This was really special. Tracy, my godmother, gave me a case of this at my christening (can't say I remember that!). It's been sitting in a cellar since then. We'd been told that leaving it too long may not be good for it. So we decided to crack open a bottle this Christmas. It was fabulous.
However, I've been thinking about why it was fabulous. Of course, it's a wonderful bottle of port - it's wayyy more exciting than anything you'll get from the supermarket. "Technically" it's brilliant. But that's not the reason why it is such a special bottle. It's because we drank it as a family, after a lovely meal, and it was a gift from Tracy. It's more than just a bottle. It's about the experience, about sharing and caring. The bottle is, frankly, incidental. I think we can all become almost intimidated by lovely gifts and things; we don't want them to get damaged or used up. We protect them because we know they're significant or expensive.
But really, things like this are for sharing with friends. It's meant for drinking.
And I guess that's my (and the Barking Baking) philosophy: if you are lucky enough to have people you care about to share something with, do it.
I look forward to putting the world to rights with Tracy (and others) soon.
Port Thoughts: a website I googled said, "the 1982 Churchill Vintage Port is now at the peak of its maturity. It is a medium weight, dry, streamlined port with an excellent black fruit character, as well as fine purity and richness." All I know is that it tasted wonderful.
Here endeth my strangely profound post. As ever, hope we're all well. I'm back in Durham now!
However, I've been thinking about why it was fabulous. Of course, it's a wonderful bottle of port - it's wayyy more exciting than anything you'll get from the supermarket. "Technically" it's brilliant. But that's not the reason why it is such a special bottle. It's because we drank it as a family, after a lovely meal, and it was a gift from Tracy. It's more than just a bottle. It's about the experience, about sharing and caring. The bottle is, frankly, incidental. I think we can all become almost intimidated by lovely gifts and things; we don't want them to get damaged or used up. We protect them because we know they're significant or expensive.
But really, things like this are for sharing with friends. It's meant for drinking.
And I guess that's my (and the Barking Baking) philosophy: if you are lucky enough to have people you care about to share something with, do it.
I look forward to putting the world to rights with Tracy (and others) soon.
Port Thoughts: a website I googled said, "the 1982 Churchill Vintage Port is now at the peak of its maturity. It is a medium weight, dry, streamlined port with an excellent black fruit character, as well as fine purity and richness." All I know is that it tasted wonderful.
Here endeth my strangely profound post. As ever, hope we're all well. I'm back in Durham now!
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