Port for when you are snowed in...

[benread]

An exchange elsewhere has raised the question in my mind - which port would you open to enjoy when snowed in at home (Appreciating that the volume of snow required to achieve this is probably somewhat less in the UK than other parts of the world more accustomed to delaing with cold white wet stuff!)

I am thinking it may be Morgan 1991 time!

[DRT]

Hmmm? Cold weather and port - it's got to be Taylor or Taylor Vargellas to give you that warm glow you desire

In the absence of Taylor, perhaps a 1975 or a Noval 70 would do the trick?

Derek

PS: Morgan 1991 qualifies for any ocassion

[benread]

Hmmm? Cold weather and port - it's got to be Taylor or Taylor Vargellas to give you that warm glow you desire

In the absence of Taylor, perhaps a 1975 or a Noval 70 would do the trick?

Derek

PS: Morgan 1991 qualifies for any ocassion

I wonder if our honourable friend in Paris would agree with this?!

A quick check suggests Noval 1970 or Vargellas 1978 are the options I have. Decisions!

[DRT]

I wonder if our honourable friend in Paris would agree with this?!

He's sleeping, he doesn't get a vote.

A quick check suggests Noval 1970 or Vargellas 1978 are the options I have. Decisions!

I would consider Vargellas 78 to be more useful in the long term than Noval 70

[benread]

I would consider Vargellas 78 to be more useful in the long term than Noval 70

As a child of 1970 I may have a different view. However, if memory serves me the Noval 1970 probably does not have a long life ahead of it, whereas the Vargellas 1978 may well do. Decisions! (Just need to finish the OBV 1983 first!)

[DRT]

From the available evidence you have only had 2 x 1970 VPs in the year of your 40th Birthday. Surely if you are to reach the required standard of 365 bottles of 1970 this year you need to step-up the pace?

[benread]

From the available evidence you have only had 2 x 1970 VPs in the year of your 40th Birthday. Surely if you are to reach the required standard of 365 bottles of 1970 this year you need to step-up the pace?

The available evidence is correct. Would 3 in 6 days be considered a good start to 40th Birthday celebrations?

[DRT]

From the available evidence you have only had 2 x 1970 VPs in the year of your 40th Birthday. Surely if you are to reach the required standard of 365 bottles of 1970 this year you need to step-up the pace?

The available evidence is correct. Would 3 in 6 days be considered a good start to 40th Birthday celebrations?

If you consider 50% of the required standard to be a good start then , yes.

[benread]

From the available evidence you have only had 2 x 1970 VPs in the year of your 40th Birthday. Surely if you are to reach the required standard of 365 bottles of 1970 this year you need to step-up the pace?

The available evidence is correct. Would 3 in 6 days be considered a good start to 40th Birthday celebrations?

If you consider 50% of the required standard to be a good start then , yes.

Who sets the standard as 100%?!

[DRT]

From the available evidence you have only had 2 x 1970 VPs in the year of your 40th Birthday. Surely if you are to reach the required standard of 365 bottles of 1970 this year you need to step-up the pace?

The available evidence is correct. Would 3 in 6 days be considered a good start to 40th Birthday celebrations?

If you consider 50% of the required standard to be a good start then , yes.

Who sets the standard as 100%?!

Everyone who is already 40 or over knows what the standard is. We just don't tell anyone until you're nearly there.

[JacobH]

From the available evidence you have only had 2 x 1970 VPs in the year of your 40th Birthday. Surely if you are to reach the required standard of 365 bottles of 1970 this year you need to step-up the pace?

The available evidence is correct. Would 3 in 6 days be considered a good start to 40th Birthday celebrations?

If you consider 50% of the required standard to be a good start then , yes.

Who sets the standard as 100%?!

Everyone who is already 40 or over knows what the standard is. We just don't tell anyone until you're nearly there.

Assuming DRT met the standard, there's no wonder that '65s are so hard to come by!

[Glenn E.]

