# How to keep port after the bottle is open **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 19, 2006, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-keep-port-after-the-bottle-is-open/377132 "2006-10-19T19:44:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![psycat90](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@psycat90](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psycat90)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-keep-port-after-the-bottle-is-open/377132/21 "2006-10-19T21:45:52Z")
Actually - consume within a couple of days/weeks/months, depending on the style, but I guess I sort of covered that in my original post. Now I’ve got a craving for port. I might have to pick up a bottle of Taylor Fladgate LBV 2000 on the way home. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-keep-port-after-the-bottle-is-open/377132/22 "2006-10-19T23:15:06Z")
I just screw the cap back on extra tight… ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-keep-port-after-the-bottle-is-open/377132/23 "2006-10-19T23:18:40Z")
[QUOTE=psycat90] Actually - consume within a couple of days/weeks/months, depending on the style, but I guess I sort of covered that in my original post. Now I’ve got a craving for port. I might have to pick up a bottle of Taylor Fladgate LBV 2000 on the way home. 😉 [/QUOTE] Is that a good one? I know a bit about wine, but not much about port (excpet that I like it). What does it go for? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-keep-port-after-the-bottle-is-open/377132/24 "2006-10-19T23:25:33Z")
$16 - $20 is the range I’ve found for TF LBV 2000. We try to buy ports in splits to avoid the whole “storage” problem. But sometimes you just can’t. That’s why I am trying to amass a bunch of good recipes that use port as an ingredient, so don’t have to …\…throw it away before we finish it. ---
**Author:** ![psycat90](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@psycat90](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psycat90)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-keep-port-after-the-bottle-is-open/377132/25 "2006-10-19T23:39:08Z")
Same price range around here. It’s a decent LBV port at a decent everyday price. Nothing extraordinary, but nice on those nights I crave that style of port. The best Port I’ve ever had was given to me by my mother’s boyfriend, who is Portuguese and brings a few bottles back from his annual returns. I wish I had taken note of the name. It was a Vintage, that’s all I remember about it (this was 3 or 4 years ago.) Maybe I’ll call my mother and ask her to ask him for me. (He doesn’t speak English and I don’t speak Portuguese or I’d ask him myself.) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-keep-port-after-the-bottle-is-open/377132/26 "2006-10-19T23:53:49Z")
The best one I’ve ever had was a Rutherford Hills Zinfandel Port. They made the fortifying spirit from the same wine that went into the port. It was stunning. ---
**Author:** ![Ass\_For\_A\_Hat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ec9cab/32.png) [@Ass\_For\_A\_Hat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ass_For_A_Hat)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-keep-port-after-the-bottle-is-open/377132/27 "2006-10-20T13:54:15Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] Just off the top of my head, I’d say that’s probably a bit of cart/horse displacement. I’m sure it wasn’t intentionally “invented” at all; Port happened, someone liked it, reproduced the process, and perhaps discovered afterwards the side benefit of a longer shelf life. That’s my theory. [/QUOTE] Though the process evolved over the years, fortification began as a quite intentional process. Wine was fortified with grape spirits to make it more stable for transport. As people came to like the product, the amount of spirits in the drink were gradually increased. [QUOTE=silenus] We try to buy ports in splits to avoid the whole “storage” problem. [/QUOTE] I agree. A couple years back, I bought a case of Taylor’s 1995 Vintage Quita de Vargellas. It was a case of splits and came in a cool wooden case. I had the first bottle a few weeks back. It was super yummy, and I had it finished in a couple days. And yes, I gassed it between sittings. ---
**Author:** ![psycat90](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@psycat90](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psycat90)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-keep-port-after-the-bottle-is-open/377132/28 "2006-10-20T16:04:22Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] Unfortunately, I’ll never be able to afford a port from that top three-percentile, where such distinctions can be made. [/QUOTE] Vintage ports aren’t always incredibly expensive. There are probably some on the market right now in the $15-$50 range that are quite good. I’ll have to check out that Rutherford Hills Zin Port. I have had a few Zin ports from Napa, Sonoma, and the Paso Robles area, and I really like the style. With the cooler weather coming, it will be nice to have a few different bottles on hand. ---
**Author:** ![Labtrash](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/labtrash/32/528_2.png) [@Labtrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labtrash)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-keep-port-after-the-bottle-is-open/377132/29 "2006-10-20T17:05:29Z")
I just bought a bottle of Warres 1980 port for my boss - where would that be on the vintage scale? ---
**Author:** ![psycat90](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@psycat90](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psycat90)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-keep-port-after-the-bottle-is-open/377132/30 "2006-10-20T17:42:10Z")
According to Robert Parker’s vintage guide 1980 is in the ‘Above Average to Excellent’ range for port and ready to drink now. (He gave it an 84.) It’s just a guide remember, and one man’s guide at that. My suggestion would be to do a search on the vintage and see what others say. Or a search on that particular brand and vintage and read some reviews. Short of that, the only way to tell how good that particular bottle is is to drink it. 😉 [Robert Parker’s Vintage Chart](http://www.erobertparker.com/info/VintageChart.pdf) (pdf) [Forth Wines Vintage Guide](http://www.forthwines.com/vintage_guide.htm) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-keep-port-after-the-bottle-is-open/377132.md?page=1)