FTLOP is proud to introduce you to: GEORGE SANDEMAN 1. Please share some information about your life and how you wound up working in the Port trade, and at what age? I was born in London in September 1953, because "my mother was there". My mother was Romero Valdespino by birth, descended of D. Alonso [...]
The FTLOP series, Port Personalities In Focus, is proud to introduce you to: Mark Squires 1. Please share some information about your life and how you wound up working as a wine writer after your career as a lawyer, initially covering Douro wines, then Port and eventually all of Portugal, as part of your extensive [...]
On a recent Port Harvest Tour, Mario Ferreira, (Tour Director) invited his lifelong friend, Elio Vicente to join us to create a unique enhanced video of our PHT2. In doing so, Elio would bring his expert skills as a drone videographer and editor to put together substantial footage for us. When you have [...]
Roy reviewed over seventy 2017 Vintage Ports when they were released. Download the 2017 Vintage Port Forecast and read about the vintage, read the tasting notes, and see his top picks for this vintage. Coming on the heels of two other good vintages (2015 & 2016), Roy finds a lot to like about the 2017s. [...]
Wine shipping from Portugal to over 30 countries! So you made it over here to visit Portugal. I am sure you have tried Port, or other Portuguese wines in the past and thought, "Wouldn’t it be great if we were able to ship some of these bottles, (or cases) back home instead of having to [...]
It all began in the restaurant business from the age of 26. Straight out of culinary school, and then earning a Hotel & Restaurant Management degree which landed me an excellent job in NYC. I was Back-of-House Manager at The Water Club. A sophisticated eatery where high rollers of New York came to dine, knowing [...]
Port Personalities In Focus is proud to introduce you to Marta Lourenço. This FTLOP Series has become vital in our mission to introduce readers to members of the Port, and Portuguese wine trade. In Focus brings you candid comments, personal perspectives, and a better understanding of the people inside the Portuguese wine trade: from sales [...]
Roy explores Portuguese history and how the Methuen Treaty, the relationship between the Portuguese and the English, and the demarcation of the Douro shaped the Port trade.
Observations of Madeira, the island, did not begin for me in the mid-1990’s as did my early tasting adventures with the eponymous adult beverage. It took another dozen years before I was finally able to visit the island in person. My tour business partner Mario Ferreira and I began hosting Portuguese wine tours in 2005, [...]
My first overseas flight of the year, Portugal of course, but somehow this one was very different. I was not heading over for wine tasting, nor a wine tour. I was flying to Porto, to find a new place to live … a new home. This was a first, and I was unable to sleep [...]
