Growing your own Port education

[Roy Hersh]

Hopefully between what you've been drinking and some of your reading here on and elsewhere, your collective Port wisdom continues to grow, in some cases, exponentially.

Please share what you believe is the greatest or most important thing you learned about Port in 2009?

[Peter W. Meek]

It's possible to enjoy other ports than Tawny Ports?

[Michael Hann]

I am a port newbie, so I learned a lot. Just picking one thing out: it was a major learning event for me to find out that I could decant without filtering -- just pour with a steady hand. While this was scary at first, I have been surprised to find out that it is not difficult and is easily done without adverse consequences. In the past I have stood up my red wines (French and Spanish red wines, mostly) well in advance of opening and then filtering through ordinary coffee filters. I now understand that filtering can remove some desirable flavor elements and can also introduce some unwanted flavor elements from the filter. Live and learn.

[Steve E.]

What I learned about Port in 2009 can be summed up in the statement, "regardless of what Port you're drinking, it will taste better in Porto." And to take it a step further, it will taste better sitting in the Solar do Vinho do Porto in Porto.

[Derek T.]

My greatest learning experience of 2009 was undoubtedly my encounters with tasting the 2007 vintage. I have lost count of how many different wines I have tasted but it is probably in the region of 30+, with most being tasted from 2, 3 or even 4 bottles. I was also lucky enough to be given the oportunity to taste all of the component samples of all the Symington VPs at the Graham's lodge at a tasting hosted by Dom Symington. I am certainly still a novice when it comes to tasting newly released VP but my first toe-in-the-water experience with 2007 has left me craving more oportunities to continue up this learning curve.

Roll on the 2008 cask samples

[Daniel R.]

I learned the importance of time when decanting VP. I have started decanting much earlier than I used to and the results are very significant.

[Roy Hersh]

Daniel,

Very cool. What do you notice as the most significant difference(s) when extending the decant times?

[Glenn E.]

These are a lot of fun to read because I can relate to all of them.

I started out a tawny man and didn't "learn to like" VP until early 2008. So Peter's note rings true for me as well.

Like Michael, I have learned to decant pretty well without filtering. I do use a mesh strainer, but that's more for contrast to help me see when the sediment starts to intrude into the stream than for its actual filtering properties.

I have a photo almost exactly like Steve's that I took in 2007, and agree with him that Port tastes better in Porto. I think it tastes even better at the Quinta, sitting on the deck watching the river traffic float by on the Douro.

I still haven't figured out how long to give any particular Port in the decanter, but like Daniel I'm slowly increasing my decant times. I'm realizing that there's quite a bit of give on the "too long" side of the equation so if you give a Port 8-10 hours and the optimum should have been 5-6 it's going to be fine. But if you don't give the Port enough time it may not show well at all, so unless you're talking about a really old Port your best bet for a good showing seems to be to give it extra time.

But for me all of those learning experiences came in 2007 or 2008.

Like Derek, 2009 was my first experience with cask samples and tasting VP fresh off the bottling line. Wow! Very fun, very tasty, but also very difficult all at the same time. Cask samples aren't really like anything else that I'd tasted before... they're bigger, bolder, fresher, and more powerful. They also sandblast the taste buds right off your tongue! With Roy as my guide I was able to learn how to process many (hopefully most!) of the components that are necessary for a Port to have a long and delicious life. Roy is an excellent teacher and I'm very fortunate to live so close. My ratings didn't always agree with his, but I didn't expect them to - he has far more experience! Plus I'm just a sucker for a big, juicy, fruit bomb of a young Port.

[Daniel R.]

Daniel,

Very cool. What do you notice as the most significant difference(s) when extending the decant times?

Well, I used to decant VP because of the sediment about 1 or 2 hours before drinking. I have seen very old tawnies (more than 100 years) evolve very quickly after opening (4 or 5 hours) and I perhaps this has affected my perception.

After joining FTLOP I read a lot of information on decanting time and started experimenting. The most important difference for me is that a certain type of harshness (I don't know how to describe it better) in some bottles disappears after adequate decanting time and the wine shows much better (with the aromas and flavours clearer and sharper). I have yet to discover that I have decanted for too long. I do not currently own pre-1977 VP, I guess in very old port too much air may harm the wine.

I have also learned to be more disciplined (read: drink less) beacause I am curious to know how it will drink the following day...

[Andy Velebil]

I have also learned to be more disciplined (read: drink less) beacause I am curious to know how it will drink the following day...

Just open two bottles at the same time and problem solved Seriously, I like your thinking and if possible I too like to save at least a glass or two for the next day to see how it holds up with extended time.

[Roy Hersh]

So what did you learn this year Andy?

For me, first and foremost ... I learned that tasting flights of 16 or 17 young cask samples is probably not a good idea and will do my best to stick to 2-8 per flight in future ventures.

I also learned that women may take copious notes at a tasting, but when it comes to Port ... they'll never post TNs on any BB or wine Forum.

From the newsletter segment, A Question For The Port Trade, I Iearned about the racking process for Tawny Port in terms of frequency and how that affects the final blend and what it actually does to help the product. I only wish others would come up with great questions for AQFTPT so I would not have to be the only one these days to think of things that the trade should respond to.