ACTIVE


8


Any port will do in a storm, but what port should you stock in your drinks cabinet? John Mitchell, proprietor of Mitchell’s of Meadowhead, explains


Mitchell’s Tipple W


ITH so many styles of port it can cause much confusion, so I’ll try and simplify what’s on offer.


Starting at entry level, we have ruby port, which is what used to make a


good old port and lemon drink. The basic style is matured in wood for three years, filtered and then bottled. Ruby Reserve, such as Cockburn’s Special Reserve, indicates better grapes have been used. Tawny and White ports are a combination of wines matured in wood and in stainless steel. Both are great chilled. I was once high up in the Douro Valley on a very hot day and had Sandleman Extra Dry White Port with Schweppes tonic; what a thirst quencher! Aged Tawny are wood-matured up to 40 years. These are complex and delicious.


We stock 10, 20, 30 & 40 years which make a great anniversary present. Colheita is a Tawny Port from a single year, which is on the label.


LBV is a late-bottled vintage highly popular wood matured between four and six years, filtered and bottled, made from wine from a single none-vintage year. Traditional LBV is only wood matured for three years, then bottled unfiltered, so needs decanting but this port will improve with further bottle ageing.


My favourites are the single Quinta Ports which are from a single estate. Most large port houses produce these wines when a vintage hasn’t been declared. These are also aged in wood for up to two to three years and bottled unfiltered, resulting in them needing to be decanted.


Crusted ports are a blend from several vintages and again need decanting. These will improve with age but the blender often seeks to make these wines more approachable at a younger age than vintage. So the top of the tree and Vintage Port only accounts for 2% of overall port production. Not every year is declared a vintage in the Douro. The decision is made in the spring of the second year following harvest, it is never taken lightly and only the best year becomes a vintage, on average about three years every decade. The wine spends three years in wood and is then bottled, from which the ageing potential is endless. A bottle of Dows 1924 is now fetching around £940. I bought ten dozen Taylors 1966 in 1969 on a whim as England had won the World Cup in that year. I paid £1 7s 6d (£1.37) per bottle and sold them all for a small profit. Today it’s fetching £100-plus per bottle. I wish I had kept some, but hey ho!


Cheers, John Open:


Mon - Sat: 9am - 4pm Sunday: 10am-2pm


Serving a large


selection of home-made food


SANKEY’S Coffee Shop


Daily Specials Board Breakfast served all day Ice Cream Sundaes & Milkshakes Children's Menu available Available for Private Parties Children's cupcake parties


Outside Catering Specialists


Weddings, birthdays, wakes, etc From as little as £3.50 per person All numbers catered for


10 HUTCLIFFE WOOD ROAD BEAUCHIEF S8


TEL: 0114327 4146 20


Home-made cakes made to order


FREE CUPCAKE for all mothers on Mothering Sunday


All our food is home made


Sandwiches, salads, jacket potatoes, snacks & home-baked desserts


Evening Menu Every 1st & 3rd Thursday 4-7pm 3 courses for £12.95 STARTERS


HOMEMADE CHICKEN LIVER PATE WITH PORTAND CRANBERRY £3.50


SALMON AND HORSERADISH TART £3.95


SOUP OF THE DAY WITH BREAD AND BUTTER £3.50 PRAWN COCKTAIL £3.95


OVEN BAKED BRIE WITH CARAMELISED ONION AND TOASTED CIABATTA £3.50 MAIN COURSE


HOMEMADE LASAGNE - VEGETABLE OR MEAT £6.50


Fresh hot food available every day


PIE OF THE DAY WITH CHIPS, CARROTS & PEAS £6.50


COD, CHIPS AND PEAS SERVED WITH BREAD & BUTTER £6.50


HOMEMADE BURGER SERVED WITH CHIPS £6.50


SANKEY’S BURGER WITH BLUE CHEESE, BACON AND PORTOBELLO MUSHROOM SERVED WITH HOMEMADE, STEAK CUT CHIPS AND ONION RINGS £5.95


DESSERT


FUDGE BROWNIE SERVED WITH ICE CREAM & CHOCOLATE SAUCE £3.50


TREACLE SPONGE AND CUSTARD £3.50 APPLE CRUMBLE & CUSTARD £3.50


ICE CREAM SUNDAES IN A CHOICE OF FLAVOURS £3.00 CHEESE & BISCUITS £3.50


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