Ordering from Garrafeira Nacional

[Daniel Fraley]

Just spent the last 20 minutes drooling over Garrafeira Nacional's madeira catalog. Has anyone here had a good experience ordering and shipping to the US? Love the variety of bottles they have, most of which I've never seen on RWC, etc. Looking to break out a bit with the different offerings. Any advice is appreciated.

[Roy Hersh]

I've been to their shops and am not all that enthused about the storage conditions of the bottles. While sun and standing up are not deal killers for Madeira, nor occasionally over zealous pricing by GN, I will admit they have some bottlings never seen in the USA. Trying to ship wines from PT to the USA is fraught with issues for consumers. Unless in large quantities of a pallet or more, it is just a bit difficult to arrange and make sure the paperwork is all handled properly. If traveling to Lisbon is already part of the plan, I strongly suggest bringing the wine back to America in wine luggage of some sort. There are companies that can consolidate orders and bring them to the USA, but you'll have to do some serious research and check out recommendations.

[Thomas V]

How about ordering port from the GN webshop?

I have been digging around for a proper place to spend a couple of 100 dollars worth to build up my cellar. The prices seem decent and they have a fairly large selection and not only 1 or 2 producers.