A long lunch today

[OzPiper]

Couple of mates came back from London with cheese and port in their luggage.


50yo Taylor’s and 50yo Graham’s ports
With an Aussie Penfold’s Great Grandfather Port for comparison

The Graham’s was fabulous out of the bottle. The Taylor’s was spirity but with time in the glass, the spirit toned down and became a very good drop.
The Penfolds was fruity and full-bodied in a typical antipodean way.

A couple of cheeses hand carried in luggage - Stichelton and Montgomery cheddar


Augmented by a couple sourced in Sydney - Brillat Savarin and a Gorgonzola Dolce Latte


A convivial afternoon with conversation, laughter and reminisces over a 40yo friendship

 

[Gerald Boone]

Sounds like Heaven

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

You should start giving lessons on living the good life!

You got it all figured out.

 

[BingBong]

Just the stuff for the bleak midwinter.

 

[mingc]

Fantastic!

Many years ago, I used to be able to get Yalumbas here in the States that were truly sticky. I can't seem to find them anymore and what I could find seemed a lot more watery.

 

[Merton]

Couple of mates came back from London with cheese and port in their luggage.
View attachment 401726

50yo Taylor’s and 50yo Graham’s ports
With an Aussie Penfold’s Great Grandfather Port for comparison

The Graham’s was fabulous out of the bottle. The Taylor’s was spirity but with time in the glass, the spirit toned down and became a very good drop.
The Penfolds was fruity and full-bodied in a typical antipodean way.

A couple of cheeses hand carried in luggage - Stichelton and Montgomery cheddar
View attachment 401727

Augmented by a couple sourced in Sydney - Brillat Savarin and a Gorgonzola Dolce Latte
View attachment 401730

A convivial afternoon with conversation, laughter and reminisces over a 40yo friendship

Love it! What was the weather today?

 

[BingBong]

Couple of mates came back from London with cheese and port in their luggage.
View attachment 401726

50yo Taylor’s and 50yo Graham’s ports
With an Aussie Penfold’s Great Grandfather Port for comparison

The Graham’s was fabulous out of the bottle. The Taylor’s was spirity but with time in the glass, the spirit toned down and became a very good drop.
The Penfolds was fruity and full-bodied in a typical antipodean way.

A couple of cheeses hand carried in luggage - Stichelton and Montgomery cheddar
View attachment 401727

Augmented by a couple sourced in Sydney - Brillat Savarin and a Gorgonzola Dolce Latte
View attachment 401730

A convivial afternoon with conversation, laughter and reminisces over a 40yo friendship

Just wondering, did the cheeses come from La Fromagerie? They got me into a serious cheese habit for some years, although the plague broke that in 2020 and poor old Eric died of unrelated causes; haven't been in since, but now you make me realise my error.

 

[OzPiper]

Just wondering, did the cheeses come from La Fromagerie? They got me into a serious cheese habit for some years, although the plague broke that in 2020 and poor old Eric died of unrelated causes; haven't been in since, but now you make me realise my error.

Paxton and Whitfield
The Montgomery was stonkingly good.
Sadly we don’t make cheese as good as that here in Oz.

 

[OzPiper]

Fantastic!

Many years ago, I used to be able to get Yalumbas here in the States that were truly sticky. I can't seem to find them anymore and what I could find seemed a lot more watery.

By coincidence we talked about Aussie “ports” and Yalumba’s Galway Pipe came up.

When I started drinking wine in the early ‘70, Galway Pipe was one of the top drops. The bottle shop would only sell me one bottle at a time as his total allocation was 3 bottles per 3-4 months

Galway Pipe is still around, but made in much larger quantity with the subsequent drop in quality

 

[OzPiper]

Love it! What was the weather today?

Port drinking weather
Cool - about 11centigrade

 

[VDL_Piper]

Port drinking weather is any time in Tasmania its a subtle -4 here atm

 

[huntertrw]

A long lunch today.

 

[quantumboy]

The Good Book says jealousy is a sin, but that 50 year tawny...Oh my!

 

[OzPiper]

Sounds like Heaven

We 3 are at that age when medical matters crop up with increasing frequency and seriousness.
Time to spend more time with friends and family.
And drink up the cellars.

 

[Servant King]

Couple of mates came back from London with cheese and port in their luggage.

That's the ideal way to smuggle such things. The alternative method is...well, let's just say it's not Plan A, even though it begins with that letter...

 

[OzPiper]

The Good Book says jealousy is a sin, but that 50 year tawny...Oh my!

A couple of other bottles from London
Earmarked for another lunch down later in the year

An 80yo tawny bottled to commemorate the end of WWll in 1945.


A very, very old tawny - no age statement as it’s a blend of a few select barrels

 

[OzPiper]

That's the ideal way to smuggle such things. The alternative method is...well, let's just say it's not Plan A, even though it begins with that letter...

Believe it or not, it’s legal to bring in up to 10kg of cheese (including unpasteurised raw milk cheese) in your luggage.
As long as you declare it as personal consumption.

Oz Border Control is very strict on imports of food Products, but cheese from the mother country is kosher

 

[VDL_Piper]

Believe it or not, it’s legal to bring in up to 10kg of cheese (including unpasteurised raw milk cheese) in your luggage.
As long as you declare it as personal consumption.

Oz Border Control is very strict on imports of food Products, but cheese from the mother country is kosher

You really have to wonder. Grow or try to bring tobacco for your personal use......you're the devils spawn but sure bring in something that has been made with mould or some bacteria, 10kgs it is Sir.

 

[OzPiper]

You really have to wonder. Grow or try to bring tobacco for your personal use......you're the devils spawn but sure bring in something that has been made with mould or some bacteria, 10kgs it is Sir.

Yep. A lot of inconsistencies in Border Force regulations.
According to my friend who brought in the cheese, he declared the cheese on arrival, but Oz Customs just waved him through without sighting them

On my recent trip, I junked some left over tobacco and a few cigars at Sydney airport as I did not want the hassle of declaring a small amount (but over the 25gm limit) of tobacco and dealing with the paperwork.
My mate, who was a lot bolder than I, just said he had nothing to declare and waltzed through nonchalantly with his tobacco and cigars.

 

[VDL_Piper]

Yep. A lot of inconsistencies in Border Force regulations.
According to my friend who brought in the cheese, he declared the cheese on arrival, but Oz Customs just waved him through without sighting them

On my recent trip, I junked some left over tobacco and a few cigars at Sydney airport as I did not want the hassle of declaring a small amount (but over the 25gm limit) of tobacco and dealing with the paperwork.
My mate, who was a lot bolder than I, just said he had nothing to declare and waltzed through nonchalantly with his tobacco and cigars.

Next time I travel I’m putting tins of tobacco in between some cheese slices and just walking through. I reckon the old dishlicker dogs of customs will only smell the slices of Gouda and nothing else