Re: amount of snow necessary to be considered "snowed in"

Here in Seattle, the faintest whiff of the white stuff gently floating out of the sky is cause to mobilize the National Guard. If it actually begins to accumulate on the ground there is much wailing and gnashing of teeth about the end of civilization as we know it. On those rare occasions when it has actually stayed on the ground in Seattle itself for more than a day, the entire metro area basically shuts down. Pathetic.

When I was growing up in North East Nebraska, the beginnings of a blizzard during the evening where met with faint hope. Hope, that is, that it would be a truely epic storm so that we'd have some chance of having a snow day from school the next day. But alas, anything short of about 6' (yes, feet not inches) was insufficient to overpower the snow removal capacity of tiny Wayne, NE, population 5280. Not that anyone drove to school... we walked. In snow that was over our heads. Uphill both ways. Pulling our books behind us on sleds. Get off my lawn. Oops, sorry, that last one belongs in a different old-timer rant.

As far as which Port to drink goes... if I were snowed in I'd probably turn on the fireplace (gas, with electric ignition) and crack open a 40 Year Old Tawny. I have both Noval and Kopke available, so I'm well prepared for the end of civilization as we know it in Seattle.

[JacobH]

Here in Seattle, the faintest whiff of the white stuff gently floating out of the sky is cause to mobilize the National Guard. If it actually begins to accumulate on the ground there is much wailing and gnashing of teeth about the end of civilization as we know it. On those rare occasions when it has actually stayed on the ground in Seattle itself for more than a day, the entire metro area basically shuts down. Pathetic.

Wow. I thought it was just the UK that shut down after the lightest dusting of snow... Favourite train annoucement of the morning: "The train on platform 10 will be terminating here due to salt [?!?]"...

[benread]

Favourite train annoucement of the morning: "The train on platform 10 will be terminating here due to salt [?!?]"...

My favourite was "Apparently, a Redhill train will be arriving on Platform 2." Appearances were deceiving and I gave up and went home to work!

[Andy Velebil]

Los Angeles shuts down when it rains. The slightest hint of showers and we have "Storm Watch 2010" and all hell breaks loose If it ever snowed here people would think the world was coming to an end. I hope you guys get out of this soon, but at least you've got a good excuse to stay home and enjoy some Port

[RonnieRoots]

Los Angeles shuts down when it rains.

Same here. Although I must say it is sometimes justified. We were having a picnic on a beach just out of town last week when some dark clouds appeared. We decided to go back when a mild rain started. On the way back to Muscat we experienced flooded roads, and large amounts of rocks on the road. We were in the nick of time, but some parts of the road were nearly impassible, the water came over the hood of our 4X4! Pretty spectacular. We celebrated our safe homecoming with beer.

[angeleyes]

We're very used to rain over here! I'm nervously hoping the snow doesn't prevent my shopping trip to Lisbon tomorrow too

[Portman]

Here on the Mid Atlantic east coast of the United States it has been bloody cold since mid December, when we got plastered by a rare December storm that dropped a record 22 inches, which is more than we usually get in a whole winter. I love big storms, not least because school and work are cancelled and we all go out sledding and enjoying the tranquility of moving at a slower pace reminiscent of earlier times.

Also a nice glass of port next to the fireplace is one of the finest thing in life. Taylor sounds good to me, as does Fonseca and Vesuvio.

[Roy Hersh]

Here in Seattle, the faintest whiff of the white stuff gently floating out of the sky is cause to mobilize the National Guard. If it actually begins to accumulate on the ground there is much wailing and gnashing of teeth about the end of civilization as we know it. On those rare occasions when it has actually stayed on the ground in Seattle itself for more than a day, the entire metro area basically shuts down. Pathetic.

.

Maybe just a slight exaggeration, if the winter of 2009 was any example. Typically though, our winters are mild and we can go for years with no snow, except for the nearby mountains (20 miles from Glenn and my area) where skiing takes place. We have had some snow that reached a full foot deep on several occasions since I've moved here, but compared to Nebraska and much of the Northern half of the USA, this really is very mild in terms of snow. The Northeast gets some of the really crazy storms (I'm thinking of Buffalo, NY but even NYC on occasion for example, or VT, ME, MA, NH etc.) but the mountain states get blanketed early and often with deep powder. It makes for some great Port drinking and skiing.

