For The Love Of Port

Hello everyone, glad I could find a site to help give me some direction on what to look for as I prefer ports over most other wines. Normally I would rarely drink anything but on my wedding I was given a certain type of cigar that started major vice # 1 for me as I enjoyed the flavors and, even more so, how it affected the flavor of everything else I ate or drank afterward.

So now comes vice #2, finding ports to match vice #1. Now I invite over a friend to enjoy a cigar with me and we usually end up splitting a bottle of port with whatever cigar we choose for the evening.

Anyways, I'm also a close neighbor to Roy about 30-40 minutes away in Everett, WA when he's not on some wine tasting trip.

HI Andrew,

to the forum! You have two vices that are quite good if I must say so myself Have no fear this group can help you in more ways than you can think. Besides the obvious Port lovers, we've got some big fan of cigars as well so please ask away and share you're experiences with Port, and of course pairing them with cigars as well.

Hi Andrew,

I am home this coming weekend. As a welcome to FTLOP, why not join us on Saturday night (4/16) for fun and focused tasting of about 15 bottles of 1991 Vintage Port. Full immersion. You may want to stay at the place where we'll be tasting. Rooms are inexpensive there. If you are interested, please email me at Portolover@aol.com and I'll provide you with full details. I'll even put in a bottle for ya if you don't own any 1991s. Can't turn down an opportunity like that, eh?

Welcome to !

Roy

Welcome

What have you been smoking for cigars recently? Certainly port and cigars is a classic pairing. I prefer Madeira with cigars if I have a choice.

Roy, I'm sort of kicking myself for missing that event, but I was in Las Vegas for the weekend for a bachelor party. I'd definitely be up for checking out other local events.

As for cigars, I'm really trying a little bit of everything. I think I'm leaning toward maduro types with sweeter (not infused) flavors like the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial, and not necessarily full bodied cigars. Over the bachelor party weekend I cracked open some Romeo y Julieta Churchill's I recently picked up and they were exceedingly smooth, and while tasty, not overly complex in flavor (not a bad thing since the flavor is good). If I were to want something similar to the RyJ's, I'd buy a Illusione Epernay and avoid the customs hassle. But if I were to buy that type of RyJ again, I'd buy the Short Churchill's if the flavor profile is the same because they are cheaper.

I haven't worked my way up to heavier/powerful cigars yet, but I've found you don't need power to get a rich experience and the Illusiones are proof of that, and for that matter, most cuban cigars. Next I think I want to try some of the Davidoff line as they have a reputation for being mild with great flavor, the only problem being the price tag.

I'm thinking my next wine will be a Madeira as I haven't tried one yet, but I do have a bottle of Hardys whiskers blake tawny port I have in waiting for the next cigar as I wanted to see what a budget price/decently reviewed port style wine tasted like.

Hi all,
My name is Miguel Simões and I currently live in NY. I am Portuguese (from Coimbra) and have been in the US for 6 years now.
Have enjoyed drinking Port for some 10 years now (am too cheap to buy the good stuff though... I'll hopefully get to it later in life!) and Madeira only recently.
Got married in Portugal this past October and the day after the wedding took all the guests from outside of Portugal (there were some 45 of them!) on a trip in Porto. We tasted some vintage port at Taylors and the 10-20-30 year tawny tasting later in the day at Grahams. It was a great day visit!
Came to the forum through http://www.MadeiraWineGuide.com!
Looking fwd to any port tastings you may put together in NY :)
Miguel

Miguel,



Glad to have you onboard! FTLOP is a great resource for any & all Port related questions you may have. The members are more than happy to relate their experiences and along the way you'll meet some truly fine people.

Marc

Hi Miguel,

Nice to have you join us. Glad that you got some of your friends to go from Coimbra to Porto to experience the great dessert wine and congratulations on your wedding. Madeira Wine Guide is a great resource for anyone looking to learn about Madeira and provides plenty of excellent information as well. It is wonderful to be one that appreciates both of the great fortifieds from Portugal, Madeira and Port ... but have you ever ventured towards the Moscatel de Setubal which is the greatest version of Moscatel and far better in my opinion than any that I've had from Madeira itself.

Anyway, we do have people here who put on Port tastings in NYC and I occasionally do Madeira tastings there too, so keep your eyes peeled and please feel free to share any of your experiences with us, ask questions or just feel free to join in the fun.

If you find a moment to email me, I have something to send to you. (Portolover@aol.com)

Best regards and again, to !

Roy

Hi Miguel,

Thanks for taking the time to introduce yourself and to the forum!

Thanks guys for the warm welcome.

It wont always be easy to find the time to come by but am looking fwd to learning and sharing about Port w you. I just subscribed to Roy's newsletter, that should def give me a good reason to come by every once in a while.

