Sub for ruby port in poached pears

[JHolcomb]

Hey all,
I recently discovered that I love pears. I tried one in Kindergarten and hated it, and while I'm still not crazy about the texture, the flavor is the most amazing thing I've experienced food-wise in a long time-quite a revelation. Anyway, I want to make poached pears, but I don't have any ruby port on hand-just Tawney port. Can I sub one for the other or do I specifically need ruby (the recipe does call for ruby)? I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I do have an opened (but recorked) 5 week old bottle of ruby that I need to toss. Do you think it's waaaay past it's prime or could I throw it into this recipe?

Jen

[Ralph]

Jen, I don't think your 5-week-old bottle is past it's prime, certainly if you're going to cook with it rather than sip it. But you just may want to take a small taste to make sure you don't have red wine vinegar!

As for what else to use, I'm not a port expert so I can't comment on the Tawny, but here's from Cook's Thesaurus:

"port = port wine Notes: This is a sweet Portuguese fortified wine that's sipped as an after-dinner drink, or used as a cooking ingredient. Vintage ports are the best, but they are very expensive. The sediment at the bottom of the bottle is a sign of quality. Crusted or late-bottled vintage ports are both less expensive and less elegant. Cheaper yet are the lighter and fruitier wood ports, which include the tawny ports and the lowly ruby ports. Wood ports don't age well in the bottle, so try to drink them within a year or two of purchase. Once opened, port should be consumed within a week or so and stored in the refrigerator. Substitutes: Madeira OR dry vermouth OR black muscat wine (like port, this goes well with chocolate) OR Banyuls (like port, this goes well with chocolate) OR unsweetened fruit juice OR (in meat-based sauces) beef or chicken stock"