For The Love Of Port

Do you save yours? What do you do with all the spare wooden Port cases you possess?

I burn them on my patio fire whilst doing this...

Spare? SPARE?!?!? What could you possibly mean by "spare"?

{calm down} Ahem. I usually keep mine. If I run out of space, I may have to build a bigger house.

Of course, I could always break them down carefully (with instructions for re-assembly) and stack the pieces carefully (sorted by panel size)...

At the moment I'm storing some other bottles in one, and the other still has its original contents.

This is a question I'd like to be able to answer one day...

I treat the wood with sealer and oil the outside to make it pretty and make planters out of them.

I need every one I can get. I store port in them (go figure). 7or 8 of them are now mixed cases, but each one is full. I could use a couple of magnum OWC's if someone has them and wants to sell. I have never thrown a wine or port OWC away, never! The Ferreira OWC's are difficult with the squat bottles and dividers for each bottle. I have tough time finding bottles that will it except for Ferreira.

After the OWC being empty, I put the top back on, and then leaving some of the boxes as a kind of decoration in our entrance hall (outside the wine cellar). Also leaving sometimes samples of the empty bottles on top of the cases. Visitors are often asking whether the bottles were originally in the cases, which I can confirm in most cases, and then the port discussion starts.....

My plan is to do what I have seen a few places, namely to take one short end or one long side (provided the producer and vintage is visible) of each case, and then fill a wall in the house with that! My wife has accepted the plan. So far, I have big problems in throwing away any OWC.

Most will end up as firewood, the ones with very young VP are kept (with the bottles in them), a few Vesuvio's are used as DVD boxes/decoration, and the rest end up in the recycle bin.

Right now mine are all stacked on top of my Port refrigerators. I have no concrete plans for them, but only vague notions that I should keep them because they might be useful some day. At the very least, they add character to the room.

Some get used for storage (but not for port), some I give away, and some get broken up for firewood..

..the varnish on the Vesuvio boxes makes them easy to light, and they break up into conveniant lengths for kindling..

However, such indulgent packaging is a conspicuous waste.

Ultimately, these cases should be functional. I do wish the port producers would take a leaf from their cousins in Bordeaux, and adopt a standard, practical, space efficient design for packing vintage port.

Tom