Port out, starboard home.

Two, sort of, related things happened yesterday; my kind neighbour popped over and gifted Vinomaker and I a bottle of Heitz Cellars, Ink Grade Port (Napa Valley AVA), and I read a story about Porto, Portugal, in the Napa Valley Register.  (Oh, and a third unrelated thing, it was also my Vinomum's birthday.)
I have never tried this particular 'port' before, but my neighbour assures me it is delightful.  I can't wait to try it - tomorrow night, perhaps. The wine is a blend of eight, classic Portuguese grape varieties; Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Souzão, Tinta Bairrada, Tinta Madeira, Tinta Amarela, Tinta Cão and Bastardo.  (I think I am going to be particularly enamored by that last grape.  Titter, titter.)
The article in my local newspaper wasn't a typical fluff-piece written with the purpose of luring tourists to Porto.  No, instead the front page story was a report about a junket that three Napa County Supervisors recently took to the aforementioned city.  At a cost of $17,500 to the taxpayers of Napa County, the three supervisors, whilst in Porto, attended a conference called 'Great Wine Capitals' with the intention that they'd experience "a wonderful learning opportunity...to see what the rivals are doing". One Supervisor, Keith Caldwell, seems to not really have enjoyed the trip at all, or at least what he learned there.
In the article, Supervisor Caldwell bemoans the fact that he did not see more of the problems that Porto faces.  "They really went out of their way for us not to see some of the negatives," Caldwell complained.  What? The audacity!  God forbid the officials of that particular municipality, some 5,500 miles away from the Napa Valley, wanting to make a good impression on their visitors.
Caldwell continued, "What I think we could do is have an international dialogue about, 'What are you doing, Porto, to address homelessness?'" Hang on a minute, I have a suggestion.  Er, maybe the Napa County Supervisors could start by donating that $17,500 to a local homeless charity.  But no, it's other people's money.
Bastardo!

Colour palette.

This mess may look like a Rothko, Pollack, or some other impossible-to-interpret abstract foolishness, but in actual fact it is an emptied half ton Macro Bin which until just recently held fermenting Petite Sirah.  Just look at that colour extraction, it's stupendous!
All fermentation in Vinoland is now finished. And every last drop of wine, late harvest wine and a couple of batches of 'port' are pressed off and barreled down.  Phew, it was a long harvest this year (and I was absent for two weeks of it even).  Good job, Vinomaker.

A butt of Malmsey.

Week 9.  Portugal.  Number of wines, 23.  I'm not only tasting the wines of the mainland tonight, but also wines from the island of Madeira.
The evening started off with two very recognisable wines from producers Mateus and Lancers who happen to make more wine each year than all the other wine producers of Portugal combined. Next, a tour of white and red table wines revealed passable tipples that were quite fruity with low alcohol levels.
Unlike George Plantagenet, the 1st Duke of Clarence, who is said to have drowned in a butt (477.3 litres) of Malmsey, I was in no danger from the flight of Madeiras - with just a once ounce pour of each.  Considering how pleasant the 'aged 10 years' Malmsey proved to be, I must say that I can almost see the merit in choosing this way to meet ones (wine)maker, perhaps.
However, I really rather enjoyed the flight of Vinho do Porto (or just plain port to the English speaking world), especially a Porto Rocha, 2003, Vintage offering.  At 20% alcohol by volume one couldn't consume a lot of these ports, unlike the 9% alcohol by volume Vinho Verdes poured earlier in the evening.  But the wines of Oporto left me in no doubt as to why the English made such an effort, when faced with the scarcity of French wine imports into England, to go in search of wines elsewhere - and found the wines of the Douro. Clever lads!
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