Half-breed - D'Aiguilhe 1999

Haven't been touching Gironde for a while. Thanks big uncle often lavishly sharing his cellar with us. In this recent Winter Solstice, he has again shared his joy -- D'Aiguilhe 1999 from Cotes de Castillon.

With fruity and berries like flavour, it tastes more like Merlot than Cabernet Sauvignon...however, Cabernet Sauvignon is the one making the major role in the wine. Its rusty feeling gives a balance to the wine. Not too tannic, I would rather say this is quite consistent to my uncle's preference: It's quite American like: Strong first grasp of my attention, punched with blackberries. Not long while after then the aftertaste slowly back to the throat till the abs.

It has the style of American with a body of French wine...Half-breed wine.

After breathing...the tannin is neutralized yet the fruitiness faded away...and yes, it's US$15.99...

Wine A versus Wine B

Pay attention. Wine A normally is the challenger and Wine B is the champion, whereby Wine B turned out to be...one of the vineyard of the Premier Cru of the 1855 Classe.

Wine A under normal circumstance, are those from the New World:

USA: Caymus, Opus One, Dominus
Chile: Errazuris, VInedo Chadwick, Sena
Italy: Sassicaia, Tignanella, Gaja Barbaresco

Looking at my little copper passbook (not the glamourous gilt ones...)
Couldn't afford to have Wine B as a comparison, I could on the other hand consider owning Wine A =P

Recently was browsing the local Hongkie magazine which mention the plan of Google acquire a online group purchase website called "Groupon" where you can join the group purchase to earn enough bargaining power for sumptuous quantity of goods at huge discount.

Deeply considering whether we can do the same... Who's in for Wine A?

文字狂revolution

曾經是磨文字狂。一篇blog, 一篇詩以至一個短信，都係諗o左好耐點樣寫得有技巧d, 睇o左好多次先送出去...見到d人好情深咁寫情書...會感動落淚...
直至mum話: 你知道Roald Dahl books 跟 Harry Potter點解咁出名? 因為文字顯淺易明，文化先可以廣泛宣揚開去...

係呀，而家睇到大家用精煉的文字寫出來的文章我又會覺得overengineering，尤其係有o左facebook status , twitter 同埋微博之後，keyword 是快，唔係用十萬個隱喻叫人估餐死。我成日都諗以前讀o個d english literature出埋晒d penguin o既summary notes, 不停話其實個作者寫呢一段背後有6個意義，其中包括反映佢對xyz o既無奈，又對自己國家o既憤世嫉俗...(下刪1萬字...)可能佢只係沖完個涼寫出o黎...多謝penguin咁又年年賺幾十萬notes錢...

而家反而好欣賞用最白最淺o既文字寫出o黎o黎抵死字句，表表者係壹週刊o既節目表commentry，呢d係black humour，係o黎自幽默性格，天生o既...好好笑。

後來做o野更發現，文字實在係一個manipulation o既工具。同一隻股票，同一個marketing campaign，analyst A 可以寫到勁追落後，analyst B 同人講快沽就o黎跌; marketing campaign 寫到幾正幾impressive可以target 到大人細路你阿婆阿孫連工人都一定買你隻product...文字都真係可以好deceiving...明白點解千祈唔好信d 把口long 過油o既人...

入o左有數字o既地方，大家都係擺條數出o黎，唔理你點講，數字呃唔到人啦卦...點知，你每日就用個17吋mon 睇幾萬粒數...會計師雖然好似比律師可靠，但係佢地副厚厚o既眼鏡，做o左lasik都減唔到佢地wok 同ot o既鐘數...買一隻ipo，幾吋厚o既招股書殺o左幾千粒accountant 鐘，d數呃唔到你...因為精明o既你已經拎o左本書去擱腳，d數睇都唔睇就問o下隔離個同事有無買就啦啦臨12點半前衝去抽。

唯有，只係得呢樣，係反映事實，可以feel到，好快震撼人心，又唔洗做幾千粒鐘，左諗右諗，佢又夠convincing，又無language barrier, o岩晒一家大細高尚低俗文化共冶一爐都無問題，又唔驚人地話你懶high class, 咁鬼cheap...因為大家都係睇緊同一樣o野...

還是...攝影最好，快而精.

味皇 - 皮蛋與腐乳

近年興起紅酒配中菜之風，為愛酒之士締造驚喜口味。

皮蛋源自發酵了的鴨蛋，味濃得蓋過隨後進口之佳餚，因此經常配以豆腐、子薑等清爽的食物淸口腔，否則餘下美食猶如雞肋。

可幸皮蛋那溶化於口中那種密集豐富的口感卻被柔和纖細的輕黑皮諾（pinot noir）軟化。

喝後百感交集，它們像是美女與野獸或是貂貚馴服強悍呂布一樣水乳交融，皮蛋與紅酒配合得天衣無縫。

其後再含一片子薑。子薑辛辣，帶香了味蕾，清了乾涸的喉嚨，襯托出紅酒的單寧與原始的風味。

可與皮蛋這「味皇」並駕齊驅的腐乳，我還未找到可配襯之紅酒。有的話請儘快告訴我，因我是腐乳的粉絲呢~

What's the matter with wine?

