Why women no longer bypass the port

[jdaw1]

Port has shaken off its fusty image as retailers today reported an exponential rise in sales.

They said the drink, traditionally thought of as the preserve of "old men", has undergone a surge in popularity among women, with sales soaring by up to 50 per cent.

It comes after retailers reported last week that sales of sherry have risen in the past three months which experts put down to the "Downton effect" of ITV's hit drama Downton Abbey. Experts said the introduction of lighter ports such as "pink port" and its use in cocktails is making the drink more attractive to women. They also said it is part of a general rise in popularity of fortified wines.

Its use in recipes by TV cooks such as Nigella Lawson, pictured, and Delia Smith has also helped boost sales.

Marks & Spencer said sales of port for the past two months are up by nearly a quarter on the same time last year, while Waitrose said sales of lighter ports such as tawny and white port, have shot up by nearly 50 per cent. Selfridges said sales were up 30 per cent on last year. Sue Daniels, an M&S winemaker who helped develop pink port, said: "I don't think the younger generation have many preconceptions about whether it should or shouldn't be drunk."

[Chris Doty]

I'm afraid that without raw numbers (i.e., rather than % changes), the article is useless. If they sold 2 bottles last year, and 3 bottles this year, it is difficult for me to get excited about the 50% increase in sales, you dig?

Port is for older, sophisticated guys. TPF (while not entirely a proxy for the port drinking community in the UK), isn't a terrible representation either.

[g-man]

Port is for older, sophisticated guys. TPF (while not entirely a proxy for the port drinking community in the UK), isn't a terrible representation either.

but I wonder if TPF can be a representation of port drinkers in NY?

[clawhit]

Marks & Spencer said sales of port for the past two months are up by nearly a quarter on the same time last year, while Waitrose said sales of lighter ports such as tawny and white port, have shot up by nearly 50 per cent. Selfridges said sales were up 30 per cent on last year. Sue Daniels, an M&S winemaker who helped develop pink port, said: "I don't think the younger generation have many preconceptions about whether it should or shouldn't be drunk

Of course it helps that M&S are out of stock of Vintage Port a good 75% of the year and Waitrose don't sell a vintage port but tons of tawny's and whites

[RAYC]

Others may have a different experience, but whenever i take port to a dinner, the majority of women do still bypass the port. It is of course not a 100% rule, but there is certainly a very clear pattern.

Broadly it seems to fall down to a preference for white wine or clear spirits with mixer, and there appears to be various reasons behind this, not all of which apply in every instance (for example: lighter to drink and genuine taste preference, desire to avoid mixing drinks in an evening, desire to stop or limit drinking beyond end of main course, concerns about tooth-stain, concerns about calory content, concerns about nature of hangover).

I did once take a pink port to a dinner party to see if this avoided those issues (and took the trouble to get the best one available in the UK going by the ratings of Axel's pink port article), and at the end of the evening two thirds remained in bottle and the majority of the remaining third was left undrunk in people's glasses. I know that i quickly put down my own glass in favour of a dark and stormy when it was offered!! Now i have no doubt that it would have been a different story if i had taken along the the Santa Eufemia 30yr white tawny, but people in my social group are generally not spending more than £20 per bottle on a regular basis - even for dinner parties.

I'm afraid that without raw numbers (i.e., rather than % changes), the article is useless. If they sold 2 bottles last year, and 3 bottles this year, it is difficult for me to get excited about the 50% increase in sales, you dig?

Yes - particularly as the sale of pink and white ports in supermarkets is, as far as i can see, a relatively recent phenomenon.

Its use in recipes by TV cooks such as Nigella Lawson, pictured, and Delia Smith has also helped boost sales.

I can well believe that greater use in recipes by some influential TV cooks (if this is indeed a recent phenomenon - i would not know) has helped boost sales, but port purchased for these purposes is likely not being drunk!

[Alex Bridgeman]

Others may have a different experience, but whenever i take port to a dinner, the majority of women do still bypass the port. It is of course not a 100% rule, but there is certainly a very clear pattern.

Broadly it seems to fall down to a preference for white wine or clear spirits with mixer...

Perhaps I should be pleased with the fact that I managed to find a woman whose drinks of preference are Champagne (which I accept is light and white), mature claret and vintage port in early maturity - and Rob can attest that she can hold her own during a vinous evening!

And if I think back over the last year I can think of four occasions when we have entertained couples for dinner and the husband has been told that he is driving when the vintage port has been produced so that the wife can have several glasses of port. The issue seems to be that most women do not have easy access to decent quantities of mature vintage port from a vintage range of 1958-1991.

[benread]

...mature vintage port from a vintage range of 1958-1991.

A little premature suggesting the 1991 is mature. Give it another week or so!