Advice for a novice port enthusiast

[calexs]

Hello everyone,

I'm Chris and I'm new here.

After buying a bottle of Dow's Midnight Port (which i now understand to be a basic ruby port) and enjoying it very much, I am interested to know where to go from here. I have made myself familiar with the different port types and am enjoying my second purchase, a 500ml bottle of Taylor's 10 year old tawny.

My question is this: what reccommendations could you make for future purchases? I'd prefer to start off with the supermarkets such as Asda and the likes before spending more at specialists for vintages. Hopefully this will give me a bit more knowledge and experience without breaking the bank (just yet!)

Having said that, I'm not looknig to skimp on money and don't mind spending a bit if it's worth it. Ive noticed a few LBV ports and one crusted port in my local asda. Would that be the way to go next? Should I hold off buying vintages until i have developed my nose and palette, so to speak?

Thanks in advance for any help and sorry if ive offended anyone with foolish questions! Although this doesn't seem like the sort of forum to savagely pounce upon beginner mistakes!

Chris

[DRT]

Chris,

Welcome to

We certainly don't savagely pounce upon beginner mistakes and you are very welcome to ask any questions here.

You might be surprised to know that you haven't started at the bottom of the ladder. Dow's Midnight and taylor 10 yr Tawny are both "Premium" ports. The real basic stuff is simply labelled "Ruby" or "Tawny".

My suggestion would be that you steadily work your way through everything that your local Asda has to offer. From those I have visited I would imagine that means you would have the opportunity to try 10 or 12 different ports of varying styles before having to look elsewhere. Don't be put off by the Asda own brand Ports. These will have been produced by a major port producer and bottled and labelled specifically for Asda. They are the real deal and are typically a couple of pounds cheaper per bottle than the branded bottles of the same style of Port.

If you are happy to spend a few pounds on increasing your knowledge you could buy one bottle each of the Ruby, Tawny, Ruby Reserve, LBV and 10 Yr Tawny in the Asda own-brand range. That would allow you to taste different styles from the same producer side-by-side so that you could get a better understanding of the styles and what your preferneces are. That experiment might cost you £40-50 but I think it would be money well spent as it would sort out what your preferred style is and allow you to focus the next set of purchases on a narrower range of more expensive bottles.

Another way or learning is to join one of our tasting events. Where do you live?

Derek

[JacobH]

Hi Chris, welcome to .

I think the first question to think about is whether you prefer the tawny or ruby Port since they are quite separate styles of Port and whilst some of us quite like to drink both, most people fall into drinking one or the other the majority of the time!

In terms of rubies (and LBV, Crusted and Vintage Ports which are all the same category), the one to look out for at the moment is the Croft LBV at Tesco, which is regularly discounted to 50% off. Looking at what Asda has, I also think the Graham’s LBV is quite nice and reasonable value, especially if they bring it down to £8 or £8.50 a bottle. The Dow Crusted also looks good value at £11 and might give you a bit more flavour of what a Port which will improve with a decade or so is like.

If you prefer the tawny, I’d also try the Warre Optima that Asda stocks: it’s a lighter style which is quite interesting to try slightly chilled. Other than that, the other 10-year-old tawnies (e.g. Graham’s, Fonseca and the supermarkets’ own brands) are all likely to be a safe bet but all a bit unexciting since we don’t have as good a range of tawny Ports as the rubies available in the UK. The Ramos Pinto 10-year-old is sometimes available, though, and is probably the best available.

Finally, if you are near London, we’re going to try to re-arrange our tasting of cheap Ports sometime in the new year and you’d be welcome to join us. The idea is that everyone brings a couple of bottles (one under £10, the other under £15) and we try them to find what the best ones available from supermarkets are. And to see if we waste our money on Vintage Ports!

[JacobH]

We certainly don't savagely pounce upon beginner mistakes and you are very welcome to ask any questions here.

(Assuming no apostrophes are mis-used in the process, but it looks like Chris managed to navigate that obstacle successfully! )

[calexs]

We certainly don't savagely pounce upon beginner mistakes and you are very welcome to ask any questions here.

(Assuming no apostrophes are mis-used in the process, but it looks like Chris managed to navigate that obstacle successful! )

I'm a primary school teacher. Mis-used apostrophes are my worst enemy! Like those seen in chip shops such as "Allans fish n chip's"

[DRT]

I'm a primary school teacher. Mis-used apostrophes are my worst enemy! Like those seen in chip shops such as "Allans fish n chip's"

Then you have definitely come to the right place!

Go out and buy yourself some port, pour yourself a glass, and then knock yourself out reading the 529 posts in our Apostrophe Crimes thread

[JacobH]

We certainly don't savagely pounce upon beginner mistakes and you are very welcome to ask any questions here.

(Assuming no apostrophes are mis-used in the process, but it looks like Chris managed to navigate that obstacle successful! )

I'm a primary school teacher. Mis-used apostrophes are my worst enemy! Like those seen in chip shops such as "Allans fish n chip's"

Thank goodness is is mis-used apostrophes rather than incorrectly suffixed adjectives

[calexs]

We certainly don't savagely pounce upon beginner mistakes and you are very welcome to ask any questions here.

(Assuming no apostrophes are mis-used in the process, but it looks like Chris managed to navigate that obstacle successful! )

I'm a primary school teacher. Mis-used apostrophes are my worst enemy! Like those seen in chip shops such as "Allans fish n chip's"

Thank goodness is is mis-used apostrophes rather than incorrectly suffixed adjectives

I let that slide out of politeness.

[Glenn E.]

Warre Optima

Beware the invading 'p'!

Or is it actually called Optima in Europe? Over here (and in Portugal) it's just Warre's Otima.

(The advice already presented is sound, so I really have nothing to add.)

[jdaw1]

Perhaps it is the pestilence of non-port-tastic checkers of spelling.

[JacobH]

I note that whilst those asking questions do not get pounced on for making mistakes on , those who answer them are not so lucky...

[jdaw1]

Newcomers and foreigners are held to lower standards.

Lawyers and mathematicians are criticised for any failure to reach the highest standards of accuracy and precision.

[DRT]

Newcomers and foreigners are held to lower standards.

Lawyers and mathematicians are criticised for any failure to reach the highest standards of accuracy and precision.

Presumably I count as a foreigner?

[RonnieRoots]

Hi Chris,

Welcome to the port forum, you have come to the right place!

Lots of sound advice is posted already, I would certainly advice you to do as Derek says and try as many styles as you can find at your local Asda. In terms of Ruby you are likely to find some very good value with LBV and Crusted ports. Enjoy the exploring!

[Alex Bridgeman]

Chris,

Welcome to The Port Forum and thank you for taking the time to join.

If you are within easy reach of London, I would recommend you try to join us at one of our tastings. Most of these are very informal gatherings when we get together in a wine bar in Covent Garden and everyone brings a bottle of port. The next event that we have tentatively planned is on January 10th when we will be tasting LBV ports - young and old!

Enjoy experimenting with the port range of Asda - which is a good range to give you an idea of different styles and types - and hope you find what you enjoy the most.

Alex