Chilled ports?

[g-man]

ALot of people are mentioning to me that they want their tawnies chilled during my tasting sections.

I find it loses alot of the nuances but the heat isn't as apparent.

What you guys think?

[Glenn E.]

I suppose it depends on what is meant by "chilled."

I find that tawnies lose most of their appeal if cooled below about 65F/18C. The nose becomes muted and the flavors just don't pop. It does also tend to mute the heat as Jeff said, but to me that doesn't make up for the losses on the nose and palate.

Sure, they're much more "drinkable" at lower temperatures, but for me tawnies are sipping wines and it's the rubies that are for drinking. You're missing the point if you're "drinking" tawnies.

So... serve tawnies at 65-68 degrees and if people want them colder tell them they're doing it wrong. (a la Steve Jobs)

[g-man]

as ny just went through a heat wave where every day was in thie high nineties and a few days in the 100s, alot of guests had me dunking a few of Quevedo tawnies in to the ice bucket.

would you still sip if it was really hot out?

[Glenn E.]

as ny just went through a heat wave where every day was in thie high nineties and a few days in the 100s, alot of guests had me dunking a few of Quevedo tawnies in to the ice bucket.

would you still sip if it was really hot out?

Me? No... I find tawnies to be too rich for truly hot weather. If coerced into selecting a Port, I'd go with a cold aged white instead (aged only because I'm not all that fond of base level whites).

For me, Port is too rich and heavy for hot weather. Really hot weather calls for lemonade.

[djewesbury]

The few producers I've asked have all requested that their tawnies be served chilled. I'm about to enter the Albert Hall to watch 4 hours of Wagner. It's basically a metal box, I'm guessing it's pushing 40° in there. A (bottle of) chilled tawny would go very nicely.