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With a long and sordid history, the fortified wine known as port has endured for some four centuries. The wine originated in the Douro Valley in north eastern Portugal, and all true port still comes from this region, though many quality producers in other countries are making fine ‘port style’ wines. Basically this means that brandy is added to the fermenting grape juice when about half of the sugar is still unfermented. This provides a sweet wine with high alcohol content.

Personally, I can’t think of a better accompaniment for the rapidly approaching cold weather and holiday company than a nice glass of tawny port. Whether it’s a roaring fire or a rich chocolate dessert, nothing pairs quite like a bold, silky-sweet port. 

Taylor Fladgate 10 year Tawny - $45

An Iron Bridge staple, the Taylor Fladgate 10 year Tawny Port has been on our menu for years. It’s great with the bread pudding, and is a bottle everyone should have on their shelf at home. It’s a 750mL bottle, which can be large for dessert wines, and you only need a couple ounces, but it’ll taste fresh for months after being corked. Tawnys tend to be nutty in character when compared to their fruitier cousins, ruby ports. Taylor’s 10 year certainly has a vanilla walnut flavor on the palate, but it’s layered with dark fruit and orange peel. It’s mildly sweet and has a long finish. Taylor is one of the oldest and most well respected houses in Portugal, so you can trust them to do things right.
 
Fonseca 20 year Tawny - $54

Those 10 extra years provide a more subtle, elegant wine. The woody, nutty character found in tawny ports is still apparent, but the wine is overall more delicate than its 10 year old counterpart. The nose is reminiscent of plum and cinnamon, while the palate is full of dried fig and tea. The oak is clear in the bouquet and in the mouth. Personally, I’ve found that these 20 year old tawnys are generally the best bag for your buck ports available. Try this one with some lighter chocolate desserts this holiday season.

Yalumba Museum Reserve Antique Tawny, NV - $17

Ok, so it’s Australian, not Portuguese, but when you get your first taste of this ‘port style’ wine you’ll understand why I had to include it. The nose is of oak with spicy, dried fruit. Sweet cocoa and caramel are followed on the palate by a rich, nutty finish. Along with Californian, Australian producers are creating some of the finest ports available outside of Portugal. Don’t let the price tag fool you, this wine is delicious; an amazing value.

I Consider myself a serious beer drinker and a novice in the world of wine drinking and my budget is definitely smaller than that of a serious wine connoisseur. The bottles I usually buy range between $10-$20, with a $20 Bottle being a bottle I buy for a special occassion. With this said I bought two bottles of the Simi 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon to enjoy over the Thanksgiving Holidays and paid $20 a piece for them.

My wife and I had a Simi wine with her father in Florida a couple of years ago. I honestly don’t know what the type was we had then.  It was a red and she liked it a lot and is always saying, “Get Simi, Get Simi.”  So, when I was doing my alcohol shopping for Thanksgiving this year and I had already gotten my beer selections of Troeg’s Mad Elf Christmas brew and Atlantic Brewing Company’s Coal Porter, I went for my wine and saw Simi and decided to splurge for my lady.  We had the first bottle with my parents and brother on Thanksgiving day.  We enjoyed the wine before our annual turkey dinner while we were snacking on some of my mom’s wonderful mexican dip and chips and hummus. The wine was definitely a hit with my family.  My wife loved it as much as she remembered and it fulfilled her “Get Simi, Get Simi” cravings.  My brother who probably has the most sophisticated tastes out of the group there loved it and mumbled something about berries and tasting wet and I thought hmmm, isn’t it liquid, but that’s beside the point.  I loved it and would describe it as being very smooth with no offensive bitter flavors, which I sometimes hear as being tannins as well as a nice berry taste that stuck with me for the period between sips.  I love wines that are smooth bordering on velvety with no bitterness and offering my tongue some suddle flavors to enjoy.  I definitely found that with this wine and would utter my wife’s words “Get Simi, Get Simi” along with her.  The second bottle was enjoyed two days later at my mother-in-laws house.  My brother-in-law got most of it and thought it was a good wine for the price.

Here are the Iron Bridge November Wine Bargains.  Remember, Frequent Winers (that’s you) get 20% off on a case of 12 bottles (mix or match).  Feel free to stop by and pick out your wines or send us an e-mail and we’ll have it pulled and ready when you arrive.
 
In addition, we’ve started a monthly wine newletter.  You can check it out at www.thevinofile.com. 

Codorniu Brut, Classico N.V., Penedes, Spain $10
So, knowing all of you were going to need some bubbles for the holidays, I took one for the team.  I gathered a bunch of sparkling wine samples, barricaded myself in the house, put on the ‘Lord of the Rings Trilogy’ and tasted through them all.  The Codorniu outperformed everybody.  It’s bright and lively with pretty citrus and pear on the front palate, but it finishes with a creamy note that doesn?t make it austere.
 
Merle Antico Garganega / Pinot Grigio, Veneto, Italy $8
Garganega is the Soave grape.  It has a softer almond and pear quality that blends well with the racy, citrus that Pinot Grigio provides.  Fun, fresh, crisp, salad and seafood white.
 
La Noble Chardonnay, Languedoc, France $10
From the higher elevation vineyards in the Mediterranean influenced south of France.  Relatively unadulterated, it shows red delicious apple tones with a freshness from the lack of oak.
 
Black Oak Chardonnay, California $8
The opposite end of the spectrum, this wine is rich and buttery with baked apple and pineapple notes.  Allegedly fermented in French and American oak.
 
K’esling, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Germany $12
If you swing by my house on Thanksgiving (and you’re all invited), we?ll have Riesling on the table. Amazingly versatile, it’s one of the few wines that can cover all of the turkey day dishes.  Wines from the Mosel have a distinct mineral character from the slate in the soil.  This wine also shows pretty honeyed pear, flowers and orange citrus, wrapped in a slight sweetness that is kept clean with a finish of bracing acidity.
 
 
Red Wines:
 
Vina Antigua Sangiovese/Bonarda, Argentina $7
Bright cranberry fruit and earthy spice from the Sangiovese blend with the dark, brooding rustic blue fruits of Bonarda.
 
Colle Sori Montepulciano d?Abruzzo, Abruzzi, Italy $7
Surprisingly soft and supple for Montepulciano, it has pretty forest berry and underbrush notes.  Perfect with pizza and spaghetti.
 
Domaine Loyer Bastie Merlot, Languedoc, France $10
Looking for a merlot that tastes like merlot?  No washed out vegetal, stewy, herbal notes?  This has ripe plummy fruit with a nice dose of spice and grip.
 
Chateau Reynier, Bordeaux, France $12
All of the 2005 Bordeaux wines I?ve tasted have been really delicious.  This wine smells gorgeous with dusty cocoa & blackberry fruit.  The palate is rich with notes of coffee grinds and spicy black fruits.
 
Vivir, Vivir Tempranillo, Ribera del Duero, Spain $10
Really solid Tempranillo for this price range.  Rich and full bodied with cedary black cherry fruit and spicy American oak.
 
Milton Park Shiraz, South Australia $10
A perennial Best Buy in the wine press, this wines had spicy blueberry and jammy raspberry fruit with some grip on the finish.
 
Sol de Chile Syrah $11
Beautifully ripe with dark and brooding flavors of smoky black raspberries and some rustic saddle leather and spice notes.
 
We’re open early at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday for convenient wine shopping!  Questions?? or to place an order…. stop by or call 410-997-3456