I know I can answer this question with a $5 investment but thought it
would be more fun to ask some experts. In a nutshell; I have always
disliked alcohol, including wines. I basically just get tired and a
headache if I drink wine. I recently had a nice experience, however,
drinking a Port wine that was bought for about $15 at Sam's Club and I
have purchased a few bottles since then. It was a rich, fruity wine
and a small glass tends to calm my nerves in the evening.

Here's the question. I went to Safeway today to look at Port wines.
They had the same brand (Fortego or something like that, can't
remember) and some other brands. Some were Porto (Europe, Portugal),
some were Port (California). I presume that both Porto and Port are
"Port" wines. The European brands were $28 to $35 and the California
brands actually went as low as $4-5 dollars.

Will I like the $5 bottle of Port as much as I like the $15 bottle?
Is a Port a Port? Or are there real differences?

Thanks ...
Dan in Chandler, Arizona

Hey Dan -
I'm glad that you've found a wine that agrees with you!
Let me take a look at your questions one at a time:

Will you like the $5 port as much as the $15? Well, there is only one
way to find out, and it involves risking $5. My guess, however, would
be no. There are many good ports that are available for about $15.00
(Fonseca Bin 27, Kopke Ruby) and a couple that are under $10.00
(Warre's Warrior, for example) but none that I have heard of for
$5.00. However, if you are just getting into the business of drinking
port, it's all worth a try.

Is a Port a Port? No. There are ports and then there are ports. A true
Port is from Portugual only - in much the same way that a true
Champagne is only from the Champagne region of France. However, just
as there are Champagnes from Champagne and Sparkling Wine from many
other places (like California), there are Ports from Portugal and
other fortified wines made in a "Port" style (mainly from California
and Australia). What is a fortified port style wine? It is a red wine
(usually made from the sort of robust grapes that grow in the Douro
region of Portugal) that has been fortified with neutral tasting
brandy. Adding the brandy to the fermenting wine suddenly kills the
all the yeast before they have finished converting the natural sugars
in the grapes to alcohol. In practice, that means that you are left
with a sweet and alcoholic beverage.

Are there real differences between a good Port from Portugal and less
expensive versions from California? I think so. There are many
different kinds of Port from Portugal, but the best (even for $15 or
so) will be rich, well-textured and complex. I find cheap port-style
wines from Australia to have a messy, over-done flavour that reminds
me of a woman with lipstick smeared around her lips and leopard print
leotards.

I just wrote a column itemizing my favourite cheap Ports. If you are
interested, you can find it he

http://www.lawandstyle.ca/index.php?...76&Item id=90

Hope this helps!

Matthew
The Short Cellar
www.lawandstyle.ca/shortcellar

Matthew, I couldn't have hoped for a better response/education. I
will read your column after my morning meetings and pick up some
port(s) later today. Thank you VERY much for taking the time to
answer my questions. Dan

On Feb 6, 9:13 pm, Short Cellar > wrote:
> Hey Dan -
> I'm glad that you've found a wine that agrees with you!
> Let me take a look at your questions one at a time:
>
> Will you like the $5 port as much as the $15? Well, there is only one
> way to find out, and it involves risking $5. My guess, however, would
> be no. There are many good ports that are available for about $15.00
> (Fonseca Bin 27, Kopke Ruby) and a couple that are under $10.00
> (Warre's Warrior, for example) but none that I have heard of for
> $5.00. However, if you are just getting into the business of drinking
> port, it's all worth a try.
>
> Is a Port a Port? No. There are ports and then there are ports. A true
> Port is from Portugual only - in much the same way that a true
> Champagne is only from the Champagne region of France. However, just
> as there are Champagnes from Champagne and Sparkling Wine from many
> other places (like California), there are Ports from Portugal and
> other fortified wines made in a "Port" style (mainly from California
> and Australia). What is a fortified port style wine? It is a red wine
> (usually made from the sort of robust grapes that grow in the Douro
> region of Portugal) that has been fortified with neutral tasting
> brandy. Adding the brandy to the fermenting wine suddenly kills the
> all the yeast before they have finished converting the natural sugars
> in the grapes to alcohol. In practice, that means that you are left
> with a sweet and alcoholic beverage.
>
> Are there real differences between a good Port from Portugal and less
> expensive versions from California? I think so. There are many
> different kinds of Port from Portugal, but the best (even for $15 or
> so) will be rich, well-textured and complex. I find cheap port-style
> wines from Australia to have a messy, over-done flavour that reminds
> me of a woman with lipstick smeared around her lips and leopard print
> leotards.
>
> I just wrote a column itemizing my favourite cheap Ports. If you are
> interested, you can find it he
>
> http://www.lawandstyle.ca/index.php?...task=view&id=1...
>
> Hope this helps!
>
> Matthew
> The Short Cellarwww.lawandstyle.ca/shortcellar