Hey, that drunkard!!!
Yea, probably they just want me to pay for their wine...
Holy, wanna get you drunk, tat's harder than winning lottery!?!

Dun put this wrong perception onto those wine liver. We are not treasuring the wine as what you view us as.

Tasting includes understanding, studying, feeling, then spitting. Not aiming to get ourselves drunk, we resonnate vineyard owner, wine grower n weather together -- god's gift.

Astonishing wine is not bringing you to a state of numbness nor tipsy state of mind, it is bringing you to the state to metaphoring spirit of nostalgia, sychronizing the space running through across the horizon.

Bounderless exchange of taste n knowledge, melting pot of comments m shadings.

-- Welcome to the world of Wine --

日本清酒世界遺產- 紹興酒溫和版

世界遺產是路過給父親買的手信。純粹被它的名字 "臣服"了，便乖乖拿出錢來...
回家卻在一個沒有我出席卻又大排筵席的情況下開了慶祝，我只好品嚐其餘威...

入口淡淡的米酒味，很濃縮，但並不強烈的酒精，像是分隔了的沙水感...回味便很像家鄉喝的紹興酒。父親卻說這像sherry.

紹興是我的家鄉，每年家中作拜祖先之用總會嘗一次，又是nostalgic作祟嗎?

這清酒本應作溫室或暖熱後飲用。是秋田縣之酒，由自家以常溫釀製而成
起初酸性較重，後舌有的乾涸的感覺，最好是用作餐前小食的佐酒。


原材料名 米、米こうじ
原料米 美山錦 100%

精米歩合 60%

アルコール分 15度以上16度未満

Take away thoughts from wine tasting at 8-degree hotel

Invited by my friend to a wine-tasting event at 8-degree hotel at To Kwa Wan, located between huge estates and heritage avenues. Shocked by the wedding like setting. This looks as if a perfect place for wedding cocktail.

My entry this time is not focusing the hotel, yet to the host for the wine tasting.
From this function, my take-away is not to mention about the wine. The focus is on customer service and resources planning for an event.

Regardless what wine is being served, better not reconfirm for more than once. For snacks, be frank, we are like...in a chinese restaurants. Surprising they are serving preserved eggs to company the wine. Unfortunately I can't find any wine matching with that. Detail arrangement shall be put on snacks for food & wine marriage to enhance the scent and balance of wine, a win-win for wine sales / impulsive consumption.

The most amazing one is on the order list. Obviously the long table displayed much more wines than those listed on the order list. We therefore kinda befriend with the agent so that we can taste those not on list...there it comes...they have plan A, B & C! and they didn't show us until...4 hours later! Absurd! The great wines are in plan C and this sheet was hiding from all tables until asked! What kinda sales are they?

The event ends with a ridiculous incident where they invite the winemaker to make a speech...in their own language...without translation. That means just let them speak in French. The translator could only get like...10% of the content and guess!!! >.< Can't they be more prepared??? Sigh...

Room for improvement, as...they have no room to deterioriate more...

How to Qualify as a Wine Critic

This is where I am working towards...what a long way to go...

====================================

How to Qualify as a Wine Critic


In addition to wine tasters, you will also find wine critics who will do reviews on different types of wine. These are not just people who drink different wines and give you their opinion on the taste, but they are professionals. They may be wine tasters or they may be freelance critics who have been hired by a specific organization to taste a particular wine and do a review. They may be hired by the manufacturer or even a wine wholesaler as part of an advertising campaign they are launching. However, the reasons may be varied and the sources versatile, there is no mistaking the fact that wine critics have a very important job to do.

In order to be a wine critic you have to be familiar with wine and not just as a drinker. You have to be able to taste wine without drinking it and know the flavor it should provide. You have to know what to detect during your tasting process and be able to portray that information to the public in a positive way. You have to know about many different kinds of wines and not just one kind. You can of course, portray yourself as an expert with just one wine, but you will not be in very much demand. Those who work as wine critics sometimes double as wine tasters, which gives them the information they need for the wine reviews.

Why would anyone need to hire a wine critic? It may be because the manufacturer wants to get an unbiased opinion on a new variety or an advertising agency wants to find out the public’s reaction to a particular brand and variety, new or old. Sometimes restaurants may request a wine critic to find out what professionals think of a new wine variety they are considering offering to customers. There are many different reasons why someone might engage the services of a wine critic.

