Port Tasting at The Wine Store

For the first annual tasters gathering at the Wine Store in the New Year, James Morrison organized a port tasting. People on the email list brought nuts, dried fruits and chocolates and James provided blackberries, blue cheese and more chocolates for the port pairing. James was also joined by his friend Brett who is a connoisseur of port and would provide some necessary accoutrement when it came time to taste the vintage port.

James poured Taylor Fladgate Ruby Port, Taylor Fladgate Tawny Port and Taylor Fladgate 2005 Vintage Port. James explained how port, a fortified wine was made in Portugal mainly from Touriga Nacional grapes. All of the ports tasted mighty fine, who doesn't like port and chocolates, I say! When it came time to open the vintage port, Brett showed us how with a set of port tongs. It is essential that the port tongs be heated to a high enough temperature. In this case, Brett used a propane fire ring for outdoor cooking to heat the tongs. Standing by, he had a small container of ice water as well as a port filter. All of us watched and listened intently, as a "pop" sound signals a successful bottle opening. Here is a short video of the operation:

We ended the evening with a vote to determine whether the final port should be a 1995 vintage port or the 20 year old Taylor Fladgate. The vintage people won the vote so we tasted the 1995 vintage port which was already throwing a good degree of sediment. We enjoyed seeing familiar faces. It was another successful evening at the Wine Store and such a nice way to start the New Year!
Thanks, James!