I know a reasonable amount about good red wines at various price points. I know nothing about ports except that I really like it, and even more at a check after a good run! My new sandwich case is arriving soon, there are only a few more hunts this season, so please help educate me on different ports at cheap, mid-level, and expensive (for closing hunt! :D).
I’m not sure how common port is in the hunt field anymore. I’ve never encountered any.
I just bought some chocolate port in Australia.
just saying…
I’ve been served Sandeman, Graham’s and Taylor at hunt. I don’t know much about port either, but think I liked the Sandeman the best.
It’s the only thing I carry in my flask. 
I drink one made by a winery located one mile from our kennels. I enjoy it as does everyone who has a sip and I like to support local anytime I can. My husband won a very nice port at our hunt ball auction a couple weeks ago so I guess I need to fill my flask with that tonight and give it a try tomorrow.
Really? Most of the folks in my hunt seem to have port in their flasks. I actually didn’t realize how much I really liked it until I started sharing it with fellow field members at checks. Now I even will get a glass for dessert at a nice restaurant.
I bought a Zinfandel port at a CA vineyard that I liked very much. It has asomewhat softer, more fruity flavor than traditional port.
[QUOTE=Hinderella;6199936]
I bought a Zinfandel port at a CA vineyard that I liked very much. It has a somewhat softer, more fruity flavor than traditional port.[/QUOTE]
Sounds yummy!
just my 2 cents!
Chocolate/Raspberry Port is a favored stirrup cup for our basset pack, the Ashland Bassets. A member makes wine in his basement and this is a specialty of his! Yummmmmm!!
Most local hunts serve sherry (cream & dry) and port for stirrup cups. From my personal sampling experiences…ummm…:winkgrin:…I’d venture a guess that maybe one qtr of my fellow hunters carry port in their flasks. Just an estimate of course! 
Watertglen- if you lived closer I would share my flask with you!! Just this morning I looked at the label of the Port hubba won at the Hunt Ball Auction. It’s a 2000 Portugese port! Sat in an oak barrel for 4 years then the bottle for 4 years before put on the shelf to be sold. For the record, I don’t know where it’s been the past 4 years before ending up as an auction item! 
Fonseca Late Bottled Vintage Port…it’s ready to drink, is pretty good and goes for $16-19! Vintage 2000 and 2005 are commonly found.
A good deal.
Use white port; not quite as traditional as the ruby or the tawny stuff, but on the plus side, when it spills, it won’t stain your immaculate breeches.
Fonseca White Port is fairly palatable for the price.
Cockburn’s Port . Never had a complaint. Good S&$t!!!
Anything with a year on it is a vintage port and shouldn’t be put in a flask, They’re too volatile to hold up for more than a few hours after opening. In addition, you shouldn’t drink a vintage port until at least 8 years after the bottling date and waiting 10 or more years is highly recommend. The longer the wine sits in the bottle, the smoother and more caramel-like it will be when you crack it open. I recently craked open a 10 yr old and a 60 yr old port at a port party and let me tell you - they both were fantastic, but the older one was mind blowing. You will also need to decant Vintages through a strainer or filter to remove the sediment that will be in the bottle. Sediment = good wine but not good drinks!
The reason a 2000 or 2005 Vintage port is “reasonably” priced on the shelf right now is because you really are going to need to cellar it for a while before drinking. The 2000s are just now “drinkable” and 2005s will need a few more years. minimum. Ideally though, they both have about 10 more years to go before they start really reaching their potential. 2000s were a great vintage btw, so if you have one, you are likely to be in for a treat when you open it.
I think I’d leave the LBVs and the Vintages for the table. For something to put in a flask, I’d recommend a 10 or 20 yr tawny. Grahms is ok, but I really recommend a Fonseca, Taylor Fladgate or a Quinto de Crasto (if you can find one).
I see someone mentioned white port - a winery I used to frequent in Australia makes a lovely white port - and they serve it over ice with a small wedge of lemon! Delicious =)
PoohLP wins the prize, but from the post count of “1”, I’m guessing someone referred an expert to this site to answer the question.
Let’s go back to the basics. Wikipedia says there are 3 types of port: dry, semi-dry, and white. Is one of these the traditional port of foxhunters?
Also, is it really used that much in the flask, or mainly as a stirrup cup?
There are other things to put in your flask.
http://archives.foxhunters.org/favorites/flask.txt
http://chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?t=302876&highlight=flask+recipes
Anyone driving down I-81 and need to spend the night, say, in Abingdon?
The Martha Washington Inn will have a nice little bottle of port in your room.
Tennessee Valley Hunt “does” port. I got to drink some out of a pink sparkly flask.
[QUOTE=altjaeger;6235768]
PoohLP wins the prize, but from the post count of “1”, I’m guessing someone referred an expert to this site to answer the question.
Let’s go back to the basics. Wikipedia says there are 3 types of port: dry, semi-dry, and white. Is one of these the traditional port of foxhunters?
Also, is it really used that much in the flask, or mainly as a stirrup cup?[/QUOTE]
:lol:LOL! Thanks for the compliment - you made my day, but I’m no “outside” expert. I’ve been lurking on the forum for forever - a couple years or so - but haven’t posted because someone usually has a better answer on the horsey posts than I do. That’s why I like this forum it seems to have a higher level of rider experience on it than some of the others. However, I saw this post and thought it would be fun to post.
I ride jumpers and have a coming 4yo Dutch/TB that I am bringing along. I also lived in London for a year, during which time I developed an abiding LOVE for port. I saw a couple posts that seemed a little misinformed about ports, so I thought I’d share the little knowledge I have.
As for the “traditional” question, I can’t really answer that, However, the English - the home of foxhunting - tend to prefer tawnies. These usually are semi-dry, I believe. They are also some of the most widely available. So my guess is that they are the most common types found on the hunt field. White port is fairly uncommon so wouldn’t likely be widely used.
The dry/semi-dry/white classifications aren’t very helpful as there are way more “varieties” of port. I just found this link which is much better than the wikipedia entry if you really want to know about ports. Take a look about half way down and you’ll find many of the different port varieties explained…hope it helps. http://roadkill.com/~davet/portWineFAQ.html