If you’re looking to become a wine critic, you will first need to learn about the different wines and what is expected from them .You need the flavor, aroma and general appearance of the wine in order to be a critic for a particular wine. Once you have some experience or at least extensive knowledge, you can begin selling your services to organizations that hire wine critics or use their services in other ways.

Tempranillo - Wine of nostalgia

我原本還想打中文的...打到一半才記起自己打了英文，造就了這中英並舉的一篇...

沒有想過西班牙的坦普瑞尼洛會有給我如此驚喜。當然環境和氣氛也記一功，可是這浪漫柔弱的光線可令我看不清真正的酒名，否則我必定購一箱回家。

中等酒身，沒有太多長腳。寶石紅在光下特別醉人...還是酒不醉人人自醉?
入口很醇，像是有木屑跟雪茄味，長久回味，可陳年數年。就是這回味喝過後教人神往，零星碎片的泛起很多求學時的片段。真不愧為貴族葡萄 - 西班牙的里奧哈葡萄

同意以少許雲呢拿作結實在是畫龍點睛。究竟是我醉了覺得這酒很美，還是它真的很美，我也分不清了...需要分得清嗎?

平凡永遠有驚喜: 它可是一杯House Wine 呢. 有幾多人願意將美酒降價?

後話: 如果不想喝醉，還是慢慢品嚐比較好，否則就要靠薑茶解酒了...
如有更好的方法，請分享。

Never imagine the 2007 Tempranillo is giving me this surprise. Of course, the occassion and the night pub atmosphere help contributing some. Unfortunately owing to this same dim light that I could not recall the name of this wine, otherwise I'll get one home.

Clear medium body, not too much tears. Ruby red, looks elegant. Or just that I am tipsy? Everything surrounding it make the wine an elegance.

With a smooth palate and oaky, tobascco after taste, it brought me to the nostalgic moments. Need not to be sentimental, just bits and pieces of snapshot in Uni. No wonder it is the Noble grape - Rioja in Spain.

Agree that hint of vanilla makes the finest ending pitch to the wine. It's me being nostalgic? or is the wine? Can't distinguish now.

What looks ordinary turns out to have extraordinary result: It's a house wine. $65 / glass, $580 / bottle

ps. Wine is for slow tasting, otherwise will get drunk easily, this will then be replaced by ginger tea next morning. Feel free to share if you know more alcohol detoxication.

A Hong Kong Guide book with a misconception

Passed by Fenwick Pier for Vero, just picked up a booklet called "Guide to Hong Kong 2010" by fenwickpier.com for sailors.

Picked a few points which I found it controversial. Please let me know if these are true:

Casual Pickups: Casual pick-up in bars are a major source of disease. The girls themselves may be unaware they are disease carriers. THey do not go to clinics for regular check-ups.

Massage parlors: IF you want a massage, there are wholesome places to go. But if the sign says Japanese, French, Thai or other exotic kinds of massage, or if they enclose you in a private room, you will be flirting with danger.

Taxis: During the past few years we have had many sailors victimized by unscrupulous taxi drivers who wait outside of Fenwick Pier for a sucker. Their meters are running from a previous ride and some sailors have paid them as much as ten times the true fare. Be careful!

What kinda places are they recommending and how has Hong Kong being described as in these tourists' mind now...ridiculous!!!

Chic Wine - 1 Wine

1 Wine...looks familiar? or you don't even give a glance...?
Convenience store, there must be one next to you or me.

1 Wine, is one of the little plastic bottle of chic wine, displaying on the rack, red, white, blue, do they catch your attention?

Understanding that screw cap and oak cork has been the controversial debate over the century, however seems in general nobody is in doubt whether the glass bottle shall be replaced by other materials. 1 Wine is one of the revolutionary wine no matter in packaging, the market that it is trying to get in.

NEW drinking habit, NEW occasion, NEW consumer. This is what 1Wine is pursuing. Let's try.

$12 for a bottle. Fair price. First sip of 1Rouge...sorry ... like medicine... could hardly find tannin, believe it's due to lost of capability to further undergo the fermentation and oxidation in the plastic bottle? plastic cap doesn't seem vaccum enough. I still can tell this is Merlot, though very faint. Prudent choice then to get it from Languedoc, at least, nobody blame why the Merlot character not strong enough ;)

Anyhow, Netherland's revolution, I'll give you a second chance.

Source: 7-eleven
Price: $12

Vinexpo Asia - Pacific 2010

儘管趕不及到全個酒展，總算可在最後十分鐘，以至之後的數個小時留下些許"腳毛"...

