For The Love Of Port

I have found myself, when I know I will be drinking a number of ports in an evening, carefully avoiding certain foods during the day so as not to mess up my taste buds. I avoid all milk products and very spicy foods or foods with fresh garlic. I'm just curious if anyone else does this or if there are any foods you like to eat before as they are cleansing to the palate.

With Port I like the standard fare, dark chocolate, cashews, almonds and blue cheeses on a water or butter cracker.

Does anyone smoke cigars with their port? People have asked me that--I don't.

I would definitely avoid anything overly spicy or garlicky if I know I'm going to be drinking port soon thereafter. That would be the biggest one for me, aside from toothpaste (nothing more palate-destroying than that). Most other foods don't seem to interfere with my palate much, especially after I've had a few sips of port to cleanse it

I don't fuss much with what I eat before port. Better that have the "wrong" thing than nothing. Perhaps if I am going to a fancy vertical, I would pay attention to what I eat before going.

I smoke cigars with port, but I prefer them with Madeira, Sherry, or Champagne.

John M. wrote:I avoid all milk products and very spicy foods or foods with fresh garlic.

Dairy doesn't seem to affect me as long as I have 45 minutes or so between the dairy and the Port, but like you I also avoid spicy foods or foods with strong garlic.

If I'm going to a big tasting, I'll go ahead and eat whatever (except for spicy foods) and then have a glass of aged tawny (typically a 20-year old) 30-45 minutes before I leave for the tasting. The acidity in the tawny seems to help neutralize any remaining food effects and the alcohol helps to "prime the pump" so to speak.

I avoid sushi 100% of the time but I think sushi with port should be avoided 110% of the time

I agree with Moses,

At my level, no food would make me deny a decent glass of port...
After a meal with lots of wine, I've even combined using "snus" a kind of chewing tobacco with VP. Works fine

Thomas Tideman Holst wrote:I agree with Moses,

At my level, no food would make me deny a decent glass of port...
After a meal with lots of wine, I've even combined using "snus" a kind of chewing tobacco with VP. Works fine

Same here: General dry mini mint white.

I'm enjoying the repsonses. Likes Moses & Thomas, I'm up for a Port no matter what I ate. I was really thinking more before a tasting, not that it matters.

The idea of "cleansing" with a tawny or other Port before an event is interesting. I'll have to try that--perhaps Port is a cure-all....or maybe it's a Big Fat Greek Wedding moment and it will cure all mammer of ailments like Windex (but with Style)--Hoop-Ah!

Richard Henderson wrote:I avoid sushi 100% of the time but I think sushi with port should be avoided 110% of the time

Considering that I usually eat sushi/sashimi with wasabi and chili oil, I suspect I should avoid it before drinking almost anything except 22 oz Asahi beer or hot saki.

Richard Henderson wrote:I avoid sushi 100% of the time but I think sushi with port should be avoided 110% of the time

Got a good laugh out of this one. As much as I love Sushi, from experience Port and Sushi is a BAD combo

I also avoid very spicy foods and very hot drinks. I don't want to burn the palate and risk not being able to taste all the nuances the Ports/wines may have.

Tuna fish salad with onions is a no-no.

For me, anything goes, as long as I wait a while before drinking. This saturday I had a VERY hot indian vindaloo dish, and had some port half an hour later or so. No problem.

So , Andy, you HAVE had a sushi/port experience?
What were you not thinking?

Every time I have had sushi in the past year or so, we all adjourned to a different bar for wine and port after. However I would characterize that as more of a drinking than a tasting. It certainly didn't make the port taste bad.

You know Peter, I think that was a wise move to drink port as quickly as possible after eating sushi. Anything to get the taste of sushi out of your mouth as quickly as possible!

Richard Henderson wrote:So , Andy, you HAVE had a sushi/port experience?
What were you not thinking?

Yes, I love sushi and I love Port so I thought I'd try them together. Boy was that a mistake. It wasn't so much the fish, but the soy sauce and Port combo was just plain horrible

Actually, the sushi is just a savory platform to carry the wasabi and chili oil to the mouth.