For The Love Of Port

For those of you that need an excuse ... there will be a pretty killer buying op, just in time for Christmas. Likely during the 2nd week in December. No need to ship, but you will likely want to buy in on this one!

"Honey, now I know EXACTLY what I want from Santa" ... the perfect gift for ... YOU.

OH NO! Christmas gifts and Port! My credit card company will be happy at least.

Actually, those with access to this deal might be more than happy. Still in negotiations but it will be taking place soon. More news to follow.

Exciting!! Can you unveil any more details?? Tawny or Ruby? Or both??

When should we expect an announcement?

Will it be only for US buyers?

a. it will be in the next newsletter, early in Dec.

b. Unfortunately, ONLY for the US market.

c. working closely with a name you can all trust.

I have spent months trying to work out a deal with Quinta do Tedo, but for several reasons it became just way too difficult to make it work for buyer's benefit.


Additionally, for the next one, (after this) I've already been in negotiations on 1994 Vintage Ports ... given they will be 20 years of age and the provenance and pricing will be quite advantageous.

Roy Hersh wrote:Additionally, for the next one, (after this) I've already been in negotiations on 1994 Vintage Ports ... given they will be 20 years of age and the provenance and pricing will be quite advantageous.

Almost bought a 6-pack of V94 today... for $100/bottle!

It looks like the deal will be offered and the sale will take place on Dec. 9th - 13th. The rest of the details will be in the newsletter.

Hi-Not sure if I'm missing something, but I just subscribed to the newsletter (in part to get in on this offering, though I'm sure the newsletter will be worthwhile on its own), and I don't see any posted newsletters most recent than November 2013. Will a new one be coming out tomorrow?

Eric,
It will be out soon in the upcoming newsletter. Hang in there just a bit longer. And get that credit card ready :)

In full candor, the retailer I had been negotiating with bailed on the deal as stocks of the good stuff were depleted from their inventory and what was left, was not all that exciting from a price and producer standpoint. I've spent most of the last five or six days putting something together quickly and will know for sure tomorrow if this will all work out. It is entirely focused on Vintage Ports. They have the goods and can ship and all the rest of the jazz. But since this is importer direct, they are not set up to handle credit card transactions and although they have the ability and license to ship direct to consumers, they've never done that before, because it is not their business model. I am sure this is more info than you expected or even want.

Anyway, I've had to hold up the newsletter while this all gets ironed out. There is a great article on Madeira and a fantastic article on Port in addition to this buyer's opportunity and some of the usual features. I appreciate you being patient while I help this importer work through some of the minor details and shipping legalities. News and the newsletter WILL reach you before the end of this week, no matter what! Sorry for the delay.

Hey Roy... Are we ever going to get to read your notes on the 2011's?

Roy Hersh wrote:I am sure this is more info than you expected or even want.

No, this is good info. I like to understand the system and its working so I can understand why things cost what they do, and who is involved. Then I can have an intelligent conversation with the wine manager at a local b&m and discuss why I bought my 2011 Smith Woodhouse online, and why he might be able to get a good price on some other wines I am interested in.

And yes, I'm looking forward to the 2011 TNs as well.

Roy Hersh wrote:I am sure this is more info than you expected or even want.
[...]
News and the newsletter WILL reach you before the end of this week, no matter what! Sorry for the delay.

I am w Eric that better more than less. Great to have a sense of the inner workings of it all.

Looking fwd to your notes on the 2011s!

So the newsletter at the end of this week, (I will be done hopefully sooner if this deal works out well which at the moment is looking solid, but Stewart is moving into a new house w/ his family and he actually converts to .pdf and sends them out through some techno-magic that I don't want to understand ... actually I do, but pretend not to. ). The current one has a fantastic article/TN's from Ports between 1851-1994 and is issue #78. The year end ... or will it be beginning (?) #79 with nearly 70 TN's and a detailed article on the 2011's will be in the subsequent issue of the newsletter and I think that there will be things in that one, that will best my 2011 article. Seriously!

Now back to my writing.

As a newbie, I have a question.

From the experience of past buying ops, are there states where one cannot participate due to draconian wine shipping laws? I live in MA, where we appear to be on the fence. The laws seem to not allow direct inbound shipping, but the legislature looks interested in fixing it at some point.

Thanks, Mike

Mike K. wrote:As a newbie, I have a question.

From the experience of past buying ops, are there states where one cannot participate due to draconian wine shipping laws? I live in MA, where we appear to be on the fence. The laws seem to not allow direct inbound shipping, but the legislature looks interested in fixing it at some point.

Thanks, Mike

Hi Mike,
Yes, wine can legally only be shipped to states which allow it. Sadly, at this point, MA does not allow shipping into the state as far as I am aware. However, there has to be a work-around somehow. Such as shipping to a nearby legal state, then driving to pick it up. Hopefully some of our MA residents will chime in here with more advice.

Andy Velebil wrote:

Mike K. wrote:As a newbie, I have a question.

From the experience of past buying ops, are there states where one cannot participate due to draconian wine shipping laws? I live in MA, where we appear to be on the fence. The laws seem to not allow direct inbound shipping, but the legislature looks interested in fixing it at some point.

Thanks, Mike

Hi Mike,
Yes, wine can legally only be shipped to states which allow it. Sadly, at this point, MA does not allow shipping into the state as far as I am aware. However, there has to be a work-around somehow. Such as shipping to a nearby legal state, then driving to pick it up. Hopefully some of our MA residents will chime in here with more advice.

Some merchants will ship here, others do not. Both can be in the same state of origin. Not sure what to tell you on this... Some merchants won't ship to NH either.

I am no lawyer and always advise to stay within the law, but officer Andy knows legal and not, so I defer to his wisdom.

Work-around ... I can think of another way. Get the wine shipped to a friend in a neighboring legal state. Then have them ship to you. But you'd have to check whether even that is legal in MA or not.

Newsletter will be done late today and in Stewart's hands to get out within 24 hours. Just waiting for one final item (which credit cards are acceptable) from the importer who set up a new merchant account to handle our transactions and then I can hit send. Sitting by the phone.