規模之大就像是書展一樣，數百個來自新、舊世界的酒商聚首一堂，雖未有華山論劍般比武，嘉年華總可以吧。
從精緻堂皇的攤位佈置，至酒商們細心的講解自家出品或獨銷的酒莊，他們的用心可見一斑。有的在用優雅玻璃杯佈滿極個柜台，有的用高吧椅營造酒吧很有時代感。

雖則未必能利用這3天逛盡所有酒莊，嘗盡所有酒，他們用心設計的小冊子讓你迅速增廣見聞，跟他們一席話更可感受酒商的熱誠。

酒展過後，總有些酒商豪氣地剩下一箱半瓶的佳釀便趕著去下一個城市賣品牌去，這一下子可讓眾酒鬼高興了，一箱二箱的 (我所知的最高紀錄是38箱!!!)，幸好這個香港還有運送服務，否則我看他們肯定通宵托回去。

過了這次，又要等兩年了...

英國市場遭遇“滑鐵盧”- 夏布利葡萄酒生產商另闢蹊徑

This is where the Asia comes in... Come Chablis~

金融危機發生後，夏布利葡萄酒在其主要的英國市場屢遭下滑。為了改變市場的頹勢，夏布利酒商將眼光投向了其他新市場，並發展有機生產，以期吸引新的消費者。

英國市場步步滑坡

英國是夏布利（Chablis）葡萄酒的最大出口市場，占該地區葡萄酒總出口額約40%。在這個85%的葡萄酒用於出口的地區，出口市場的經濟狀況起到關鍵作用。

夏布利是位於法國勃艮第（Burgundy）最北部一個著名的白葡萄酒產區。早在19世紀，這個產區就開始以出產優質的白葡萄酒而聞名。這裏的葡萄園面積達到4622公頃，產區綿延20多個鎮。該產區氣候涼爽，土壤多石塊、含石灰質黏土。

夏布利葡萄酒委員會（Chablis Wine Board）的資料顯示，2008年夏布利葡萄酒總出口額下降了18.5%，2009年的資料尚未公佈，但預計比2008年跌幅更大，英國市場可能下滑達35%。

該地區生產商Bouchard表示：“去年的市場情況非常複雜。”Bouchard的父親是英國市場一些著名連鎖店的供應商，為Loch Fyne酒店連鎖等商家供貨。“在我看來，英國是全球受金融危機打擊最嚴重的市場，而它又是夏布利最主要的出口市場。2010年情況也非常艱難，市場已經十分飽和，歐元的強勢令市場雪上加霜。”

夏布利葡萄酒委員會的Jean-Marc Brocard稱，英國市場的下跌是夏布利生產商們始料未及的。“這場打擊突如其來，很明顯，我們過於依賴英國市場。”Jean-Marc Brocard是Jean Brocard酒莊的總裁，該酒莊面積達180公頃。他說，英國市場對夏布利葡萄酒意義重大，位居其後的美國、中國、瑞典、挪威四大市場的總銷售額都比英國市場低5%以上。英國女性消費者一直是夏布利葡萄酒的忠實消費者，對清新爽口夏布利白葡萄酒青睞有加，如果這部分群體繼續捂緊錢袋，市場情況將不可想像。他接著表示：“英鎊的強勢也對我們極為不利，銀行方面稱至少還要保持兩年。”

Brocard指出，釀酒歷史始於羅馬時期的夏布利地區正在經歷最惡劣的危機時期，其程度不次於二戰時期以及南非、新西蘭、澳大利亞等新世界葡萄酒的衝擊。

有機生產蓬勃發展

在這種嚴峻形勢下，夏布利葡萄酒生產商不得不開發新的市場，包括增長迅速的有機葡萄酒市場。Brocard和Bouchard均是夏布利有機葡萄酒生產大軍中的一員。但他們承認，盲目發展有機生產是一件冒險的事。有機生產商必須在葡萄園中花費更多的精力，而產量卻低於普通葡萄園，成本還要高出20%。而且，從實行有機生產到獲得認證需要3年時間。

但從1991年開始採取有機生產的夏布利酒商Philippe Goulley卻說，發展有機生產並不是一件冒險的事情，有機葡萄酒已經不是一個小眾產品，採取有機作業的投入是值得的。他認為，沒有使用化學肥料和殺蟲劑的葡萄會釀出口感更好的葡萄酒，加之夏布利特有的石灰岩土質，有望提高該產區的聲譽。

Goulley說，雖然目前全球處於經濟蕭條期，但有機葡萄酒的需求卻持續上升。“有機食品在全球持續升溫，我們應該順應這一潮流。”

另一酒商Thomas Picard對 Goulley的觀點表示贊同。其酒莊從2005年開始開闢了2.4公頃葡萄園發展有機生產。“有機葡萄酒的市場在不斷擴大，我們才剛剛起步。”

