Quinta do Vesuvio OWC observations

[Eric Menchen]

Yes, this is truly geeky, but I thought I'd share with my fellow geeks ... I've loved QdV since my first taste of 1994, and bought bottles from many different years, including more than 6 of the 1994, although my first purchase didn't include an OWC. A year or two ago I bought a sixer of 2003 that did include an OWC, and I must say I was impressed. That takes OWC to the next level, and I note that Acker actually lists it as an OGB, original gift box. Even that doesn't do it justice.



Well I recently purchased two more sixers of 1994, this time with OWCs, as well as a sixer of 1998, also with the OWC. All are quite nice, but in comparing them, I did notice a distinct evolution and general improvements in the cases with time. An album of pictures can be found here, and shows most of things listed below. Here are some of my observations:

1994, the weakest of the bunch:

• Walls are rather thin, more like typical OWCs, and the insert wall is particularly flimsy, at about 1/8" thick. Some of the insert walls have even warped a little bit
• Hinges are also a weak link here. They are just hammered into the wood and held in by the triangle shapes cut out of the flat metal
• The single detent that keeps the lid open or from flying open all the way (and pulling the hinges out--ask me how I know) is also small and not real firmly attached to the case. On one of my cases this is a single piece, on another it is a two piece mechanism and slightly better
• Year is included in the branding inside and out
• Case includes a small pamphlet about the quinta and the ceramic bin tag
• Didn't notice any distinct aroma from either case

1998, major flaws fixed:

• The walls, both inside and out, have been made thicker, so the case is overall a little larger. This is good, and particularly appreciated for the inserts that hold the bottles in place--no more warping. The corner joints have been made with more fingers for increased strength.
• The hinges have been upgraded to hardware that is screwed into the wood and integrates the detents. Major improvement.
• Year is still included in the branding
• My 1998 included a glossy cardstock page about the 1998 vintage in addition to the quinta brochure. This is good information. My other years don't include this. Was it lost in the other cases, or never provided? Bin tag also included.
• When I open this OWC, I can definitely smell the wood and the aroma makes me think of cedar, although I don't know what the case is actually made of.

2003, some more upgrades and a few things taken away:

• Still has the thick walls and improved corner joints of 1998.
• The sides now have an angled cut for the lid, presumably to make it easier to open and close (?), and making it more attractive for presentation. The inserts have been cut to accommodate this.
• Hardware has changed from brass to a black patina finish, and the carrying handle has been removed. I would have never used the handle on the 1994s given my experience with the hinges, so I don't know that I miss it.
• The year has been removed from the branding. I do miss this as it is nice to know the year from the outside of the case. I can understand that this gives them a little more flexibility, but it seems to me they could plan the number of cases appropriately. Branding has been added to the top of the case.
• The fold out pamphlet has been replaced by a book, held into a recess in the upgraded lid by leather straps. Very classy.
• When I open this OWC, I smell the aroma of the leather straps.
• Still includes the ceramic bin marker.

By the way, what are we supposed to do with those bin markers, or what is the intended use?

[Moses Botbol]

The "OGB" for Vesuvio is just too darn cool looking. I too 3-4 different vintages (including 1994) and have yet to try any of them. Too pretty to break up and not past the 20 year mark for my oldest case 1994...

[Al B.]

I have OWCs from quite a few years vintages and just love the boxes. I use my '94 case for storage of CDs or for storage of tools in the garage. They are brilliant and I love them.

Incidentally, if ever you get the chance to take a look at (or buy) one of the 10th anniversary boxes, they are really fabulous.

[Eric Menchen]

Incidentally, if ever you get the chance to take a look at (or buy) one of the 10th anniversary boxes, they are really fabulous.

Is that 1999 VP? I would think so, but I found a listing here and that box looks just like the rest of them. Is there a limited edition/special edition 10th anniversary box distinct from the regular bottling?

[Derek T.]

And the Port Geek Award for 2012 goes to...

[Glenn E.]

Interesting thread! I have 94, 95, 97, 00, 03, and 05. I'll have to take a closer look at mine and see if there's anything else I can add. :)

[Al B.]

Incidentally, if ever you get the chance to take a look at (or buy) one of the 10th anniversary boxes, they are really fabulous.

Is that 1999 VP? I would think so, but I found a listing here and that box looks just like the rest of them. Is there a limited edition/special edition 10th anniversary box distinct from the regular bottling?

I've just spent a few minutes searching on the internet to see if I can find a picture, but without success.

This is not the standard 6 bottle case that the 1999 vintage was released in. It is a limited run (150, I think?) special edition chestnut case made in the style of a cutlery canteen with 2 drawers (each holding 4 bottles of port) and a lid that opens to allow access to a shallow, velvet lined tray that contains one of the bin labels from each of the first 8 vintages of Vesuvio (1989-1997 excluding 1993). The canteen also has one bottle from each vintage in the drawers.

They are really nice pieces of furniture, quality workmanship and materials.

And the china bin labels make really nice wall decorations...

[Andy Velebil]

Excellent post! and yes, the Port geek of the year award goes to....

[Anders]

I have some 1999 boxes, Ill check them, just like Nicolas Cage in National treasures, hidden stuff

But ill agree, the boxes bring OWC to a higher level, just love them.

[Shawn Denkler]

I have boxes from all the first years 1989 - 1995 bought directly from the importer. I was very impressed when they came out, it was nice to see such a quality package. But I do miss the old wood boxes with the bottles in straw sleeves. They are very hard to find now.

I'll have to look at the boxes and compare the evolution. I also have all the ports 1989 - 1995 and I've been thinking of doing a tasting in the SF bay area sometime.

