For The Love Of Port

Okay....So I have been farely absent from the forumn and website these last 8 months or so because i had a little project going in Anchorage. Me and a buddy opened Alaska's very first wine bar here in Anchorage this past June! Yeah-we are a bit behind the times for sure! It's called Crush. It is an intimate place with about 60 seats and a small plate bistro type menu. It's really cozy and we look to play some great eclectic music which is not ever done in Alaska yet. I do invite any and all FTLOP'ers to visit if you ever find yourself in Anchorage, Alaska. Please come say hi for sure. So I wanted to run our dessert wine list by all ya'll to get an impression. Would you be happy with the following list of sweeties? Is there a glaring ommission? Do note, we do, and will, regularly change up wines, vintages, and we usually have something of note open "under the counter' for anyone who asks. So please let me know your thoughts. Also, all pours are a full 3 ounces.

Croft Distinction: $7.
Ramos Pinto '01 LBV $8.5
Cockburn's Vintage Port '83 $18
Ramos Pinto 10 yr tawny $8.5
Smith Woodhouse 20 yr tawny $13
Chateau bel Air '04 $8.
Blandy's 10 yr $8.5
Ice Wine South River Vineyards $18
Saracco Moscato '07 $8.5
Pommery Pop Champagne NV $13
Barbeito Reserva Velha Malvasia 1916 $48

Scott,

Congratulations on opening the wine bar. So much for Alaska being the last frontier That is a pretty darn good line up to start with. I like the mix of Ports and Madeira, heck a 1916 Malvasia...thats gotta get the local wine drinkers talking. I would suggest a basic Tawny, but at the price of the 10 year Ramos Pinto, I'd skip it and keep that instead. Rotaion would be the key though...periodic change up to say a Six Grapes instead of the Croft, Sandeman instead of the SW 20 year, etc would keep things fresh and give people something new to try, yet staying within the same approximate pricing.

So what is the current "under the counter" drink? Inquiring minds want to know :)

Congrat's on your new business. I am sure it will do well as you are the first one. There's always room for one of each.

I'd consider the Taylor 10 or 20 perhaps even the 30 so you can offer "flights". I'd assume many up there can drink like champs, so they may fancy a flight.

If you can get your regulars into Madeira, it will help you as we know Madeira does not go downhill too quick. Perhaps a 20 year Madeira like Broadbent or Leacocks Bual would be a welcome addition? You could do a Madeira flight from dry to sweet.

Please post some pictures when you have a chance.

Congratulations, Scott! I wish you the best of luck in your endeavor.

I echo Andy's recommendation on rotating the wines available. Otherwise I'd say your selection looks great! It's certainly better than what's available at the restaurants I frequent here in Seattle.

Suggestions for rotations:

Graham's Six Grapes and Broadbent Auction Reserve would make great rotations for the Croft. The Niepoort 10-yr old would substitute nicely for the Ramos Pinto 10-yr old. And of course I'm partial to the Ramos Pinto 20-yr old, so I'd add that to the mix at that level along with the SW, Sandeman, and (if you can get it) the Ferreira Duque de Braganca.

On the Aussie side of things, the Trevor Jones "Jonesy" is a good base level dessert wine to rotate in with the Blandy's. Check out the Yalumba Antique Tawny also if you'd like a more expensive addition to the down under offerings.

And at some point, put a bottle of Noval 40-yr old under the counter. It'll keep well, and might make a great "secret" Port to have available.

Congratulations Scott!

Please email me today at portolover@aol.com

Thanks!

Roy

Congratulations!
I might add a couple of the Rare Wine Company's Madeiras. One advantage is they hold in the opened bottle longer than most wines.
Do you serve food as well? Perhaps some wines which complement them.

Congratulaions on opening your wine bar. I think the line-up is great, and would also like to know what's under the counter presently.

Also, how long do you keep your bottles open? Do they all empty out quickly, or are you sometimes forced to throw out the rest of the bottle because it's been sitting on the shelf opened too long? I would guess that the '83 wouldn't keep for weeks on end.

-Lars

Thanks you guys...some great suggestions and Port minds do think alike. I originally started out with Graham's 6 Grapes and rotated to the Croft---this week I am pouring a Ruby flight with the 6 Grapes and Croft Distinction head-to-head. So far the drier style Ruby of Croft is winning 5 to 1 over the sweeter jammier Graham's 6 grapes. Rotation will be key for sure.

Andy---Current under the counter drink is a '64 Rocha Colheita. Pretty yummy.

On tap next menu print run is a '71 Malmsey to add along to the 1916 Madeira offering.

Lars---Port sells pretty darn well up here so nothing has gone wasted at all in the first six months so far. This was true when we didn't even have a dessert wine menu printed for several months---it was all me handselling and a couple of our Port glass offerings beat some of the white wines in By the Glass sales this summer! Of course I may "occassionally" help Port consumption along some weeks

So the most recent '83 Cockburn's I employed the method I learned on FTLOP. I open a bottle, decant, then fill a 375 mL to the brim, cork and refrigerate that. The open and gassed 750 mL bottle was better up to a week and a half later and the refrigerated half bottle was much better a little over two weeks later with the finish getting noticibly longer. We experiment alot with our open wines at Crush to see how they hold the next day and beyond since everything will sit open overnight most days per week. We gas them nightly.

Thanks again and of course if anyone finds themselves in Anchorage, you better drop by to share a glass :!: You never know what may be lerking on Death Row "Under the Counter"

Scott Anaya wrote:Andy---Current under the counter drink is a '64 Rocha Colheita. Pretty yummy.

Ooh, I like that one! That's my birth year, and I have a bottle of it tucked away for some future birthday celebration.

Very nice!

Congrats Scott! Crush sounds pretty cool and I am glad you are able to pursue a passion and wish you all the best of luck with your endeavour. Sounds like things are going pretty well!

I like your Dessert Wine list. I would be happy to pay any of the asking prices for the pours you are offering, and will do so if I am ever able to make it up North to Alaska! :)

Todd