然而，雖然許多夏布利酒商有興趣發展有機生產，葡萄收穫也要數年的時間。因此，該產區的有機葡萄酒莊也只有300多家。

亞洲市場潛力無限

與此同時，夏布利生產商們被迫尋求新的市場彌補英國市場的下滑，其中包括迅速發展中的中國市場。一位生產商表示：“對許多亞洲人來說，夏布利就如同Gucci 和Prada品牌一樣有吸引力。雖然這一點對於我們銷量的提升有一定好處，但我們寧可把酒賣到英格蘭、蘇格蘭等市場，這些地區的消費者更懂得如何鑒賞葡萄酒的品質，他們買酒時並不看重其產區的威望。”

儘管如此，眾多夏布利生產商已經開始進軍亞洲市場。日本的眾多知名餐館長期以來是夏布利葡萄酒的主要銷售管道，還有不少酒商將眼光投向中國和韓國市場。

Bouchard認為，夏布利生產商低估了北美市場的潛力，尤其是東海岸的美國人更喜歡口感複雜的法國酒，雖然加州酒在當地極受歡迎。“美國市場又開始流行法國酒，這個市場極有潛力，我們在美國市場的推廣還遠遠不夠。”他說。

儘管採取了大規模的市場推廣活動，但體現在銷量上卻需要數月、甚至數年的時間。夏布利生產商仍在期望英國經濟的復蘇以及英鎊的走弱，“我們等待，我們還能做什麼？”Brocard說。

來源：《華夏酒報》

港美簽葡萄酒合作協議

又有好野飲LU~~~


(星島)2010年5月18日 星期二 05:30

(綜合報道)

(星島日報 報道)香港和美國 簽署葡萄酒相關業務合作諒解備忘錄，這是香港簽署的第八份同類協議。備忘錄的涵蓋範疇，包括推廣葡萄酒與亞洲及本地美食的配搭、便利在港舉辦與美國葡萄酒有關的拍賣會，以及鼓勵業界在港提供優質的葡萄酒儲存設施。商務及經濟發展局 局長劉吳惠蘭與訪港的美國商務部長駱家輝簽署備忘錄。

Wine Walk 2010

雖然今次Wine Walk 並不是在Lan Kwai Fong 舉行，是在灣仔星街。最近碰巧在Classified 附近逛逛的我依然抱有期望。2-6時，應該不會醉吧，最重要: 千萬不要跑，否則血液循環上升! ~
所有門票現已sold out，希望我的朋友記得留了位置吧。大伙兒愛酒之友，see you there~

Wine of the day #04 - Chateau de Beaucastel 2003

Wine itself, undoubtedly not an everyday wine, it is only my surprise wine tonight. Why? It is just a secretly opened wine found in dad's cellar. Somehow I have to stop someone from further consuming...

Appelation: Chateauneuf-du-pape controlee

Weather: warm, dry growing seasons in Rhone

Soil: pebbles known locally as ''galets''

Wine Maker: Jean-Pierre and Francois Perrin
Grape: Here's the highlight. This wine has 13 varietals of grapes!
30% Grenache, 30% Mourvedre, 10% Syrah, 10% Counoise, 5% Cincault and others (Vaccarèse, Terret noir, Muscardin, Picpoul, Picardan, Bourboulenc, Roussanne)
Production Method: blending. Unlike ordinary Chateauneuf-du-Pape, the % of Mourvedre is higher than others.

Observation: Tawny, garnet rim, very long tears
Nose: Blend of peppers, spice, leather, black and red fruits, slight prune...mixture of all dark fruit palate based wine.
Palate: Ham, meaty, spice, hint of licorice. Balanced body, medium + length, spicer, high alcohol content. not as peppery as cabernet sauvignon, body is slightly lighter. Creamy, rich in content that generates long aftertaste. Hint of bitter cherry at the edge.
          Decanted --> tannin is softened and body is more balanced. It can last longer, still have potential to grow, yet still the time to drink. Almost at peak. (Decanting is recommended on wine label. Whenever wine requires decanting, its tannin level must be high and body would be very rich and well-balance. This is what we called the Big Wine)

From its body and the texture, it might well deceive drinkers as one of the Grand Cru Classe. You can only distinguish from tasting a blend of finishes that it would be a blended varietals. This is due to the usage of Mourvedre, a grape which could work as effective on aging as Cabernet Sauvignon. Very high quality to-be-vintaged wine.

Price: Ranging from $480
Source: Wine bluff
Worth buying: $$$$$

Wine of the day #03 - Chianti Classico DOCG Borgo Salcetino 2007

In a petit supermarket, a place which suppose with assorted wine just displaying on rack covered with dust...Treasure is always beneath.
DOCG wine from Toscana company our family for a lousy instant noodle dinner...now who is insulting who?

