Daily Olive: Tips on Hosting a Port Tasting Party

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Tips on Hosting a Port Tasting Party

All Things Wine, Parties & Entertaining | Share Your Opinion

September 30, 2005

As the weather gets cooler, a port tasting party is a great way to warm up and get cozy. Here's some quick tips on hosting a port tasting party (via WineSkinny.com).

Port makes an outstanding choice for a winter wine tasting. Cold nights, a cozy fire, good friends, fabulous port. What else could you want out of life?

If you are new to port, here are a couple of basics: Tawny port is usually ready to drink, because it's had all the aging it needs before it's bottled. Typically, it has a reddish-brown color and a mature, nutty, dried-fruit flavor that matches beautifully with foods that feature blue cheeses, nuts, certain grains or dried fruits. Vintage port, on the other hand, is bottled after only a couple of years in the barrel and needs quite a bit of aging to soften bitter tannins and to integrate the often harsh spirit into thickly textured, luscious wine.

We're going to focus on tawny ports here, simply because there would not be much point in you going out to buy vintage ports for a tasting party now. We do encourage you to buy some vintage ports, and we've included some great suggestions, but they will need some aging before they're ready to drink.

So, here are a few terrific selections that are currently available.

The Wine:

Tawny Ports:
Rosemount NV Tawny Port South Eastern Australia Solera Aged Old Benson Fine Old Tawny ($24)

Ramos-Pinto NV Tawny Port 30 Years Old ($75). Wow - a blockbuster finish.

Dow NV Tawny Port 20 Years Old ($39). Huge wine. Intense. Sweet. Balanced. Wonderful.

Cockburn NV Tawny Port 10 Years Old ($23). Medium bodied and nicely balanced. Great with food.

Penfolds Club Port Reserve (Australia, $11). Great value on this complicated, spicy port with a long smooth finish.

Seppelt NV Tawny Port Australia Old Trafford ($12). Sweet and lingering, without being cloying. A true dessert wine.

Vintage Ports:
1997 is shaping up to be an excellent port vintage. The '97s are just beginning to hit the shelves, so pricing is still a bit undecided. The bottom line seems to be that if you are a port aficionado, and you see a '97 vintage port that you can afford -- buy it! Here are a few specifics:

1997 Fonseca (should be around $100). You cannot go wrong with a Fonseca vintage port. The '97 has received rave reviews from all corners. Buy it if you can find it.

1997 Niepoort ($60)
1997 Dow ($60) -- a great buy!

Other Ports:
These are unique bottlings that do not fall into the usual categories -- definitely worth a try!

Osborne 1994 Late Bottled Port ($12). One heck of a price and delicious. Not as sweet as the name might suggest.

Cockburn 1994 Late Bottled Port ($17). Rich and raisiny, this is an excellent wine.

The Food:

We know all about the classic pairing of Port and chocolate. Great. Fabulous. But, frankly, we get a little bored with that. Besides, we come dangerously close to lapsing into sugar comas in a pretty short period of time.

Instead, try an assortment of cheeses, nuts, and dried fruits. It's easy and impressive, and your blood sugar levels will thank you.

For a cheese selection, try Parmigiano Regiano (a whole piece, not the canned, grated stuff!), Manchego, Munster, and Stilton (heavenly with port).

Nuts: Toasted almonds, Unshelled pistachios, and lightly-salted cashews.

Dried fruits: apricots and prunes.

If you want to include a sweet, try your favorite recipe for pecan or walnut pie.

Tasting Notes:
We've found that our guests really enjoy the opportunity to "grade" the wines. You can make it as casual or controlled as you like. We tend to put out a pile of our tasting notes sheets and then encourage our guests to take notes. Somewhere toward the end of the evening -- or once everyone has had time to taste the various wines -- we like to have a little group discussion of the favorites. It really is a lot of fun to hear everyone's opinions of the wines, and there are always some interesting surprises.

The most important thing is to have fun with your tasting party. Branch out to wines that are new to you. Don't worry about the results -- everyone will have a great time participating in the tasting.

Visit WineSkinny.com for more details on wine tasting party ideas and wine winners. Their site is tremendously helpful for the novice and experienced wine lover.

By Robert | September 30, 2005 in All Things Wine, Parties & Entertaining | Permalink