Event Report.
January Stag Tasting Wine: Tawny Port Upcoming Events.
The Omaha
What’s New
Our IWFS web site is greatly underused. There is a wealth of information once you get inside. For example, you can go to Branches, click on Omaha, and upload the current event in case you deleted your invitation. It also contains all the Gazettes and all photos of the events. You want a photo of you and your significant other from the Holiday Party? You can find it there. John Trickett is the new webmaster and has been working to make the site easier to find things. If you have not been in for a while, you will have to change your log-in password.
One new significant addition is Ask André. This is an Artificial Intelligence wine and food pairing app. You will be asked to log in, then click on either Help me pair wine with my food, or Help me pair food with my wine. It is a great resource to either pair food with wine or wine with food. You will get a range of foods, cheeses and serving advice if you click on Food with my Wine. For example, opening pairings for wine with food, you fill in what food you are serving. Say you are having rack of lamb. Suggestions include Syrah/ Shiraz, Bordeaux Blends, Barolo (Nebbiolo) and Châteauneuf-du-Pape along with serving tips. That one was pretty obvious, but what about Vichyssoise? Go ahead, login, and experience the new web site. It’s a lot of fun.
Cheers!
Tom Murnan
Best of the Cockle Bur compiled & edited by Harry B. Otis, 3rd President 1973-1974
A homeowner, wearing his oldest clothes, was cutting the lawn when a woman in a brand-new car stopped and shouted, “What do you get for doing yard work?” The owner looked back at the house and then at the woman. “The lady of the house lets me sleep with her,” he said.
Tawny Port vs. Madeira. Our January 3, 2026, Stag feature
Written by Tom Murnan, Photos by Tom Murnan
Our January Stag will feature two fortified wines we are mostly unfamiliar with, yet pack a mighty flavor punch. These two wines were selected because they both have some similarities in how they are made. They both come from Portugal, and they are both in an oxidative style. One is Madeira, but today we discuss Tawny Ports.
The different categories on Port can be pretty confusing if you are unfamiliar with all its terminology. Coming upon the Port section in your local wine shop, the uninitiated have to navigate between such terms, most of the time having no clue as to the differences. What’s the difference between Vintage Port and LBV Port (Late Bottled Vintage) for example?
First, know that there are two categories: Vintage Port and Tawny (late bottled Vintage Port). In reality, this breaks down into Wooded and Non-Wooded styles of Port. Vintage and LBV Port only see a few years of cask aging. However, Tawny Port, a Wooded style, ages their wine for years in large casks called a tonel.
Tawny Ports These Ports spend extended time in the wood. They get their name from the mahogany like color as they shed their baby bright ruby color in the wooden vessel. So, this is an oxidative style, like Madeira, where the wine is exposed to oxygen through the porousness of the wood, in the presence of high alcohol, which preserves it. It evolved as a way to ship wine in the horse-drawn vehicle days in warm climates, without damage to the wine. Tawny Ports can have the following variations.
1. No indication of age (true tawny; a blend of red and white or reserve tawny).
2. Age Indicated. Legally, unless it comes from a single year, there are just 7 categories. These winds are blends, but it is not a mathematical average that is listed on the label. Rather, it approximates the age category. You may have a 5-year-old wine, a 20-yearold, a 15-year-old and a 30-year-old in the blend. a. Ten-Year-Old; b. Twenty-YearOld; c. Thirty-Year-Old; d. Forty-Year-Old; e. Fifty-Year-Old; This is a new category just established in Portugal in 2022; f. VVOP; Another new legal category in Portugal since 2022. Very, Very Old Tawny Port is cask reserve aged wine for wines older than 80 years on average. It is quite expensive. f. Colheita; Pronounced “cool-yeata”, this is a vintage dated tawny. It carries two dates on the label: the harvest date, and the bottling date. It can also be called Single Harvest Reserve since English speaking customers find Colheita hard to pronounce. g. Garrafeira is an unusual Tawny style that ages single vintage grapes from 3 to 6 years, but then ages them in glass demijohns (around 11 liters) for another 8 years. Mostly made by Niepoort.
Our Stag Tawny will feature a Quinta do Mourada 60-Year-Old by S. Leonardo. It was anointed a perfect 100-point by Glenn Elliott, aka Mr. Tawny. Next Gazette: Madeira.
2025 UPCOMING OMAHA BRANCH EVENTS
NOV
15
DEC
14
JAN 03
LOST RAIL STAG
Theme TBD
Event host: Dave Thrasher.
HAPPY HOLLOW CLUB
Holiday combined event with Omaha Metro
Theme TBD
Event hosts: Mike Wilke & Joe Goldstein.
FLEMING’S STAG
Madeira vs. 60-Year-Old Tawny Port Tasting
Event hosts: Mike Wilke & Tom Murnan. 2026