

Which bottle would you suggest for virgin taste buds? Say, somewhere under $75.

A good one to start with, and one Roy has recommended to me and scores of others, is the

Broadbent Malmsey 10 year old

It runs about $35-45 a bottle. But if you got a Beverages and More near you it is on sale for $38.00. (I just picked one up about 15 minutes ago)

I Highly recommend it to start with.

is one Maderia of a year pretty must the same as another Maderia of the same year?

Defintely not. Leaving aside the obvious differences from the different grape types and their sweetness, even the same wine from the same grapes grown in the same year will be different from different shippers, depending on:
(i) the style to which the shipper blends
(ii) the year in which the wines were bottled (ie. which spent more time maturing in the barrel)

I drink very little Madeira, but I enjoy the occasional glass and have found some of the differences between shippers to be quite remarkable when you think that the wines are supposed to have been from the same grapes grown in the same year.

But have fun starting on this new voyage of discovery.

Alex

Like Andy mentioned, the Broadbent 10 year old Malmsey is my personal favorite for everyday drinking. I buy this by the case each year.

Another enjoyable one is from The Rare Wine Co.'s "Historic Series" and is the Bual. I believe the cost is approx. $40 and it can be found by going to their website.