Roy, I actually tried Moscatel de Setúbal for the first time at a Portuguese Wine Tasting at Lincoln Center in NY a few weeks ago. Really enjoyed it. Will def be drinking more of it in the future!

Cheers, Miguel

Hello, I'm Malte from Germany, and I'd like to introduce myself as a newbie by way of saying that I lived in the UK for a number of years and acquired a taste for port and madeira there. Often accompanied with a nice cheese or a christmas pudding. I know that real wine pros would take umbrage at distracting the palate with food, but that's simply the way I enjoy it.

And here's a lament: yesterday, the wine steward of a fine restaurant told me that hardly anyone (in Germany) orders port, sherry, or madeira these days. I found this stunning, but suppose the zeitgeist dictates some type of Italianate fizz to take before or after. oh, well, we'll bounce back...

cheers!
Malte

Welcome to both Miguel and Malte. I understand your situation there Malte, but I can report that I've found quite a few odd and interesting bottles for sale in Germany in my searches, so all hope is not lost.

Thanks, Eric. I'm an optimist anyway and watch such fads with bemusement (at least I try...)

I'm Billy Abbott and I'm a booze blogger from London, England. I've been knocking back the occasional glass of random port for years but went on a trip to Porto in February and am now trying to learn a bit more. I just saw that Roy posted a link to one of my recent posts writing up what I learned in Porto, and as I'd already been reading bits and pieces of the board to find out more about port I thought I'd better join.

Outside of blogging I will shortly be starting to work for a whisky shop, writing content for their website and doing general dogsbody things involving whisky and other spirits. I haven't had that good a look through the warehouse but I think there's a bit of port hiding somewhere at the back...

Malte and Billy,

We are pleased to have you both.

to FTLOP and please do feel right at home. Whether you want to jump into the mix by asking a question of James Suckling while he's here this week, or just want to drop by to ask a question of us mere mortals, we are thrilled that you've come by to share with us. Billy, I've had a good look at your Blog and have enjoyed reading through it and thought it would be good to show others the work you did on Port.

Look forward to ongoing discussions with you both over the coming days, weeks and years!

Cheers!

Hi, my name is Bernie and I am new to the site and port in general. Previous experience has been with wine and most recently Grahams 20yr Tawny Port. I did however, just today, purchase 6 bottles of Fonseca, Vintage Port, Vintage 1985 from the Morrell Company Wine Auction. Been scouting the site for hints on storage, opening, decanting, etc.. Lots of helpful information. Thanks. Looking forward to reporting back after opening a bottle of the Fonseca.

Welcome Bernie... you are a lucky man to have found Fonseca 85... I can't seem to find it up here in Canada for a reasonable price, so I hope you did.

this site, as you have found out, is a great resource for all kinds of tips and the people here are top notch - friendly, not condescending at all (as you find in a lot of other wine snobbery places) and genuinely caring. If you do any travelling, a lot of folks on here are more than happy to meet up or open their homes to you for a get-together once you get to know them. Where else can you find that on the evil internet of today!?! :)

Again, welcome and we look forward to sharing our passion with you.\\
-Todd

Bernie,

The great city of Austin, I came very close to being moved there when I worked for Marriott Corp., but wound up in No. VA/DC area with them instead, after a stint in NYC.

Glad to have you with us. I am sure there are other Texans in your area that drink Port. I do know of a group there that meets weekly for cigars and sometimes has Ports, but oftentimes it is single malt scotches that they love.

As to the 1985 Fonseca, make sure to go a full 10 hours on the decant. It is a beautiful young monster of a VP that you should likely fall in lust with. Enjoy and please do let us know your impressions.

Thanks for joining us!

Hi all,
My name is Lars. I come from what used to be a port-drinking nation, Norway. The high consumption was probably because of a mix between our cultural ties to the Brits, a cold climate, and trading cod for wine with the Portuguese in the old days. Sadly port is considered dated nowadays, but I see a few fellow countrymen here, so there must be at least some interest. Have frequented this site a couple of years, but somehow my registration did not work out – at least for me, until recently.

My first VPs were the 70s, the last vintage to be bottled by the Norwegian Wine Monopoly (remember bying the Taylor for USD 10 in 1977). There is actually still one Graham left in my cellar, having survived student and bachelor years/nights. My interest in port has picked up again the last 10 years or so. Although the supply of young port is good here, older ports are rare (there is still a monopoly). I therefore have to rely on the UK for stashing up. I will keep you posted on the bottles consumed.

Bernie and Lars,

to the forum, it's always great to have fellow Port lovers join us. And Thanks for the introductions!