Does Port taste better at the source?

[Roy Hersh]

Often times you have some Port while visiting a Lodge or Quinta and the wine tastes amazing. You buy a bottle to bring home or buy a bottle upon returning home if it is available there. You open it, you enjoy it ... but it just doesn't taste as good as when you had it over in Portugal.

Has this ever happened to you? Have you found Ports taste better in the motherland? Or is this just a myth?

[Ronald Wortel]

That counts not only for port, but also for wine, cheese, and all other kinds of local food. The atmosphere, the feeling of being on holiday, it all plays an important role in the level of enjoyment.

[Glenn E.]

I think the atmosphere plays the dominant role, but I do also think that Port just tastes better when it is fresher.

Bottles that you drink in Portugal haven't been shipped across the Atlantic, and no matter how good the climate control is in the shipping container, that Port is still being sloshed around for a couple of weeks on a boat. That's fine for Madeira, but not so fine for Port.

[Moses Botbol]

I think the atmosphere plays the dominant role

Just like port tastes better in my Gullstream than it does at my parents' house :type:

[Eric Menchen]

I think it is not just location, but atmosphere and mood. I just had a very enjoyable glass of Tuke Holdsworth Personal Reserve. In fact, I'm on #2 at the moment. I opened it two nights ago and it was o.k. then--I liked it. But I spent this evening at a fado concert, listening to two hours of Portuguese singing. Tonight's pour was head and shoulders above the last two evenings. Yes, the Port could have changed, but I don't think that's what made the difference. While I'm still in Colorado, I guess I was virtually transported to Portugal for a little while.

[Eric Ifune]

I think all wines taste better when you're in a good mood, likely so at the source. Discussing the wine with the producer creates a synergy with the wine and amplifies its qualities.