Port consumption by location??

[Jay Woodruff]

Read the article from the NYT that Mario had reposted and the tagline about the temperature.


So, aside from anecdotal data, does anyone know what the port comsumption is like in various locales as related to climate?


I always presume that here in the desert of Arizona there are fewer drinkers of port, especially VP, than somewhere colder. Also that those who do drink port, drink less due to the heat. Since many people change the type of wines they drink throughout the year (more whites/roses in the summer, heartier reds in the winter), what is the port intake, on average, of someone in Seattle (exluding Roy ) versus Phoenix, AZ? I do not think white port has enough distribution in the US to amount to much.


Some of this may be due to availability, but ...

[Jason Brandt Lewis]

Jay, I doubt that anyone really keeps reords . . .

I am sure that, for example, Premium Port Works can (and does) track how many cases are shipped here or shipped there, but that's done by wholesaler -- not by urban location. Thus, in a state like Arizona, PPW would know how many cases of Symington-owned Ports were shipped to AZ, but not how much was a) consumed in Phoeniz, versus Flagstaff; b) shipped into state direct to consumers by out-of-state retailers [where legal, of course]; c) shipped to retailers via a Grey Market wholesaler; d) and so on and so on . . . Add to that, they would probably have no idea how much Taylor or Fonseca was shipped into AZ by Kobrand . . . .

and so on and so on . . .

The U.S. as a whole DID supass the U.K. as the #1 consumer of VINTAGE Porto, but I believe every other category the U.S. lags reasonably far behind. I remember reading somewhere that the French are the largest consumers of Ruby Porto -- don't know if that is still true, though.

Cheers,
Jason

[Jay Woodruff]

We surpassed in volume of VP but how about per capita? Har far behind are we there yet?

[Derek T.]

I find this a very interesting debate.

I live in the UK and love to drink all types of port, especially VP and Colheita. In the past 2 years I have visited the US (Virginia) and the Carribean (St Maarten) and on both occasions have have tasted premium port and did not enjoy the experience.

When I drink port at home I enjoy the taste (obviously) but also the warming experience that it brings to the mouth, throat and chest. In warmer climates this experience is lost and the port seems somewhat bland and uninteresting.

I would be interested to know what people from warmer climates think of tasting port in the UK - is sipping a 1963 VP in a wine bar in London very different from downing a glass of the same port in the humidity and heat of Orlando?

[Jay Woodruff]

Derek,

I think it is. Every bottle of any win is different depending upon the company and locale in which it is enjoyed. I think a glass in London on a cold evening would b much better than a warm day lounging on the beach in Grand Cayman. Same wine? Yes. Different though.


I think just as wine can color an event (or colour if we are in London ) I think that the event can also color the wine, so to speak.


I often tend towards the colheitas more in the summer than VP.