"Short Cellar" > wrote in message
...
> Hey Dan -
> I'm glad that you've found a wine that agrees with you!
> Let me take a look at your questions one at a time:
>
> Will you like the $5 port as much as the $15? Well, there is only one
> way to find out, and it involves risking $5. My guess, however, would
> be no. There are many good ports that are available for about $15.00
> (Fonseca Bin 27, Kopke Ruby) and a couple that are under $10.00
> (Warre's Warrior, for example) but none that I have heard of for
> $5.00. However, if you are just getting into the business of drinking
> port, it's all worth a try.
>
> Is a Port a Port? No. There are ports and then there are ports. A true
> Port is from Portugual only - in much the same way that a true
> Champagne is only from the Champagne region of France. However, just
> as there are Champagnes from Champagne and Sparkling Wine from many
> other places (like California), there are Ports from Portugal and
> other fortified wines made in a "Port" style (mainly from California
> and Australia). What is a fortified port style wine? It is a red wine
> (usually made from the sort of robust grapes that grow in the Douro
> region of Portugal) that has been fortified with neutral tasting
> brandy. Adding the brandy to the fermenting wine suddenly kills the
> all the yeast before they have finished converting the natural sugars
> in the grapes to alcohol. In practice, that means that you are left
> with a sweet and alcoholic beverage.
>
> Are there real differences between a good Port from Portugal and less
> expensive versions from California? I think so. There are many
> different kinds of Port from Portugal, but the best (even for $15 or
> so) will be rich, well-textured and complex. I find cheap port-style
> wines from Australia to have a messy, over-done flavour that reminds
> me of a woman with lipstick smeared around her lips and leopard print
> leotards.
>
> I just wrote a column itemizing my favourite cheap Ports. If you are
> interested, you can find it he
>
> http://www.lawandstyle.ca/index.php?...76&Item id=90
>
> Hope this helps!
>
> Matthew
> The Short Cellar
> www.lawandstyle.ca/shortcellar
>
>
Matthew, I read your very nice article about ports. You left out the
pistachios with the stilton and the vintage port. You have to have that bit
of crunch to make it all work together. I have six bottles of 1962 Warre
Port sitting downstairs in the cellar. Recently the 7th bottle was
spectacular! When would you drink the remainder?

Kent

My dear friend - Port is only in Portugal - Douro, that $5 XXXXX is
another thing is no a Port. Enjoy only the true Port from Portugal,
Please visit me site : http://fbsite.sampasite.com if you want know
more about Port.
My regards

Thank you Brito. I can certainly appreciate your proud view. I wound
up buying a bottle from Portugal and it is lovely (sorry, again; can't
remember the name). How nice it is to drink a small glass of Port
after a strenuous day at the office. Never thought I'd like any kind
of wine but Port is quite delicious . I will look at your site
later from home.

And thanks also to Kent for the tip on pistachios. I happen to love
them too so I'll try them with the Port tonight!

Dan

On Feb 10, 11:45 am, Brito > wrote:
> My dear friend - Port is only in Portugal - Douro, that $5 XXXXX is
> another thing is no a Port. Enjoy only the true Port from Portugal,
> Please visit me site : http://fbsite.sampasite.comif you want know
> more about Port.
> My regards

On Feb 9, 10:37*pm, "Kent" > wrote:
> "Short Cellar" > wrote in message
>
> ...
>
>
>
> > Hey Dan -
> > I'm glad that you've found a wine that agrees with you!
> > Let me take a look at your questions one at a time:
>
> > Will you like the $5 port as much as the $15? Well, there is only one
> > way to find out, and it involves risking $5. My guess, however, would
> > be no. There are many good ports that are available for about $15.00
> > (Fonseca Bin 27, Kopke Ruby) and a couple that are under $10.00
> > (Warre's Warrior, for example) but none that I have heard of for
> > $5.00. *However, if you are just getting into the business of drinking
> > port, it's all worth a try.
>
> > Is a Port a Port? No. There are ports and then there are ports. A true
> > Port is from Portugual only - in much the same way that a true
> > Champagne is only from the Champagne region of France. However, just
> > as there are Champagnes from Champagne and Sparkling Wine from many
> > other places (like California), there are Ports from Portugal and
> > other fortified wines made in a "Port" style (mainly from California
> > and Australia). What is a fortified port style wine? It is a red wine
> > (usually made from the sort of robust grapes that grow in the Douro
> > region of Portugal) that has been fortified with neutral tasting
> > brandy. Adding the brandy to the fermenting wine suddenly kills the
> > all the yeast before they have finished converting the natural sugars
> > in the grapes to alcohol. In practice, that means that you are left
> > with a sweet and alcoholic beverage.
>
> > Are there real differences between a good Port from Portugal and less
> > expensive versions from California? I think so. There are many
> > different kinds of Port from Portugal, but the best (even for $15 or
> > so) will be rich, well-textured and complex. I find cheap port-style
> > wines from Australia to have a messy, over-done flavour that reminds
> > me of a woman with lipstick smeared around her lips and leopard print
> > leotards.
>
> > I just wrote a column itemizing my favourite cheap Ports. If you are
> > interested, you can find it he
>
> >http://www.lawandstyle.ca/index.php?...task=view&id=1...
>
> > Hope this helps!
>
> > Matthew
> > The Short Cellar
> >www.lawandstyle.ca/shortcellar
>
> Matthew, I read your very nice article about ports. You left out the
> pistachios with the stilton and the vintage port. You have to have that bit
> of crunch to make it all work together. I have six bottles of 1962 Warre
> Port sitting downstairs in the cellar. Recently the 7th bottle was
> spectacular! *When would you drink the remainder?
>
> Kent- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Pistachios! Of course. I will try that the next time I am making an
evening of a bottle of port. Thanks of the tip.
You are a lucky fellow if you still have half a dozen bottles of 1962
Warre's haunting your basement. Hat's off to you and your patience. If
the port tastes spectacular now, I would slowly work my way through
the last six. Obviously, you are in no hurry, since it is still
drinking well now, but it is not likely to improve much after 46
years. Experimentation is definitely your best option when you have so
many bottles to play with!
Matthew
www.lawandstyle.ca/shortcellar