For The Love Of Port

Don't know if I qualify to be here but my wife pointed me in this direction when she found the site. She and I have a passion for the 'good' things in life, Port being one of those obviously.

Quick 'resume' so to speak.
We live in Auckland New Zealand, on the side of an extinct ( we hope ) volcano. We enjoy ( not necessarily in any order ), Rally Cars, both local and WRC, this has lead to us both having VR4 twin turb petrol guzzlers that go fast when needed. Also I do photography of Rally events as a hobby business ( http://www.rallyshotz.cjb.net )

Our tastes are for good boutique beers, everything from Pilseners to Dark ales, Good NZ red wines, mainly Hawke Bay and Canterbury Pinot Noirs, Syrahs, Cab Savs, etc, single Malt whiskys, Talisker, Glenrothes Vintage, McCallums etc, good foods that we cook ourselves, venison, lamb, and of course I have and enjoy some Ports which I'd like to enjoy more with understanding. We have a biggish cellar down in the basement which is dug back into the volcanic rock and only responds slowly to temp variations, from about 8 to 20 C over the seasons. Currently about 200 red wine in the cellar. Port lives upstairs, about 6 bottles at present, needs replenishment and extending, single Malts maybe 10 or so and a beer fridge with about 12 different styles at any one time. All restricted by budget of course although we're both in good jobs so it's gets better as we go.

We have some 'ports' made over here at many of the various vineyards, particularly the older Dalmation settlers families in some areas and enough good importers to find a wide selection from overseas although probably not in great vintage depth.

So..... do you mind if I hang around and pick up some pointers, make a weird comment now and then and ask a few questions ?

I'll keep trying to add to the collection(s) as well

Promise not to bite, we're a pretty friendly lot.

cheers
Brent

Brent,

Welcome aboard and there is no pre-qualification round as in motor sports.

We're happy to have you join us and please feel free to share your experiences or to ask any questions you might have. There are plenty of folks that are in their "early stages of Port appreciation" here, as well as seasoned veterans. All are welcome as are opposing and even controversial opinions. This is a pretty broad-minded group from a plethora of countries, all with a passion for Port and/or Madeira and even the table wines of the Douro. Unlike many other places on the tangled wine web, you won't find petty bickering or silly one-upmanship here, which is a credit to those who choose to participate!

Personally, I have enjoyed many a Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir from your country but nary a port style that I can remember. Coincidentally, I was contacted yesterday by the owner of an Auckland shop (Bacchus Cellars) to host a classic Port tasting and Regional Wines & Spirits in Wellington was also mentioned. Do you know either of those two shops?

Also, are you familiar with a fellow wine journo friend of mine from NZ, Sue Courtney? If not, I need to put you in touch with her FREE newsletter which is outstanding. I have a lot of respect for her knowledge and writing.

Well, I will let others welcome you as well, but please know that you can feel free to chime in anytime you'd like. Do NOT be afraid to ask questions, as that is how we all learn!

Brent,

welcome to the forum. It really is a great place. I am glad your wife pointed you to us. Please feel free to ask anything or post some notes. Everyone on this site is very helpful.

Roy is right when he says people here don't "one-upmanship." The people on this forum are a great group that are very respectful. My hat goes off to them.

That's one smart woman you have, pointing you to fortheloveofport.com where the cool Port people hang out... 8)

You should go buy her a nice bottle of Vintage Port as a thank you!


Welcome aboard, and please let us know if there is anything we can do to enhance your Port experince.... no, we will not ship you a free bottle of Quinta do Noval Nacional...


But we do welcome you with open arms and open bottles!

Stewart

Well, I thank you all most warmly for the open armed ( and particularly the open bottle ) welcome.
I am involved with a number of other forums in photography and motorsport and have been fortunate enough to have not had any nasty experiences with flamers and idiots so look forward to chatting now and then.

We know of Bacchus Cellars although we don't use them ourselves, in a 'posher' part of Auckland, Remuera, good range of wines and liqueurs, if you do come there we would make a point of coming along.
Regional Wines and Spirits down Wellington way we know a little better although they are 400 miles away. They are sort of renowned for their tastings, whiskys, wines and even boutique beers. It's a bit far to drive for a hangover from Auckland but we keep making plans for a weekend away down south.

I confess I haven't seen ( or looked for ) Quinta do Noval of any sort over here. Barros, Taylors, Warres. Dows and other more common names can be found quite widely but the better ones I think don't travel well maybe so only a few specialist cellars carry them. We use La Barrique in Auckland, one of the few to have a temp controlled showroom in their main outlet. I have been trying to purchase some Ardbeg Islay Single malt whisky for several months, it is apparently the epitome of that craft and I ahve finally located some down in Christchurch but I think the credit card will have to recover a little bit before I order some.

There are a lot more imported variety of alcoholic drinks appearing over here now, we have a French friend living over here who imports a wide range of Spanish, French, Italian and other European countries wines so he keeps us up with play and plenty of ethnic restaurants around with their distinctive styles.

Local vineyards do do 'port' styles, there is quite a variety of quality and taste variations, some very good ( in my humble opinion ). others not so clever. This weekend we will be doing an expedition out west to the local cellars with the intent of some ports being acquired, we seem to have diminished our current holding. I'll see if I can give some qualitative comments on what our choices are. Won't be anywhere like your depth of knowledge or descriptive content but could be of interest.

Cheers again, I'll go have a wee one in celebration and catch you all later.

Brent