Tonight I am very pleased to announce that after 8 consecutive TCA infested bottles of Cockburn's 1983 -- dating back two years prior to the London Cockburn's vertical, I finally am enjoying a beauty from my own cellar. My daughter used a tongs on it, making it even more fun for the family. She enjoyed a sip as I wratcheted the cheesecloth she decanted it through, from over her head and into her mouth. A big silly grin and licking her lips ensued. Don't worry it was probably less than a half an ounce. We had a white Christmas in Michigan (again) this year, but have not even seen a snowflake here this winter.

Nothing like being snowed in and sipping Port on a snowy day or bright, cold and sunny days that often follow snowy ones.

[Alex Bridgeman]

Los Angeles shuts down when it rains. The slightest hint of showers and we have "Storm Watch 2010" and all hell breaks loose If it ever snowed here people would think the world was coming to an end. I hope you guys get out of this soon, but at least you've got a good excuse to stay home and enjoy some Port

I was in San Francisco once when it snowed, about 20 yers ago. That was amusing. Maybe only ½", but no-one knew how to drive in the snow and loads of cars just slid down the hills and turned into a big pile of mangled metal.

[Andy Velebil]

Los Angeles shuts down when it rains. The slightest hint of showers and we have "Storm Watch 2010" and all hell breaks loose If it ever snowed here people would think the world was coming to an end. I hope you guys get out of this soon, but at least you've got a good excuse to stay home and enjoy some Port

I was in San Francisco once when it snowed, about 20 yers ago. That was amusing. Maybe only ½", but no-one knew how to drive in the snow and loads of cars just slid down the hills and turned into a big pile of mangled metal.

It's been raining, snowing, and hailing here since Monday! If the news is right we've now had more rain this week than we normally get all year It was a mess at first but now people have realized not to leave the house, so traffic isn't that bad now....but Monday, that was a different story.

[SushiNorth]

With weather reporting 3-30" of snow across the east coast, I took the plunge and opened a Gould Campbell 1980. This is still fabulous stuff, and best served immediately. It never snowed, but I enjoyed the port

That said, this particular bottle suffered from D.E. (Decanting Error). For those not familiar with D.E. (let's add it to the list), it's a funny story. Like this one:

Capsule stripped and cork screw applied. The cork broke. The chunks broke on the second try. I nearly got my finger stuck in the bottle trying to poke the bits of cork down (never do that with your finger, btw). After getting the cork out of the way, decanting proceeded smoothly: metal coffee filter inside of a large plain coffee filter inside a large funnel, planted into the top of a decanter. A half bottle stood at the ready for filling and refrigerating.

At about the half bottle mark, I sensed something wrong. The decant was proceeding at an odd rate. Not too fast, and yet not too slow. Spider senses tingling, I carefully removed the metal basket. No change. So I carefully lifted the paper coffee filter (so that the port could filter better through the sides, which always stick to the funnel). With a loud "plop" sound, all of the port in the filter drained immediately into the decanter. Upon closer inspection, the filter had developed a large hole on the bottom. Hey, these aren't my Melita's! I placed the cheap filter in the trash, removed the remaining cheap filters from the decanting tools box, and grabbed a Melita.

As I now had a half bottle of port in need of refiltration, I moved the funnel to the half bottle, put the Melita inside, and began to pour. After a few moments, i noticed port bubbling up around the tight seal the funnel made with the bottle. Too big of a funnel! I quickly transferred the funnel to a nearby glass, found a second decanter, and let decanting continue.

The original decanter was emptied and cleaned, the bottle finally emptied into the new decanter, and upon completion, half was stored in the half-bottle for later consumption. The port was good.

[Alex Bridgeman]

Upon closer inspection, the filter had developed a large hole on the bottom.

I find that folding the bottom of the filter paper over a couple of times to reinforce the seam solves this problem.