My stepmom gifted me a collection of port that belonged to her late husband. We would prefer to pass these along to someone who would appreciate them more than we can. They have been stored in a wine cellar until they were given to me about 2 months ago; since then they have been stored at about 62-66 degrees in my house. We are located in Santa Cruz, California, and could likely manage to get these to most places in state. The list is as follows:
- Grahams 1963
- Warre's 1970
- Croft 1970
- Fonseca 1963
- Warre's 1985
- Dow 1963
- Dow's 1994
- Fonseca 1985
Photos to follow and happy to send more to anyone interested. Please reach out if you might like to chat more about these. Thanks!
@ Mike J.W. - I had dinner with a friend in upstate NY a few weeks ago and he produced a truly astonishing bottle of 1974 Ridge Montebello. He bought it (in 1977) for $19.70 according to the sticker.
winesecretary wrote: ↑21:48 Fri 06 Jun 2025
@ Mike J.W. - I had dinner with a friend in upstate NY a few weeks ago and he produced a truly astonishing bottle of 1974 Ridge Montebello. He bought it (in 1977) for $19.70 according to the sticker.
That same bottle now sells for I believe, $700. That's a classic vintage for California wines. How was the bottle? Where were you in upstate NY?
@ Mike J W - he lives near Corning. We took the opportunity of my visit to go and review the current production of a bunch of Finger Lakes wineries (680 Vineyards, Hosmer, Lamoreaux Landing, Atwater, Ravines, Hickory Hollow/Nathan K, Herman J Weimer and so on) over three days. Fun trip.
We had Heitz Martha’s Vineyard 1974 and Phelps Insignia 1974 the same evening as the Montebello, again both owned by him since the late 1970s. It was quite the night.
winesecretary wrote: ↑06:00 Sat 07 Jun 2025
@ Mike J W - he lives near Corning. We took the opportunity of my visit to go and review the current production of a bunch of Finger Lakes wineries (680 Vineyards, Hosmer, Lamoreaux Landing, Atwater, Ravines, Hickory Hollow/Nathan K, Herman J Weimer and so on) over three days. Fun trip.
We had Heitz Martha’s Vineyard 1974 and Phelps Insignia 1974 the same evening as the Montebello, again both owned by him since the late 1970s. It was quite the night.
George, that's great drinking in one night. All good reds. The Finger Lakes trip sounds great as well. I haven't been to the wineries up there, but I've read they've been upping their game of late.
My daughter lives about an hour east of Corning, so I've been there a few times, but not too recently. Corning has an interesting glass museum as well.
@ Mike J W - arguably the best glass museum in the world! I’ve spent four happy mornings there over the last decade.
I would say that the current most interesting wineries in the Finger Lakes are Herman J Weimer, Hickory Hollow/Nathan K, and 680 Cellars. Too many of the wineries are looking for excess revenue from the ‘tasting room experience’ with ‘views from the deck’ and ‘food pairings’. I get that some of the market is hen parties out for a spree, and people with more money than they know what to do with, but that’s crowding out the serious tasters, which is a shame, because the best of the wines are wonderful. I don’t give a damn about the view or about food pairings. You or those accompanying you may, but if not, if when booking you make it clear that you are serious wine tasters who take notes, spit the wines out, and buy bottles of the good ones to take away, you can curate an experience more suited to your temperament…