Location: Lucarelli in municipal administration of Radda in Chianti.
Weather: Fine weather at the crucial final stage of grape ripening allowed producers to harvest at optimum ripeness, risking a little extra hang-time if necessary. Generally, the grapes were extremely healthy, with yields down 10% on the average.
Terrior: Lime, clay, sand

Grape: 95% Sangiovese, 5% Canaiolo
Class: DOCG
Ageing: 6 - 10 years.

Observe: clear, long tears, white rim, ruby color, pinkish edge
Nose: slightly declining of animal fat, strong shade of red fruit, light vanilla hint.
Palate: slight acidic, refreshing. Medium - length. Medium + alcohol. Petroleum carried over the tongue,  cherry-red fruits, fruity, spice
Food match: Goat cheese, grilled red meat, game

Source: Park'n Shop
Price: $149
Worth: Worth buying

Link: http://www.livon.it/eng/home.htm

Vero - The chocolate liquor night

Adventure to Vero Chocolate. Indeed an adventure as I still could not figure out the "right" way to Fenwick Pier without jay-crossing the highway, lol.

Apart from Venezula 70% Cocoa drink with dazzling cocoa beads, apple thyme; honey mustards seasonal chocolates, opera etc...they have the chocolat bar lounge!!!

Every thursday night is the Ladies night to enjoy ranges of dessert wines / cocktail / wines made with chocolate. Imagine you have a series of Sauternes, Tokaj, Muscat...and you just wanna find a cozy place for...no corkage fee with chocolates to company the treasure. Here's the choice.

With 500ft outdoor private lounge with seaview or 2000ft indoor lounge in front of the chocolate sculpture production desk, fancy enough to get my attention.

Vero Chocolate
1F Fenwick Pier, Kiing Lung Street, Wanchai ,Hong Kong
Tel: 25595882Sun - Mon: 10am - 830pm
Tue - Sat: 10am - midnight

Wine of the day #02 - Chateau Calon 2003

Chateau Calon 2003. Don't get me wrong, this is not the 3rd growth Calon-segur. This is from st. Emilion. Not sure if that's a misbuy from dad. Anyhow, give it a shot.

Weather: 2003

It is the vintage of God's joke. Atypically warm March and April resulted in flowering ending two weeks before normal time. May entertained with very little rain, while June and July got almost no rain at all. August was a case for itself. Heat wave which lasted three weeks with temperature between 40-45°C, low humidity and few drops of rain. The growing cycle of vines was halted because of rain shortage.

To the East lies the famous appellations of St. Emillion, with its wonderfully ripe Cabernet Franc, and Pomerol where Merlot rules the roost and produces deep, plush wines of uncommon refinement.

Soil / Landscape: clay-limestone
 
Clayey soil and limestones in subsoil, keeps as everybody knows a sufficient amount of rainwater back, that’s why Merlot had it better here with rainwater not running deep down or far away.
 
Producer n Chateau Owner: Jean-Noël Boidron
Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Merlot, Carmenere

Color: ruby, opaque

Nose: Typical Cabernet Sauvignon. As in peppery and blackberry taste. I would have the metal nose to the typical cab sau. Not tasting much of the blending grapes or merlot. Dorminated by Cab Sau component.

Palate: Compare to the standard can sau, it has shorter length of after taste. It is easy drinking, the highlight would be on it's lead finish.

Price: $238
Worth-buy: so-so...
Source: TBC (dad is sleeping...)

Weather Reference: http://www.greatbordeauxwines.com/Bordeaux%202003.html

Wine of the day #01 - Prosecco Fossato

Don't envy. Yes, this is an extra dry sparkling wine from Umbrio -- Prosecco. Goes well with Chinese dish. Slightly creamy, sizzling in the mouth. Not too citrus. Excellent with so-called weird chinese food like preserved egg "皮蛋".

This wine unlike champagne, adopting charmat method, 2nd fermentation under stainless steel, less expensive in production. No wonder, it looks like the $2xx - $3xx wine, it's cost is around $70!!! It is one of Bellini's component as well.



Dominantly for local consumption. In recent 2-3 years, they are also available for production in new world countries such as Argentina, Brazil etc.

Prosecco can appear in another form -- CAN. They will be called Frizzante instead. Il Paese that I introduced previously also have these Can sizzling wine available.

Gathering 3: Italian Wine Gallery - Wine & Oyster "Buffet"

Nil promotion at Langham Hotel. Worth me an hour to search online for more information on this randon invitation from my colleagues & wine buddies. Afterall, it is only a soft opening of the event through the tea buffet in lobby lounge.

$258 + 10% including 10 italian wines including parma ham platter.

Artist, Artist, Artist. Despite pondering the museum and exhibitions, how often can you appreciate their paintings? Yes, you can still amaze yourselves through wine bottles with those capture of paintings. They are neither forged nor street hawkers' kinda thing. They are just representing fushion of arts: Wine & Arts.

