Port question

[Dan G]

I drink port only in restaurants, but yesterday got a great deal on a bottle of Quinta do Portal 2000 Vintage Port so decided to go for it. How long will this be good for after opening? My wife doesn't drink port, so it will be just me. Is it OK to open and recork? It will take me a few weeks to go through a bottle. Or should I wait until some night when we have guests and drink it in one night?

[Charles Yu]

Quinta do Portal is a fine, family company based in the Douro Valley. The 2000 is a blend of wines from a number of OLD vines. For a fine vintage like 2000, it is not uncommon to take at least 20+ years to reach its peak and smoothout the tannin. IMO, to open it now is a bit of a waste, unless you buy some more and do some comparison down the road.

[Brad Ballinger]

Piggybacking on the aging comment. You can age this wine for quite some time.

Regarding how long it will keep once opened, when vintage port is opened, the whole bottle is meant to be drunk.. It will not keep as long as ruby or tawny port.

[jmoryl]

Vintage port is a bit different from rubies, tawnies or LBV in that it can and should actually improve with bottle age. In a good vintage, like 2000, it is probably best when drunk about 20 years after a vintage. Don't know that particular wine, but Portal is making some good stuff at this time.

You can drink it now, but vintage port doesn't keep as well as the other styles once opened. I'd say consume within 2 weeks.

[Dan G]

Thanks for the comment about aging - I was thinking I'd probably tuck it away for a couple of years more at least.

[andtheodor]

Since Port is fortified to 20% ABV with neutral grape spirits, it's a lot more durable than normal wine. I routinely keep recorked bottles in my fridge for weeks without perceptible oxidation.

[thew]

port keeps pretty well