Report from - Port and Douro Wine Tasting - October 22, 2007
Port … to wine lovers it has nothing to do with fish, boats or huddled masses seeing the Statue of Liberty for the first time. It’s about sweet, supple wines with 20% alcohol. Words like Tawny, Vintage, Ruby, 10-, 20- and 30-years old adorn the labels. Names like Fladgate, Graham’s, Warre’s, Dow’s and Sandeman get palates salivating for dark chocolate, almonds and blue cheese. Flavours of cherries, plums, tangerine, hazelnuts and countless others fill both the nose and the mouth. And, of course, real Port means Portugal – like Champagne, Sherry, Tokay and Sauternes, Port has a particular region of the world to call home … and that’s where they make those potent, delicious and intoxicating elixirs. But Portugal is not just about Port wines, as the Port and Douro tasting proved – though some of the most memorable moments are of sipping the sweet red and amber nectars.
Portugal is not only about red wines they do make whites wine too, but when 85% of your show is stained red, those are the wines you concentrate on. We’ll kick off this look at Port and Douro wines with the still table wines then move onto the Ports themselves. Finally, I will tell you my best of show winner … a table that was a must visit. (Read more)