1. Casntina Tollo "Madregale" Bianco Terre di Chieti IGT 2008

    (90% Chardonnay 10% Trebbiano) Abruzzo

    Quite flat and thin.. Typical Chardonnay.

Paired with Irish Rock Oyster ($38)

- Oyster itself is slightly sweet and creamy. Wine looks crispy and acidic when matched with this oyster

2. Cantina San Marziano "Trefili" Pinot Grigio IGT 2009

     (Pino Grigio) Veneto)

    Very Acidic,  long aftertaste, ends with a vanilla touch. Stronger character than the first.

3. Caruso e Minini "Terre di Giumara" Grecanico Sicilia Bianco IGT 2008

    (Grecanico) Sicilia

    Sicily is not very famous for growing vineyard, therefore it's really rare to drink this kind of wine grape.

    Crisp and green nose, apple note.

Paired with Tasminia oyster ($38)

- Similar to what I had in Tasmania. Savoury, juicy and creamy petit oyster.

4. La Stoppa "Ageno" Malvasia Biane Emilia IGT 2005

    (60% Malvasia Aromatico  20% Ortuga 20% Trebbiano) Emilia- Romagna

   Faulty Wine. Misty body, strong hint of rubber & cork, tea colour. Mould flavour, sweet.

   First time notify the fault wine. Yeah~

5. Toscolo 2005 Chianti Classico

85% Sangiovese 10% Cabernet Sauvignon 5% Merlot

Wood, leath, peppery. Dry acidic, strong tannin, can last a bit longer, for aging. (oh, DOCG~)
In the middles, we are served with the parma ham platter, cheese and so on...

6. Castello Romitorio Morellino di Scansano DOCG 2007

    85% Sangiovese 15% Cab Sauvignon) Toscana

Celery (My fds don't believe me, it's like celery juice!!!) Opened for too long, therefore a bit bitter cherry

flavour, nothing like the description...

Only the DOC / DOCG wine with paintings

Warm tone, family, calmness. Sight depicting with hope yet doubt with uncertainty. Still, the family has the tendency towards future driven by their curiosity. The masculinity shown in the painting match with the structure of the wine. The leather and tannin indicate how much the wine can age, just like the bonding of the family.

7. Castello Romitorio Rosso di Montalcino DOC 2007

Strong scent of blackberries & leather; Strong balance, velvet finish. I am very sensitive to leather as I often caught in the dilemma of it. I hate the note, yet I somehow know that leather would lead to nice and balance wine...

Painting indicates the brother twins setting on a boat escorting their little brother away from stormy wave.

The booklet describes it expresses the tradition is the base to groom the innovation. Just like those baby industry needs protection from the foundation industry and open policy.

The little brother is the symbol of the wine.

My thought would be it's the young wine struggling for survival from the tradition yet have to grow under lots of criticism. Luckily protected by its heritage, it manage to get its way through.

8. Castello Romitorio "Romito del Romitorio" Sant ' Antimo Rosso DOC 2006

(60% Sangiovese Grosso 20% Cabernet Sauvignon 20% Cannaiolo Nero) Toscana

Depicts hermit step out of the hermitage. 1st wine production.

Warrior from the wild, prepare to fight and he is all well equipped.

Wine: gamey, spice and tar note. Coincide with the wild, raw, and rough image on the painting.

9. Marlbourough Highfields 2007 (Replacement of out of stock Barbera D'alba)

      100% Pinot Noir Hint of licorice and red cherries. Mild body, very different style from Italian. Less rough. calm and peaceful wine.

10. Natale Verga MOscato D'Asti DOCG

      Moscato from Piemonte  All-time best wine for picking up girls~

      Flowery, honey comb. Concentrated flower scent. Bunch of citrus bubbles. Nice honey finish.

Special thanks to Geoff's recommendation and introducing us to the world of Oysters. Don't wanna dwell into another hell yet...lol See how happy we are trashing and messing around the hotel...oops...
P.S. Thanks for Sze's photos

Wine Dinner with Rhone Gangs

A wine dinner organized by Sinolink. It has been years since my dad and I are participating in a wine dinner together, wine dinner as in those cordially invited by the wine merchants. Recalling the last time joining Sinolink wine dinner would be year 2004, while I was still in Uni. Their first comment was that I should learn how to drive so that somebody could drive the drunk dad home. So here, I got my driving license and as expected, I might get drunk as well.
 To accommodate my office hour, we’ve chosen to join the “Dinner with Rhone Gang” at Backstage in Central – A familiar lunch choice for me.

Chateau de Montfaucon Comtesse Madeleine 008 Cotes du Rhone (Serve with bread)
Viognier, Marsanne, Bourboulenc & Clairette. Cirtus notes with grapefruit and honey. Light and good choice as the first wine to taste

Rhone Gang Hold-up No.6
Pinot Noir & Grenache. Grassy, mineral with red berries and kirsch note at the end. light body.

