Vintage Port Tasting at Christos' House

Port is one of the world's great alcoholic drinks but as it tends to be served at the end of a meal after plenty of other alcohol has already been drunk it is perhaps not as appreciated as much as it could be! So this tasting will focus exclusively on Port - a whole evening of nothing else!

Port is a fortified wine which comes from the Douro Valley in Portugal. It comes in a big range of styles including ruby, tawny, single quinta, vintage and these will all feature in this tasting. I will explain how port is made, the different grape varieties used and what makes a vintage a 'true' Vintage.

The tasting will include wines from most of the major 'houses' including Taylors, Fonseca, Warre, Croft, Dow and Grahams. We will start with a white Port as an aperitif and then the rest of the line up will include several Single Quinta Ports from the 1990s most of which cost between £25 and £32 per bottle, and as a Grand Finale two 'true' 1991 Vintage ports from my private collection which today cost around £55 per bottle retail. In all there will be 11 different bottles! Here is the full list:

A White Port

Quinto do Noval 10 Year Old Tawny

Grahams Malvedos 1999

Taylors Vargellas 1998

Croft Roeda 1997

Fonseca Guimarens 1996

Warre Cavadinha 1995

Rozes Terras do Grifo Vintage 2006

Symington Vintage 2003

Croft Vintage 1991

Grahams Vintage 1991

The classic match for port is blue stilton and I will buy some different types as part of the buffet to go with the tasting. There will be plenty of bread, cheeses and other food to soak up the alcohol!

Numbers will be limited to 16 people and the cost of the tasting is £35 per head.

Cheers,

Christos