I've always been intrigued by those mysterious black bottles of port...but I don't know where to start. Any suggestions?

I'm not a huge wine drinker Harlock but I have tried several ports. Sandmans good for me and I especially like Ware's Otima 10 year tawny port. I drank it a lot during my cigar days. They go good together after dinner. I haven't really tried any ports with my pipe smoking. Once I found how good whisky went with it, I stopped searching.
The wife likes Taylor port, she makes up some kind of special mixture with blackberry, orange and lemon and calls some kind of sangria.
Sandman used to have a 3 port set of ruby, tawny and white. Might look for something like that if your searching for the right port.

Good luck, Valky

Thanks Valky, I appreciate the information! I'm not much of a drinker, but I think I am going to try out a port.
I'll look out for one of those, thanks again.

Don't know much if anything about port but this summer I had the opportunity to try some Taylor Fladgate 20 year old Tawny and it was amazing.

Being on a different continent, the brands will be different, but in a nutshell: The best come from Portugal (and you get what you pay for)
All are fortified wines (meaning they are strengthened with brandy during the production process), and most are sweet. I would suggest going for a Ruby, LBV (late Bottled Vintage) or a vintage port. Try a medium priced one to start with - and beware the headache in the morning - not from bad booze, but port is so delicious I tend to drink too much of it in one sitting...
I f you'd like more in depth detail I'd be happy to oblige (I'm a wine buff by profession)
AL

Thanks RobT. I went to the store and picked up a bottle of Sandemans Founders Reserve. Not cheap, but not too expensive either, and it tastes great (strong too). Do you know how this brand compares with others?

Tawny and Ruby ports are aged and blended to be drank off the shelf. I think the rule of thumb for vintage port is a minimum of ten years before it's considered drinkable.

I purchased a vintage bottle for the year my daughter was born, 1991. I plan on giving it to her for her 21st birthday.

I think I should tell my parents to get me that, or you could always give me the bottle for my 21 birthday. I was born in 1991 also

A tawny will not age. Once it hits the bottle it's as good as it will get. Also worth noting that some of the Aussie ports, specifically from Penfolds will rival even some of the better Portuguese ports.

Late Botttled Vintages are a great way to get a good bottle at a lower price as they are often as good as the same year but somewhat less expensive for some reason.

Sad to say but I killed my last remaining bottle of Penfolds Grandfather this past Christmas and now have to wait for my buddy to send me another bottle or three.

"Any port drinker out there?"

Actually when I'm on a ship I drink on the port or the starboard side. I'm not so particular I reckon.

Any storm in a port

Never tried port wine, but this thread has spiked my interest. Damn it! the last time a thread spiked my interest, I fell prey to TAD and spent too much on baccy.

Two down, so many more to try...