Missing an opPortunity

Post by **Roy Hersh** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 3:50 am

When I look through the quality of tasting notes that Andy, Stewart and many others here are contributing, I can't help to think that one of the most enjoyable ways to learn about Port is by reading both expert opinions and those of a knowledgeable community. But asking questions and getting involved in discussions on specific TNs that provide more than the basics, is the surest way to make well-considered buying strategies come to fruition.

The odd thing is, most great TNs here go by with no comment at all. I would think there would be more discussion in The Port TN Forum than in our Port Forum. Let me see if the "rules of the road" in that Forum are worded to divert discussion of Ports or duplicate the thread into our Port Forum. :blah:

Richard Henderson · Post by **Richard Henderson** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 8:24 pm

Well Roy , after 4 days( or is it 3 ?), no one has replied so I will weigh in.
As you know from my PM's to you that I think it is a little confusing that the port forum says it is for all things port including TN's but TN's posted there get moved to the TN section.
I used to check the "main" port forum and seldom went to other forums. You have educated me to the benefits of the other forums so I go there more often. For me the various forum options are a little too " busy", too many choices, and in the TN section when so many TN's get posted at once, it leaves me a little cross eyed/overwhelmed.

I am not sure I have any real information to add here, it is just an observation of human behaviors, especially my human behavior!

Post by **Glenn E.** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 9:54 pm

While I love Port, I don't get the opportunity to drink enough of it to be able to participate in discussions about specific Ports.

And sadly, I had a rather nasty cold for the last Port I tasted, so I didn't post any notes because my taste buds were all messed up. Somehow I doubt that "bland & lifeless, very much like grape juice, no nose at all" is accurate.

Lars F · Post by **Lars F** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 6:47 am

Richard Henderson wrote:...and in the TN section when so many TN's get posted at once, it leaves me a little cross eyed/overwhelmed.

I agree with Richard. Logging into the Tasting forum and seing 10-20 or even 40 new TN's posted by the same user is overwhelming, and some of them seem to be added for the benefit of the database more than encouraging comments. At the risk of being harassed I think that many of the TN's are too short and stylistic to be of much benefit to me and definitely not worth commenting. I tried to look for an example of a TN which I liked and came up this this one from Todd http://fortheloveofport.com/ftlopforum/ ... php?t=4565 which is in my opinion much more detailed and interesting to read or comment (even though I didn't

)

-Lars

Erik Wiechers · Post by **Erik Wiechers** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 10:54 am

I agree with Richard and Lars, the last couple of days there were so many TN's posted that i dont even bother to look at them.
Instead of that i use the search function to look up a specific TN if i want to know more about that. Or look at Roy's tasting notes.

When i post a TN, which are not many, i try to spice them up a little with pics and/or stories.
Its more fun for people to read and to respond to that.

Lars F wrote:

At the risk of being harassed I think that many of the TN's are too short and stylistic to be of much benefit to me and definitely not worth commenting.

Not at all, i totally agree with that ! It looks like all were copied and then pasted into the forum without putting effort in it. But that's just my thoughts.

Adam F · Post by **Adam F** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 2:11 pm

I interact mostly with the T through searches for specific ports I am drinking, have drunk or thinking about buying. I do find it interesting to see the different palate's contributing notes.

Post by **Andy Velebil** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 2:19 pm

I had been waiting to reply, as I really wanted to hear peoples input before making a decision. Some very valid points were brought up. I will scale back my upload of older TNs into smaller batches, say a handful at a time. That way people can have the time to read them and comment if need be.

I still have a lot of TN's to go, some from the 2006 Harvest Tour and all the 2007 Harvest Tour ones. Maybe slowly inputing them one producer at a time? That would keep them in small batches that would be manageable to read and comment about.

Although, I think its important that those of us with TN's (even older ones) input them, as it will only benefit all of us when searching for info on a specific Port. But agree to the comments about slowing the mass upload...done!

I do thank everyone for being so forthcoming with their thoughts.

Felix Warners · Post by **Felix Warners** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 2:32 am

I think that if you have Tasting Notes on wines you drank in a lineup. Which means you probably only had 1 glass of it and didnt really gave the wine the attention it might deserved. It might be better to make then 1 post like: TN: Line up Quinta ......
This way the readers gets an idea of how different vintages differ from each other and they dont have to scroll thru 12 TN with only 2 lines of text about a certain wine. The search function will still work for people that search for a certain wine but it is also more interesting for people to respond.

Frederick Blais · Post by **Frederick Blais** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 7:31 am

Lets not forget that many of these TN have been written in trip review a while ago. Many of us did read them before.

Sometimes I do comment on TN, but it is probably the hardest thing to reply to if you never tasted the wine. Also your reply might not be well perceived by the taster.

For the batch that have been posted, I guess the aim was to build the TN database, I know they are there and if I need info on Port, this is the first place I'll look for my search.

Post by **Roy Hersh** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 11:58 am

In building the FTLOP community TN data base that Stewart and I have been discussing, it was important to gain critical mass. Stewart, Andy and David have been kind enough to enter some of their TNs which they had never put into the TN Forum until recently. There is simply no reason why FTLOP should not have the largest db of Port TN anywhere, as it already did and that number will continue to grow.

Maybe putting 5 or 10 in at a time would have been great too, but ultimately when I started this thread the intent was on adding comments. I agree it is hard to do so and trying to take part in a conversation when your post winds up on page 3 the next day. That won't happen again!

So please don't be discouraged by what was just a one time happening, before we release the db soon, as you will read in the February newsletter.

I still believe there is a ton to be learned from discussion of TNs and hope you will revisit this premise and take part, now that the mass uploads are complete and small batches or individual TNs will be the rule and not the exception to it.

Thanks for understanding and also for helping us to build the most important collection of Port TNs on the web!

Cheers