Port tasting: An introduction to port for us inexperienced

[Andy Velebil]

Morten,

Thanks for the excellant review of how it went. You make a good point in that you did the tasting the way you and your friends would enjoy it the most. I wish more people would "bend the rules" a bit and not be afraid of going outside the box depending on who they are drinking with. After all, we are here to help spread the word about Port and get others to partake in the drink we all love so much...even if that means breaking from tradition. Morten, kudos for a job well done.

[Roy Hersh]

Congratulations Morten

Very nicely done indeed. It would be great if you would enter your impressions of each as a separate tasting note in the PORT TASTING NOTE FORUM. This was, beginners and experts alike will be able to read your impressions and when we introduce the new tasting note forum next month, in a searchable data base, your notes will be there for everyone to find.

Thanks!

Roy

[Rich N.]

Morten,

Thanks for sharing your plans leading up to and then the results of your experience. I have a similar situation in that I'm trying to plan a couple of port tastings. My buddy Julian (haha; I just met him at Fall Harvest Tour, but we shared a wacky sensibility) explained how he arranges his and here's where my quandary is: Do I orchestrate my event such that we taste first (as we obviously did on our Fall Harvest Tour) followed by a sumptuous meal or do it your way (which I quite like), including tasting the whites in advance of the meal and both as standalone and with a mixer? Both of my events are intended to be formal, if that means anything.

I'd be interested in hearing thoughts/comments.

Thanks,
Rich

[Andy Velebil]

Rich,
What kinda wines and Ports are you planning on serving. If its formal, I'd do the whites with some simple finger food type appetizers (Marcona almonds, ham, etc) that people can munch on until its time to start the formal tasting/dinner part. Then move onto a formal tasting first, let everyone try the wines (talk about them, etc), then dinner with the rest of the bottles where people can eat, drink, and talk without having to worry about taking notes or paying an overt amount of attention to the wines. Just my

[Rich N.]

Andy,

Thanks for your suggestions; for what it's worth, your 2 cents buy a lot!

I haven't settled on the wines and Ports yet; I'm still in the planning stage, but based on what I'm interested in and what I've been reading here (I'm halfway through the 18 pages of Port Basics Forum topics!), I do want to start with a White Port and do it both by itself and as a porttonic. I think your suggestion of doing it that as part of an "appetizer" course and then leading into a "formal tasting" and then dinner maps well with my vision. I'd like to give my guests a kind of "Factory House" experience (without the 2nd room!).

I've been spending a lot on Ports since returning from the Fall Harvest Tour and now have 4 1963's (I intend on giving one to my brother for Xmas as that's his birth year) and a couple of 1970's. I don't know if I want to try to give my guests a vertical (I have 5 different vintages of Dow's) or mix it up a little or only serve one really good wine after giving them more of an intro to Port which includes Tawny, Colhieta, LBV and VP.

I have two distinct tasting parties in mind: one for friends and another as a donation to my daughter's pre-school fundraising auction. Either way, I win!

Hey thanks again for your insight and experience.

Cheers,
Rich