Your story: What first got you into Port?

[Roy Hersh]

I think it wold make for a good read to hear what first inspired you to get involved with drinking Port.

Who's first?

[Glenn E.]

My friends all know that I don't drink beer or wine. Not because I'm averse to alcohol (obviously), but simply because I don't like them. I don't even really like cocktails much unless they're of the fruity/frilly type. (I'm partial to Pina Coladas and Caramel Appletinis.)

So for my 40th birthday, a friend gave me a half bottle of Porto Rocha 20-year Old Tawny. He figured it was sweet, so I might like it.

I did, and as they say the rest is history. I didn't do much buying (other than to drink) for the next year or two because I didn't have anywhere to store bottles long term, but right around my 42nd birthday I bought my first wine fridge and things have kind of exploded since then. I now have 2 wine fridges (1 full size, 1 half size) and have nearly filled them both. I've branched out into VP, but my favorites are still Tawnies with an indication of age and Colheitas.

[Eric Ifune]

I got into Port and wine in general from my father. He collected Red Bordeax, California Cabernets, and Ports starting in the late 1960s. I remember our annual summer road trips up to Napa and Sonoma, so I was visiting wineries before I was even of age. I remember my first Port, Sandemans Ruby when I was about twelve. I thought it nice, but too Intense! Later I graduated to the higher grades.

[Ray Barnes]

As strange as this may sound: I was presented with a bottle of German sparkling wine for Christmas 1987 (Furst von Metternich Schloss Johanissberg Riesling), which was excellent. It led to the purchase on Boxing Day I think of a "wines of the world genre" coffee table book, which had an excellent chapter on fortified wines. After sampling a range of Emilio Lustau sherries dry to sweet, the temptation was too great to move on to port and madeira. I still drink more table than fortified wine, but the gap is closing quickly.

[Eric Menchen]

I can't say one thing got me into drinking port, but a combination of things. Here are perhaps the big three:
1. I've always enjoyed drinking wine. I like beer too, but my parents both drink wine, we lived in Europe when I was an infant, I lived in Europe later in life for a while ... so the wine thing is there. And I very much enjoy visiting vineyards and wineries, having done so numerous times in Europe and in northern California. In visiting the wineries it seems you are inevitably exposed to different things, including their dessert wines, which I've enjoyed. So there we have the exposure.
2. I don't drink coffee or its variations, nor tea. So the end of the meal comes and what do I do? Well, at one of my favorite local restaurants, they have a nice selection of dessert wines, including a sampler. There we have the practice.
3. And then my wife and I went on vacation to Porto. Now we have the obsession.

[Kurt Wieneke]

I was into wine only, and whenever a port was served at the end of a tasting I would always refuse it. Then I moved to Portland, OR and a winemaker friend of mine served a zin port around a campfire one weekend, and I thought it was actually pretty good. Around the same time, I joined a small tasting group on my street and the other two guys were really into Bordeaux and Port. And the rest, as they say, is history.

[Roy Hersh]

Please keep 'em coming ... this is a fun read!

[Todd Pettinger]

Posted before, but can't seem to find it.

I attended a beer tasting at Christmas time and the bonus "last pour" of the night was something that many people associated with Christmas traditions: Port. In this case, it was Graham's Six Grapes and despite the fact that I did not drink red wine prior to this, I gave it a shot. It was fantastic and I went and bought a bottle. I then "discovered" some more about aged tawnies, which was all I really bought prior to finding FTLOP.

It was only after I had children that I began further research into Port and discovered the old English tradition of laying down a pipe of Port for the children. This led to my discovery of this site and well, yes, the rest is history. Nearly two years later and the obsession has a full (strangle) hold on me.

These stats (from my User Control Panel) actually tell quite a story:
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[Anders]

About 5 years ago my brother, my father and I where in a wineshop buying redwine for the christmas.
The owner of the wineshop asked us - would you like to try some port ???? NO thanks we dont like port.

He tryed again, are you sure??? - what have you tasted before, he asked.
Sandeman white (7 dollars), and we didnt liked it.

Please try this, it hole differents, he promised.

okay okay.... let try

Porto Morgado Vintage 1987

Ummmmm - this is ok, can we have 6 bottels ???

And then we where hooked on port since

Thanks wine shop owner :hello:

[Moses Botbol]

I grew up in a Portuguese decent area and also within the cradle of American Revolution, so both Portuguese anything and American history played side-by-side; a natural calling for port wine.

I have a sweet tooth and my parents collected wine when I was young, so I had an affinity to wine and when I first drinking port in my early 20’s, I was hooked. I lived with roommates at the time, and they all liked port too, so it was port all the time… Not so much the fancy vintages that I am privileged to drink today, but more the basic ruby and 10 year tawny stuff.

It wasn’t until maybe 1997 before I actually laid down a port bottle, and 2003 before I started laying down cases… 2009 will hopefully see my laying down pallets of port!

[oscarquevedo]

I was born in the heart of the Douro and I spent there all my youth. Although I don't exactly remember the first time I drank Port, I remember when I went to my grandpa's home for lunch or dinner, he secretly used to propose me a sip of Port, every time... from his loved bottled that used to refill directly from the barrel located in his cellar.

He is still alive, 93, and drinks Port everyday, though has been forbidden by the doctor a couple of years ago after a heart attack.

[Carlos Rodriguez]

While I was living in London during the early 90's. Spirits were expensive for me at that time. I couldn't find good red wine at reasonable price (like in Spain). Then I found that Port was a very nice wine that had a good relation quality-price. I started to drink it and I haven't stop since then.