the penfolds grandfather 1915 is a proper noun. the wine is much less old. due to the penfolds name, it is quite expensive and in my opinion not a great value. in recent years, a number of the port makers have dropped the port name and call them fortified. a lot of them are made using a solera, like in sherry.

my favorites include buller, campbells, chambers and yalumba. there are muscats, tawny's muscat, muscadelle, tokay, and mixed bag. in the usa, they tend to be around $15 or less for a half bottle for the lesser of the offerings, which are spectacular. most come from rutherglen, victoria.

in regard to vintage ports, the newest vintage is usually hyped beyond comprehension. and priced beyond comprehension. really takes 20-30 years to smooth out. one can usually find 20-30 year old ports for less than the fresh vintage. the big name in port is TAYLOR. usually the others are very close in taste, and about half the price. Croft,Dow, graham,smith-woodhouse,fonseca come to mind.

tawny port is aged in an oxidized condition, and will survive a month or so after open. vintage port will start going downhill within a day or two of opening.

i have been to both vertical and single vintage tastings. in the verticals, the aging is most noticeable, and useful. in the single vintage tastings, the differences are minuscule,and favorites are by individual taste.

warning: if you go to a port tasting, plan to spend the night. stuff goes down like campaign, out of bigger glasses, and has almost twice the alcohol.