I did it! I finished the second edition of Richard Mayson’s book, “Port and the Douro”, which has proven to be a comprehensive, clearly written reference book on one of my favorite fortified wines: port!

When I originally proposed this book, I heard several readers share their interest in reading a single subject wine book, but equally, their fear that it would bore them to no end. I, too, feared that I would find myself the next morning with my nose on page three, oblivious as to what the first three pages contained. Then would come night two, when I would reread the same pages to catch up to where I was, only to land myself with nose in crease…again. Hence, I had bigger hopes for Richard Mayson’s book. I wanted his book to give me the same passion and inspiration that I felt with sherry wine. I not only wanted to hear about the process of making port, but I also wanted to absorb the history of the Douro over the centuries: to feel the dry and rough schistous soils; smell the rich, spicy aromas of the quintas; hear the roar of the Douro River barreling down the valley; see the dramatic transition from the dry, arid upper Cima Corgo all the way down to the humid and heavy Vila Nova da Gaia region; and finally, taste the differences between a nutty and dry tawny port wine to a concentrated and complex vintage port wine. I hoped that his book would take me to the center of a Douro vineyard and walk me through the process step-by-step, providing me a solid foundation for me to …

Question time for Catavino readers: Who out there loves wine and chocolate? Although this may sound like the most obvious pairing in the world, it’s not. In my many years of both selling and writing about wine, I’ve heard numerous debates on the subject, both for and against this rather contentious chocolate and wine pairing. But among the numerous voices, one element always remains consistent, people either love it or hate it.

Chocolate can dramatically range in flavor from being the sweetest substance on earth to a thick, bitter and earthy experience. When I was young, I hated chocolate with a passion. The only chocolate I was familiar with was that sticky soft icing on birthday cakes - overly sweet and flavorless. Likewise, I never really fell for candy bars, Hershey kisses or any other manufactured chocolate flavored treat out there. It wasn’t until college when my eyes opened to authentic chocolate. I believe it was Michel Cluizel’s chocolates that tipped the scales for me, when I realized that I really did like chocolate. Slightly sweet and intensely bitter with an earthiness that revealed dark fruits, minerals and exotic spices, I loved it. Like wine, it was not immediately apparent, but over time, it rewarded those with patience. I remember having an epiphany when I realized that pure chocolate could be so magical. And as a result, I started to explore cocoa as a spice, in moles, and dry rubs on beef. I’ve been hooked ever since.

Fast forward to my life with wine. When I started to explore wine, I really never thought to put chocolate and wine together. Chocolate, having tannins and often bitter, seemed an odd bed fellow for a dry Cabernet. Because my learning had taught …

How many times have you heard yourself, or someone you know, say “Jeez, I’ve tried a couple of ports, but I’ve just never enjoyed them. They’re always so sweet and syrupy and just too much to enjoy”? If you were at dinner with us last night, you would have heard this at least half a dozen times. And with each utterance, I held myself back with sheer will power trying not to reach across the table, grabbing the guy by the lapels and say “Please tell me that you’ve tried every single style of port wine from several different producers, because if not, that is one massive generalization you’re making!” I’m pleased to say that I kept my cool, but I did learn one very important lesson: one month of port wine education can only do so much, but at least it’s a wonderful step towards breaking preconceived notions and mistruths as to what it is - a highly diverse style of wine that cannot fit neatly into a box and labeled ’sweet dessert wine’.

So, allow me to continue breaking down our assumptions of Port wine by introducing two styles that may be unfamiliar to you. Each of them fall outside of what we typically consider a “traditional” port wine, but both merit your attention.

LBV Port Wine
Don’t you love it when, yet another, acronym enters your life? I remember when I first heard the term ‘LBV’ and wondered if it was abbreviated because monolingual speakers like us tend to butcher most foreign names, but alas, there was no mystery. The name originated between the 1930’s and 1950’s, at the beginning of António de Oliveira Salazar’s dictatorship when Portugal suffered from a rather serious economic hardship. Therefore, any wine destined to become a …

Editor’s Note: As November is port wine month at Catavino, we’ve asked a handful of bloggers specific questions about port wine depending on their field of expertise. Andrew Barrow, the voice behind the UK wine blog, Spittoon, editor of Wine Sediments and wine distributor for UK Wines Online, was brave enough to be our first guinea pig of the month asked to field 3 questions provided by Catavino: Considering that port owes its existence to England, what is the British current attitude towards port wine? Is it popular, or is it a wine geek treat? Is there some kind of British pride based on its history with port wine? Here is what he has to say:

It was the last of Ryan’s questions that got to me - “Is there some kind of British pride based on it’s history with Port wine?”

I had never even considered that us, in the UK, would have ‘pride’ in Port, despite its history. In fact, I doubt that many drinkers of port are even aware of the history or even that it originates from Portugal.

It is a drink for Christmas first and foremost. It does still have this traditional image. I am sure there are figures available somewhere that state that 90% (or whatever) port sales are made during December. How many of those are for gifts I wonder? A vast number. The majority of sales will be for basic tawny and ruby styles - Warres Warrior, Cockburns, and the like. Taylors LBV is a huge seller too, but only in the run up to Christmas. And I’m just like everyone else. Despite my love of the stuff - in all its array of styles - …