A little scared of the SEO on this one, but it’s worth it.

First, it’s pronounced CO-burn’s. I found this out the hard way on my first night in Portugal, and was politely corrected. Still, it’s not like everyone there doesn’t know what they’re dealing with. And many of them do have a wicked sense of humor.

To wit: in the Douro Valley, all of the port houses have these huge signs with their name on them in their vineyards that you can see from the road. And when Alistair Robertson (Chairman of the Fladgate Partnership that owns Taylor’s port house) turned 50, his family made two signs to surprise him. They put one above the Cockburn’s logo sign and one below. So in the morning, Alistair looked out at the sign and saw:

If your
COCKBURN’S
you need a good Taylor.

this is alistair. and the port bottle is actually a pepper grinder.

Alistair thought it was hilarious but figured the head of the Cockburn’s family might be pissed. When he called to apologize, though, the other guy thought it was awesome too! Love it.

I just want to say a special thanks to the Taylor’s team who hosted us in Portugal – Robert, Adrian and Natasha, and Alistair and Gillyane. They went above and beyond not just with our port experiences, but with all of the small, thoughtful things they did for us every day.

For the rest of my life whenever I have a glass of port I’ll think of the amazing trip, the fun, all the people we met who make the port, the jokes and how much happiness wine brings into people’s lives all around the world.

Cheers and obrigada!