Not Too Rank At All! Port By The Way! By Glen Smith on - Updated Oct 15, 2011
I have before me, a Bottle of Port. This is one I bought myself, without reading the label of course. If I had bothered to have a closer look, I may ewell have passed this particular Port by, because the Distillery's name is Toorank! This Company is from the Netherlands, hardly the best place to source fine Wine. OK, to start with, the name of the product is Portman's fine Ruby Special Selection, which apparently is a fine aperitif, or a drink that can be enjoyed after Dinner. It is an "aromatized" wine-based drink. The colour as you would expect, is a lovely Ruby red, and the green glass bottle, holds the usual 70 centilitres. There is a metal screw cap. The label is a matt black, with all the information in white, with just a touch of red to give it that fine Ruby look.I must state that according to the label, this contains Sulphites, and surprisingly Nuts! It came as quite a shock to me too. The strength is a fairly average 14.4% Alcohol by Volume. This drink was entered in the International Wine Challenge, and in the Year 2000 received a Bronze Medal. Two Tears later, it rated a Seal of Approval. All this sounds very impressive, but I have never heard of the competition, so it does lose a little "Street Cred".On opening the bottle, I poured some into a glass, a Brandy glass actually. This gave the Ruby Nectar the chance to give off some of it's aroma, and a very nice one too. The pouring made a lovely traditional "Glug Glug" as it entered the glass, very satisfying. The first sip went into my mouth, and I was hit by the flavours and the scent at the same time, the liquid rolled around my mouth for a while, then was swallowed. I could taste the flavours that had been added, although I have no idea what they are, spices perhaps. I would even suggest that it has similar qualities to Mulled wine. This drink was a nice experience, it left a pleasant taste on the Palate, a lovely aroma in my nose, and a nice warm afterglow in my throat. As if by habit, I immediately reached for the bottle, to top up my glass, I suppose this is a compliment. It was as if I was tasting a wine in a Restaurant, prior to buying, and on the taste alone, deciding to have a full glass.I have never done this in public, if a Waiter gives me a glass of wine, I accept that is will be a good one, I don't think anyone should be so cynical as to have a taste to see if it is a fine wine, or Diesel!I will now turn to the price, and tell you why I have left this until last. I know quite a few people who would not enjoy any drink, unless it cost them half a day's wages, perhaps it is just a bad habit, but I judge any drink on how it tastes, not what it costs. I bought this from a local Supermarket, for the sum of £4.25, and in my opinion, it is worth every Penny.For anyone in the slightest doubt, I will say that I can recommend this drink to all, I prefer it after a main meal myself. Cheers.
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Ports can be amazing and I love cooking with them too. They are great with pork, portabello mushrooms and onions. However, in a restaurant you really should taste test the wine. Because if it DID taste like rubber tires or diesel fuel they'd need to return the stock to the vendor. Otherwise they'd never know if it went bad. Port is best at room temperature but I prefer a little chill. I find it strong but my husband loves it. Like I said, I do enjoy the flavor it gives when you cook with it. And yes, it's more expensive normally than other wines, but it's worth the flavors and stronger. That's probably why many steak restaurants also use a Port reduction sauce. And metal screw tops are becoming the wine bottle cap of choice for many wineries. Thanks for the article.
Good points there, but if the wine was bad, I WOULD TELL THEM! :) I forgot to say about room temp, thanks for the comments.
LOL "toorank" what a name! I agree, drinks should be judged on their taste, not price!