The Port Companion: A Connoisseur's Guide - Hardcover

Godfrey Spence

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0670883956 ISBN 13: 9780670883950

Publisher: Viking

Synopsis

This companion has a directory of over 50 port houses, with details of over 200 ports. It gives advice on pairing port with food, on decanting, tasting and serving, and includes a section on the history of port.

About this title

Review:

Are you a wine lover who thinks that LBV is an all-girl pop trio--and that tawny and ruby are its lead vocalists? If so, you might just want to check out The Port Companion by Godfrey Spence, former London wine retailer and current lecturer for the trade's Wine & Spirit Education Trust. In this handsome, full-color guide packed with history, tasting notes, maps, and entries on over 300 venerable port houses (including addresses and phone numbers), Spence just as colorfully shows you a region whose grapes are still crushed by foot, and where the Olde School British shippers still pass the decanter to the left at the weekly Factory House luncheons.

It's subtitled A Connoisseur's Guide, and by the time you've finished, you'll be able to talk porto as if you were to the quinta born. Every pertinent port fact is here: England's 1678 trade embargo against France, sending traders scrambling for a French wine substitute; the fraudulent wine adulteration using elderberry juice--prompting the sanctioned destruction of every elderberry tree in northern Portugal; the "report card" letter grade (A through F) assigned to every vineyard.

You'll learn that port is a classic wine that permits over 48 grape types--both red and white--in its blend, approves of 20, desires 5, yet is tolerant of over 120. And they're all grown in an area where the topsoil is rarely more than four inches thick and dynamite frequently must be used to plant the vines. The Port Companion is a concise reference suitable for both novice and connoisseur. --Tony Mason

About the Author:

Godfrey Spence joined the wine trade in 1983, running wine stores in London and Kent. In 1990 he moved to the Wine and Spirit Education Trust, an international education body, where he lectures to students and also edits their educational publications. He regularly writes articles for wine and spirit trade journals. Godfrey's particular area of interest is, of course, port. He is a frequent visitor to the Douro Valley, Portugal, constantly updating himself on the latest facts and details about port wine. Godfrey lives in South-West London.

About this edition

• Publisher: Viking
• ISBN 10: 0670883956
• ISBN 13: 9780670883950
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 224