For The Love Of Port

In a restaurant, hotel, club or wherever Ports are served by the glass ...

From which category of Port would you feel most comfortable ordering a glass?

You may choose any two, but only the Vintage Port in this poll is known to have been open on the spot, the rest is left unknown or up to you to ask.

Isn't "just opened" nearly as bad as "unknown" or "a week or so" for VP? Especially if you've just watched the bartender come out of the stockroom flipping the bottle end-over-end and catching it? (I actually saw this once.)

Roy Hersh wrote:the rest is left unknown or up to you to ask.

As long as the answer isn't unknown, then my poll picks are easy. I'm much more comfortable ordering a TWAIOA or Colheita in a restaurant because they're less susceptible to deterioration after opening. However I'm happy to order a VP or LBV if they haven't been open too long... but sadly that's not often the case.

Pop 'n' Pour VP? Probably not. Not at restaurant prices, anyway. If I'm going to drink something overpriced I'd prefer for it to have had an appropriate amount of air.

All that said, though... I did just luck out on a by-the-glass 1985 Dow at Bobbly Flay's Mesa Grill in NYC last week. It had been opened the previous evening for someone else, and a 24-ish hour decant is just about perfect for that bottle. My glass was delicious at least!

I voted the same as Glenn for basically all the same reasons, though I have rarely ever ordered port by the glass at a restaurant. Basic Rubies/Tawnies usually seem to be way overpriced when found on restaurant menus (often more than it would cost to buy the entire bottle at a retail shop).

I usually stick to a Colheita or a TWIOA, as those tend to hold up the best and give the best bang-for-the-buck in a restaurant setting. Typically I find the pricing between these two and a Reserve Ruby or Tawny only a couple dollars per glass different so it's worth it to spend a couple more bucks for a nicer Port.

The list of options omits Standard Ruby and Standard Tawny, which are all too often the only ports available when travelling..

.. I have been recently urging the producers to get to grips with the disparity of offerings in airport lounges and aircraft; where it is now routine to see a choice of good single malts on offer, but, at best, an LBV port; and invariably a choice of just one.

My suggestion has been that they should collectively push to get a choice of ports, including 20yr tawnies; in all the business lounges of the world's principal hub airports, and also on the menu of first and business class seven miles up.

My argument is that those who travel biz can afford quality port - so what better place to introduce them to it..

I don't promote the idea of serving VP aloft, or in the lounges; as it is too much to expect the staff to serve it correctly..

Tom

Andy Velebil wrote:I usually stick to a Colheita or a TWIOA, as those tend to hold up the best and give the best bang-for-the-buck in a restaurant setting.

Same here unless I am at my local Brazilian haunt, then it's whole bottles of Burmester for $25; who needs a glass? Not to mention the bikini beauties serving it.

Moses Botbol wrote: Same here unless I am at my local Brazilian haunt, then it's whole bottles of Burmester for $25; who needs a glass? Not to mention the bikini beauties serving it.

We need an *in love* smilie