I’m excited to announce that this coming Friday, January 27th, is International Port Day 2012 organized by the Center for Wine Origins. This is a great way for people to explore the often misunderstood world of port wines, as well as taste the various delicious styles of port. Participating is easy – consumers can join Port Day online by blogging, tweeting, posting and sharing their thoughts about this exceptional wine by using the #PortDay hashtag. Or, they can host or join one of the numerous retail and restaurant tastings that are being planned in locations across the United States. To stay up-to-date on the most current news regarding Port Day or to register an event, click here, and enter to win an iPad 2!

There are events taking place in several US cities where consumers can learn more about port leading up to, and on the day of the event;

January 26th: Gallery Tasting at the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art - Ft. Lauderdale.

January 26th: Port Day Radio Interview – WLRN, Miami.

January 27th: In-store tasting at Garnet Wines & Liquors, New York.

January 27th: In-store tasting at Astor Wine & Spirits, New York.

January 27th: 12 different in-store tastings throughout the Chicago area, Binny’s Beverage Depot, Chicago.

January 27th: “Pot luck N’ Port,” Seattle, which is being hosted by our good friend Roy Hesh from For the Love of Port. Read Roy’s post here about how you can win an all expense paid (airfare not included) for a weeklong vacation/port education tour in Portugal this April with Roy!!! 

The event I’m most looking forward to is taking place on Friday the 27th at Pinot Boutique in Philadelphia from 6 to 7:30 PM (EST). I’m excited because I will be there to personally pour several styles of incredible port wines from Quevedo, who we’ve been working with for several years now. Pennsylvania has several of Quevedo ports available through the PLCB luxury stores, so this is a great chance for anyone living in the Philadelphia area to come taste these unique items that are available in Pennsylvania! There will also be many other port wines from various producers on hand to taste. Leading the tasting will be the Philadelphia area port ambassador, Brian Freedman, who takes the snobbiness out of wine and creates an open, fun environment to learn more about wine. So, come taste some amazing, unique wines and learn more about this often misunderstood wine.

Hope to see many of you in Philadelphia!

Cheers-

Michael

Hello all!

I’m excited to announce that our good friend Oscar Quevedo from Quevedo Port Wine will be here in the U.S and Canada next week for some very special events! Events will be held in Toronto, Los Angeles, and I’ll be joining Oscar for the event in San Francisco.

Oscar will be traveling here to attend the screenings of a wonderful documentary by Zev Robinson, “Life on the Douro.”  Zev is a skilled documentary producer, and his latest effort features the world famous Douro Valley from Portugal. There are several dates & locations for the screenings, which will also include a Q&A session with Oscar, as well as Roy Hersh from “For The Love of Port.” , considered one of the leading Port wine and Madeira authorities and journalists in the United States. There will also be a tasting session after the documentary, with some of the best ports and still wines from the Douro Valley, which will include several Quevedo items.

To learn more about the documentary and the screening dates, as well as to purchase tickets for screenings, please visit ZevRobinson.com!

Cheers,

Michael

We’re very pleased to announce that after several years of hard work and determination from Oscar Quevedo and ourselves, the amazing port wines from Quevedo are available on US soil! These incredible ports, as well as a still red wine which is a special project of Oscar’s, are being sold in Pennsylvania through the PLCB, as well as a very limited quantity online through www.flickingerwines.com. While a relatively young company, Quevedo is already making a name for itself for producing ports as good as any of the “big names,” and were included in the Wine Enthusiasts March 2010 issue on port producers. They have also been very well received by  Roy Hersh of “For The Love of Port” (FTLOP) and the Quevedo Vintage 2007 was included in his amazing review of the 2007 vintage. Whether you are a port expert, novice, or just looking to learn more about port, I highly recommend you visit the FTLOP website as there is an amazing wealth of information available, and subscribers to the FTLOP newsletter always have the most up-to-date info there is on port in the US.

Our hats are off to Oscar for staying determined and not giving up on the US market, especially in the tough ongoing economic conditions!

–Michael