How far have you travelled just for a Port tasting?

[Glenn E.]

Not necessarily the farthest tasting you've ever gone to, but the farthest you've gone specifically for a Port tasting.

For example, I've attended a tasting in London, but that was on the tail end of the 2010 Port Harvest Tour which was the real reason for that trip. So that one doesn't count for me. Similarly, the real reason that I go to NYC every March is to accompany my wife to the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. So the fact that we stage an annual ACPT tasting during the tournament also doesn't count.

However, the first tasting I ever went to was also in NYC and it was the reason for the trip. So the 2008 Old & Odd makes another appearance in an FTLOP thread. Honorable Mention goes to the trip I took down to Andy's in Los Angeles for a dinner/tasting with Oscar Quevedo. I drove down from Seattle. In my smart car. Hey, what can I say? I was unemployed at the time, so I had more time than money!

What about everyone else? How far have you travelled just to attend a Port tasting?

[Eric Menchen]

2x Denver to Seattle
1x Denver to LA, with another to follow this weekend

I was thinking maybe we could do a tasting in Denver some time, since Denver Metro State has a hospitality school with hotel, restaurant, wine program, etc., and I know some of the faculty. (They have racks and racks of Riedel glassware, but I don't know if they have Port glasses.) It might be kind of like the LA place this weekend. But I checked the hotel and the rates aren't inviting for a Mariott Springhill Suites. Something to think about, maybe another thread ...

[Andy Velebil]

Outside the Port Harvest Tour in Portugal. The longest I've gone has been London for a tasting. IIRC, it was the Graham's Malvedos vertical which was the first time I had traveled there specifically for just that tasting. Worth every penny and jet lag.

[Eric Ifune]

Port, Las Vegas to Seattle.
Madeira, Las Vegas to NYC.

[Moses Botbol]

BOS - NYC for Grahams tasting in which Julian was in attendance

[Paul Fountain]

I've now planned two holidays around a harvest tour - Does that Count? Yes I did other stuff along the way, but the starting point was the harvest tour in both instances.

[Al B.]

I used to do a lot of travelling in the course of my work and usually found it fairly easy to meet up with fellow port lovers at most of my destinations, but since those journeys were for work I guess they don't count - the port was just a bonus.

So the furthest I have travelled where port was the sole purpose of my journey must be my trip from the UK to Seattle in June/July 2007 when I met up with Roy, Stewart, Andy and a bunch of others for a long weekend of port debauchery which started with a bottle of Morgan 1945 and ended 4 days later with a couple of 1815 vintage ports. 33 bottles of port and around 20 bottles of top quality table wine were consumed that weekend, a weekend which became an inspiration for my own 50th birthday celebration 6 years later.

My opportunities to travel are less now than they used to be, but now that my wife and I are about to become empty-nesters who knows what might be possible...

[Glenn E.]

My opportunities to travel are less now than they used to be, but now that my wife and I are about to become empty-nesters who knows what might be possible...

I certainly hope that you can make it to the 1985 horizontal that I'll be hosting next year! We can repeat your "longest Port trip" for another weekend in Seattle!

[dom carter]

Hi Glenn,

Your house!!!!!

Google maps puts that 4,810 miles - but it was worth it! (1970 Taylor's!)

http://www.fortheloveofport.com/ftlopfo ... f=3&t=9551

What do i win?

Regards

Dom

[Glenn E.]

Your house!!!!!

Google maps puts that 4,810 miles - but it was worth it! (1970 Taylor's!)

http://www.fortheloveofport.com/ftlopfo ... f=3&t=9551

Ah, the memories! I just re-read the entire thread. That was a great tasting!

[dom carter]

hi,

Yes it was good fun - apart from the 1970 taylor and the '75 Kopke and a certian young ladies' cookies, my most endearing memory is of your Doggies (Yorkshire terriers????) visiting mid-tasting and causing chaos - brilliant!!!

Dom

[Sandy Becker]

Not counting 3 FTLOP tours to Portugal/Madeira (they were all outstanding), we've gone:
- With Glenn 4 times to NYC for the ACPT tastings
- Once to Edmonton for the DeVines tasting
- Once to San Francisco for the premiere of Zev Robinson's film "Life on the Douro" and Broadbent/Quevedo tasting

[Roy Hersh]

Seattle to South Beach, Miami FL, arguably the longest diagonal across the USA. I am not counting a trip later this year to Denmark, because it is later this year and has not taken place as of yet.

[Mahmoud Ali]

I haven't traveled far by way of driving or flying distance to attend a port tasting but I did ride my bicycle a considerable distance to collect a couple of bottles of Fonseca port for Bruce Guimaraens to sign at a local tasting. It was a marvelous - we tasted the '70 Fonseca and it was there that Bruce declared the 2000 vintage - we even tasted the barrel sample. Years later I bought a few bottles of the 2000 VP, however the highlight of the evening for me was Bruce signing my bottle of the '78 Guimaraens and the '77 VP, the latter which is still collecting dust.

Cheers.................Mahmoud.

[Andy Velebil]

I haven't traveled far by way of driving or flying distance to attend a port tasting but I did ride my bicycle a considerable distance to collect a couple of bottles of Fonseca port for Bruce Guimaraens to sign at a local tasting. It was a marvelous - we tasted the '70 Fonseca and it was there that Bruce declared the 2000 vintage - we even tasted the barrel sample. Years later I bought a few bottles of the 2000 VP, however the highlight of the evening for me was Bruce signing my bottle of the '78 Guimaraens and the '77 VP, the latter which is still collecting dust.

Cheers.................Mahmoud.

Very cool story!