Rosé – a love to discover

        While, traditionally the Old World Countries don’t put the name of the grape variety on the label, it is one of the distinguishing characteristics of the New World Countries which on top of that have adopted signature grapes that over decades have proven to be best adapted on the local soil, therefore Chile is Carmenere, New Zealand is Sauvignon Blanc and South Africa is Pinotage. 

A winemaker’s dream

        Valle de Uco, approximately 70km south of Mendoza, Argentina. 35^oC and still well over a month before the summer. On an early Friday afternoon I’m standing on the side of the road trying to shelter in the shadow of a transition pole. I’m waiting for the director of Bodegas Rolland to pick me up for a tour. These few minutes there taught me a quick lesson on what the sun is capable of here. I’m very glad to see my saviour as by now a good part of water has already evaporated from me.

Rebels with a cause

                                              Picture by Riedel

        It’s not a secret that the saying wine gets better with age is not all true. It obviously does if was made to be aged but its price or the waiting time it requires are often a very effective discouragers. Besides, these wines are not what one commonly pairs with a Tuesday dinner, are they?

Dressed for success

        Champagne, the world’s most famous sparkling wine, is without a doubt also the most exciting one. As true Champagne only comes from the Champagne region located some 160km north of Paris, French wine laws are extremely strict and explicit about the entire process that ends up as a bubbly bottle, including locations where it may be produced, grapes that can be used, yield and winemaking.

         This tight control of viticulture and winemaking by no means implies that all champagne is similar and dull. Quite on the contrary, most of them are, and some have a potential to be, excellent and one of the kind. Terroir is the concept behind it… 

Wine tourism – the ins and outs of wine

For me, visiting a winery is always an exciting experience. Above all if I’ve already tasted its wines, and even more if I like them. You can literarily see, smell and taste your way through the winemaking process – a privilege in my opinion. It’s a bit like going backstage.

I've recently visited a great one.

To dare, or too dear…

Don’t we all like buying top quality products? Not everyday perhaps, but every now and then it does give a little thrill to dig a bit deeper into your pocket and pamper yourself with a dose of extravaganza.

When the buy is an experiment, e.g. food or drink, it’d better blow your mind off otherwise you’ll perhaps feel like shooting yourself in the foot.

I discovered this video on some of the most expensive stuff you can get – mostly food related. Like wine for instance, which sometimes becomes a collector’s item rather than a drink to enjoy.

Mind you, there’s no doubt that in part some wines are expensive for a reason, the reason being a laborious effort to obtain best quality fruit and then getting it perfectly inside the bottle.

The rest is marketing.

In any case, I say dare!