introduction thread

[WS1]

Hi there,

to some extend I am not really sure what to say. So I hope with the following text to fullfill the criteria set for a proper introduction. As probably most members of this forum I do love Port. However this was not always the case. I learned how amazing they can be very late. Before I was more interested in all sort of wines and when it came to sweet wines it was old Madeira wines I adored most (love old Henriques&Henriques ).
To be more precise it all started with the participation on the Noval/Nacional tasting Linden Wilkie from the Fine Wine experience organised (tasting in pairs Noval & Nacional 31, 63, 94, 97, 00, 03). Outing myself I only turned up to this tasting because Linden had sold two bt of old bts of Madeira (vintage 1792 as far as I remember which were bottled 1840 and belonged at one stage Napoleon who could not pay after he lost Waterloo and was sent to Exile) to afford a bt of Nacional 1931. I was disapointed since I hoped I could afford to go to a tasting and drinking Napoleons Madeira. Linden though persuaded me it is much better to join the tasting Noval/Nacional and drink something really special. So I did. I must say he was absolutely right. After this tasting I started to become interested in Port and now regularily drink/enjoy them. However I only like port very young or very old and nothing in beetween. Another feature of myself is that I do not read books related to wine/port or read tasting notes of wine critics. I am more interested in the practical application trying the wine on my own and make my own decison if I like the wine or not. This is a quite cumbersome process and after trying so many wines and going to so many tastings I must say it is probably easier to read the tasting notes and start from there. The only advantage haveing tried all the wines on your own is that you can select the wines you really like more precisely (avoid "fashion" in wine making etc.)
Furthermore the absolute best for me about drinking Port and going to Port tastings are the people you meet. Alone on the Noval/Nacional tasting I met so many interesting and funny characters, I could not believe it. These people know what they are talking about and do not belong to a class of "status symbol" drinkers or are boring at all. In going to normal wine tastings you find so many people just following wine critics and let them dictate their taste.

regards

Wolfgang

[DRT]

Hi Wolfgang.

Welcome to

It was great to meet you at the 1970 Horizontal last Friday.

Derek

[g-man]

characters indeed =)

welcome to the forums wolfgang!

[benread]

Wolfgang,

Hello again! It looks like we are starting a 1970 revolution here at TPF with yourself Axel and I (and probably others I do not know about yet!)

Hope to see you again soon. We are always looking for excuses to meet and drink good port with like minded friends.

[Alex Bridgeman]

Wolfgang,

Delighted you could join us on the forum. Keep an eye on the many informal small offlines that we organise from time to time. We use these as an opportunity to drink ports that we would not open if we were drinking on our own but enjoy opening to share.

Alex

[RonnieRoots]

Welcome to the forums Wolfgang.

[JacobH]

Hi there,

However I only like port very young or very old and nothing in beetween. Another feature of myself is that I do not read books related to wine/port or read tasting notes of wine critics. I am more interested in the practical application trying the wine on my own and make my own decison if I like the wine or not.

Welcome, Wolfgang!

One thing that I going to off-lines has made me appreciate is that the date on the bottle is only a rough guide as to how mature the wine will be. A good (if extreme) example was the 1900 Warre we drank as Christmas, which (from memory) was still probably darker than some very fast maturing Ports (like the Delaforce ’85). One of the nice things about TNs is that you can get a good idea of how a wine is showing, before deciding whether to open it.

Not sure if you are based in London or in easy reach of it, but if you are do come to some more off-lines (such as the Vargellas vertical on the 24th March).