[Tom Archer]

Gift boxes have their place, but when it comes to laying down vintage port, they're a bl**dy nuisance.

The Vesuvio boxes don't stack with anything else, and take up an inordinate amount of space, relative to the number of bottles they contain - and the big flat Senhora da Ribeira cases are even worse.

The only practical solution is to transfer the bottles into racks, and reduce the cases to firewood - which is a dreadful waste.

The non-gift packaging is also inconsistently dimensioned, especially the six packs - it's high time the port producers standardised the dimensions of their owc packaging, instead of reinventing the wheel every year..

[Derek T.]

The non-gift packaging is also inconsistently dimensioned, especially the six packs - it's high time the port producers standardised the dimensions of their owc packaging, instead of reinventing the wheel every year..

But there are only a handful of people in the world who have the volume of OWC port that you do, Tom, and even fewer who would store it at home or in their own private cellar. Most of the port produced is sold by the bottle in supermarkets and is never stored for long periods mixed together with other brands. That means each shipper can use whatever size case it wants to as his wines will be shipped and stored on unmixed palates until distributed to individual stores one or two cases at a time.

Most serious private customers lay their port and wine down in professional storage facilities where it becomes mixed with wines from all over the world and, more importantly, becomes someone else's problem to store efficiently. It is never going to be possible to have a standard case size for all wines so what you are asking for wouldn't help either supermarkets, large wine merchants or professional storage facilities.

There is also the current trend of using packaging as a way to entice people to buy port as gifts. Like it or not, that trick works and is here to stay.

I suspect that trying to persuade the port shippers to standardise and dumb-down their cases so that they fit neatly in your cellar is going to be a struggle. A better solution might be for you to find someone who could build you 500 identical wooden cases so that you can transfer the bottles into them whenever you buy an OWC that you don't like the look of.

You might also remember that a major port shipper told you all of the above in response to a similar request less than a week ago while I was standing next to you. You really are trying to push water up a hill here!

[Tom Archer]

In other branches of the wine trade, gimmicky packaging tends to be the preserve of those who have nothing very special to put inside the bottle, and therefore need to dress mutton as lamb - so tarting up a port that can stand on its own merits seems counter-productive.

I also don't think the UK's professional wine storage contractors are that enamoured by the unpredictable and chaotic presentation of port (I've certainly heard them grumble..) - perhaps the trade would pay heed if they started to surcharge...

[Eric Menchen]

The variety of sizes is a pain, but I'm still going to keep all my OWCs as long as I can. My current cellar design is racks on the sides, shelves on the ends for OWCs. Hopefully it won't be too inefficient down there. As alluded to above, even the Vesuvio cases have changed in size, getting slightly bigger with thicker walls along the way.

[Moses Botbol]

In other branches of the wine trade, gimmicky packaging tends to be the preserve of those who have nothing very special to put inside the bottle, and therefore need to dress mutton as lamb - so tarting up a port that can stand on its own merits seems counter-productive.

I also don't think the UK's professional wine storage contractors are that enamoured by the unpredictable and chaotic presentation of port (I've certainly heard them grumble..) - perhaps the trade would pay heed if they started to surcharge...

The OWC comes with cardboard outter box. Looks pretty plain until opened up.

[Eric Menchen]

The OWC comes with cardboard outter box. Looks pretty plain until opened up.

Yeah, I have some of those too, covered with tape, etc. I'm probably going to recycle them.

[Derek T.]

I also don't think the UK's professional wine storage contractors are that enamoured by the unpredictable and chaotic presentation of port (I've certainly heard them grumble..) - perhaps the trade would pay heed if they started to surcharge...

So we have now moved on to standardising the size of cases (and therefore the size and shape of bottles) across the entire global wine trade? Perhaps we should go the whole hog and all turn to fundamentalist communism, all drive grey Lada cars, wear the same clothes, only eat bread and cabbage and drink nothing but cheap vodka? That would certainly fix the problem of having all this horrid variety in our lives

If the grumbling from the storage trade was real they would have done something about it years ago. As far as I am aware they haven't so it is simply grumbling about a minor inconvenience, not a complaint about something that materially affects their business/profits.

I think the bottom line here is that there is no incentive for the producers to do what you are asking for and lots of incentive for them to continue doing what they do now. Differentiation is a very strong marketing tool and comes in many forms. Port in polished oak boxes is just one example and clearly works otherwise they wouldn't have continued doing it for 20+ years. In fact, they are doing more of it and using even higher quality boxes for more products, which strongly suggests it works really well. Giving up that advantage and momentum to allow a fraction of 1% of cases to be neatly stacked alongside the competitions products in a few private cellars doesn't sound very appealing.

[Tom Archer]

Do you think that the wines of Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne would enjoy the same cachet if they were not bottled and packed in a consistant and recognisable manner?

A clear and consistant regional identity in the manner port products are presented to the market, can only serve to add value in the eyes of the consumer.

[Derek T.]

So do all of those regions only have one standardised form of packaging that never changes in any way from one vintage to the next?

[Eric Menchen]

If the grumbling from the storage trade was real they would have done something about it years ago. As far as I am aware they haven't so it is simply grumbling about a minor inconvenience, not a complaint about something that materially affects their business/profits.

I actually wonder if it helps their profits. In the US many storage companies charge for a fixed size locker, not on a per-case base. So if your cases are odd sized and don't pack in like Tetris bricks, well you need a bigger locker.

As for differentiation vs. uniformity for the Port region, I think there are arguments both ways. Most VP Port bottles these days are close enough in size and shape that they should be able to make same sized crates. But they don't. Some pack by the case, some in six packs. It would seem the producers believe in the differentiation argument.