If I say “white fish”, what Portuguese wine comes to mind? Possibly a crisp, dry Alvarinho? Maybe you’d even go so far to include an Alentejo white made from Arinto or Antao Vaz? All fair combinations, but I doubt you would ever say, “hey, what about a light, refreshing Port wine!” At least I hope you don’t, or else we’ve failed miserably at our job to educate you on the very basics of what Port is - definitely not light and refreshing, nor would I ever suggest you paired it with white fish. Yuck! Go with chocolate.

But over a century ago, two crazy Norwegians saw a void in the market which they couldn’t ignore. In 1865, Theodor Wiese and Dankert Krohn began selling bacalhau (salt cod) to the Portuguese, and then turned right around to sell Port wine back to their native home of Norway. For those of you not familiar with Norway, it’s cold. Really cold! And to warm the body, and the soul, I can only imagine how Norwegians must have quickly succumbed to the unctuous and delicious Port wines. At least I can tell you that we had a glass, or three, of port wine while we were in Stavanger and felt it went beautifully with rich, meaty dishes such as their famous lamb.

Since the company’s formation, it has exchanged hands on more than occasion. In 1880, Wiese sold his share to Krohn out of respect for the company’s small size - still remaining a commercial agent in Norway. This helps explain why the brand is known as Krohn, but is still under the company name of Wiese and Krohn.

After Danker Krohn’s death in 1903, …