Drinking Port and the Infamous Bishop of Norwich

If you’re sitting around drinking porto after dinner and your glass runs dry, try this old tradition. Ask the host: “Do you know the Bishop of Norwich?”

If the host is a cultured porto drinker, he’ll probably grin and refill your glass.

If your host responds, “No, who is the Bishop of Norwich?” you answer: “The bishop is an awfully good fellow, but he never passes the port.”

The custom refers to the Bishop of Norwich, but I don’t know which one or why he is associated with porto. If anyone knows the historical circumstances surrounding the “Bishop of Norwich”, please enlighten us.