For The Love Of Port

Hi all

This is my first post here, so hello to everyone. I have recently started to 'get into' port after moving to Portugal but have yet to try anything expensive (due to budget) although here even the cheapest port is delicious.

I have recently found some reference to purchasing a bottle of port as a gift for a newborn as it would have matured nicely for their 18th or 21st birthday. Please can anyone give me some advice regarding this and how to pick the right port?

Thanks
Sarah

What year is the child born or expected to be born? General rule of thumb is to use the birth year if it is a declared vintage, or the closest (I would go to the vintage previous) to the birth year if the birth year is not a vintage.

If you are buying one bottle, try to go for a magnum if possible

The baby has just arrived!! How do I go about finding the right bottle, I mean, would any vintage port be suitable, i.e. that I can find in my supermarket?

Thanks
Sarah

Hi Sarah,

Welcome to the most Port fun you will ever have without drinking it!
Glad to have you here at the For The Love Of Port Forum.

Congratulations on the birth of your baby and I hope you are enjoying the warm weather in the Algarve. What a beautiful part of the country you have chosen to reside.

Lemme think about this for a moment and add some comments shortly.

Best regards,

Roy

Hi Sarah, and welcome! I will second all the congratulations for the arrival of your baby.

Typically there is no thought if the year the baby is born in is a declared year. In this case, 2007 will be declared in the summer of 2009, if it is to be generally declared. (Usually there is a general declaration by the majority of the port producers three times a decade.)

If 2007 is NOT declared widely (we'll have to wait to see how the summer and what the grape yields and quality are like) then you have a couple of choices: choose a generally-declared year closest to the year of birth (these general declarations are usually the classic vintages that stand up for literally decades and are the really special ones) or you can find a SQVP (Single Quinta Vintage Port) or 2nd label Vintage Port that are available usually on years when a classic VP is not produced.

In my own case, my two kids are born in 2003 and 2005. 2003 is a no-brainer for my son as this was the last generally-declared year this decade (2000 was the other.) 2005 was NOT a generally-declared year, but there are several producers, including some very good ones that have declared VPs, such as Niepoort, Noval, along with some 2nd labels from the big houses such as Taylor Fladgate (released a 2005 Vargellas) and Fonseca (released a 2005 Guimareans.)

In other words, there will be lots of choices, no matter what you end up deciding on.

Good luck and nest wishes with your new baby!

Todd

Hi all

Thanks for the replies, but actually the baby is a friend of mine's!!

Sarah

Hi again

If I'm not going to know until 2009, how can I get a bottle as a gift now? Sorry for the dumb questions, I really am a beginner at port.

Thanks
Sarah

Hi Sarah

Bottom line is that you can't, not if you want a 2007 vintage. But since the kid doesn't know about this for quite some time, you could give another bottle of port (e.g. ruby or tawny) which you'll replace with the real stuff in 2009. If 2007 turns out to be a year without declarations, you could decide to go for another vintage close to 2007 or to simply find another gift at that time.
Not the best solution, but you can't rush port.

-Lars

You could just buy a great bottle of something available right now, and apply a handwritten note to the bottle with your best wishes.

I've actually taken the labels off wine/port bottles and made my own personal label- keeping the shipper and vintage on it, but also with my personalized inscription and signature.

Sarah S. wrote:Hi again

If I'm not going to know until 2009, how can I get a bottle as a gift now? Sorry for the dumb questions, I really am a beginner at port.

Thanks
Sarah

Salut Sarah . Bienvenue .
There aren't any dumb questions , feel free to ask any regarding Port . There's a wealth of info , and we're only to happy to answer any questions , if we can't , just ask Roy :)

So the question remains:

Are you going to come up to Porto in October and say hello to the group?


Roy

It will be very tricky, I am hopefully going to the Minho area in September with a quick stop off to try some port in the Douro so I am not sure if I can go up again so soon.

Would like to though!

Sarah