Chateau de Saint Cosme Gigondas Rose 2008 (Served with fig salad and parma ham with cantaloupe)
Grenache only. Rhone seldom have one vine to produce one wine. Normally 5-9 vines blended.
Wild berries flavour, nutty in nose. Not a typical rose which has more focus on flower.

Chateau Pesquie Quintessense 2006 Cotes du Ventoux ^.^
Syrah & Grenache. Notes of eucalyptus, sprice, strong leather. Very elegant wine. My favourite of the night, though a bit too alcoholic, seems can last for quite a while. Long and deep finish.

Chateau de Saint Cosme Gigondas Valbelle 2007 (served with lamb shank & mashed potato)
This wine matches well with the lamb shank dish. Grenache & Syrah. Blackberry punch with floral touch. Hint of licorice and tar in the tip of the tongue. Balance body, less tannin than previous yet still stands out its own charcter.

Chateau de Montfaucon Mr Le Baron 2007 (Served with petit 4 & chocolate cake)

Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault, Counoise, Mourvedre, Muscat, Alicante, Tempranillo, Viognire, Marsanne, Clairette, Bourboulenc, Picpoul -- 13 wines. I thought the vines will fight with each other!!! That's why when you drink it, it's like explosion from the world war in there, lol. Unique style, fruity and floral with elegance. Powerful punch, change in flavours along the palete.

Sons of the 4 chateaux owners were travelling round Asia to promote the wine. Just back from Japan, carry forward with their momentum from Tokyo to Hong Kong. Started with a flash about how commonplace their chateaux are and how family-oriented are the essentials in producing the uncommon wine. One of the chateau – Chateau Pesquie was praised by Robert Parker as one of the most talented wine producer.

Despite wine, music is one of their talents too. Playing jazz, singing quartet that arouse our interest to the French culture, songs etc

Thought of the night: Important to have the wine producers present in the wine dinner to inspire guests with more exposure to the wine world, vineyard and history of wine. Otherwise guests would have only focused on the price of wine, the flavour of the wine without even notice the reason behind those flavours being produced. Perhaps this was to memorize some hard moments of the producers. You’ll never know without get to listen to the stories, the 1st person touch.

Tips for the host: Shall approach the restaurant to see whether they can serve extra if brought the food along. E.g. instead of ordinary cheese platter, discuss with wine producer to find the best match cheese and settle that before the day of dinner. That would present the best effect to the guests. A win-win to both the host & the restaurant.

Italian Night - Dec 09

Italian Wine World – Conventional Wine World, yet its spark is often concealed by its neighbour – France.
This time we shall give it a chance to overthrow the century.

Oliver Wine 

Cascina Bruni Moscato d'asti $161

Caldora Abruzzo $128

Cascina Bruni Barbaresco $375

Masi Campofiorin $187

Barbera D’alba 2004 $158

Il Paese Canapes

Cheese Platter: Ham / Sausage Platter:
Provolone Piccante vs  Toscan Ham
Raschera vs Speck Asiago
Manchego vs Salami Nerone
Meatball Spaghetti

1st Wine: Barbera D’alba 2004

Flowery nose. Plummy. Jammy flavour. This is my favourite pick from last year’s Hong Kong Wine Festival. With less than $160, it is an outperforming other wine displayed that day. Well structured and balanced. Ready to drink.

2nd Wine: Caldora Abruzzo

Peppery and acidic. Not too well balanced. Overall speaking, still Barbera d'alba & Barbaresco are preferred.

3rd Wine: Cascina Bruni Barolo

Stronger structure than all other 3 wines. DOCG. Complex truffle flavour. Garnet with red rim. Wild berries, licorice and spicy finish. Strong tannin. Need time to mature

4th Wine: Masi Campofiorin

Masi is the brand strongly recommended by the supermarket sales, due to its price and according to our preference of strong fruity flavour. It pairs up quite well with the cheese platter, especially the Manchego, the wonderful marriage that stands out the cheese from the others.

Last Wine: Masi Moscato d'asti

Impressive. Easy drinking. Strong honey comb mixing with vanilla, yet refreshing and crispy. No wonder it has been depicted as the jewellery of woman.

However it is not a fair match with the icecream pie strongly recommended by the openrice supporters. Perhaps the dried fruits “engraved” in the ice-cream Spianata Piccante were not too juicy to be mitigated into the moscato. It turns out we prefer drinking moscato alone.

The fun of wine gathering is that everyone are trying to share their thoughts and opinion of the same bottle; exploring the flavours, ultimately confirming with the buddies who are sharing the same glass. Food matching is like putting different puzzles together and you’ll discover millions of combinations that will surprise you at the end.

Robert Biale Zinfandel 1999

Thanks to my uncle who reserve the wonderful Zinfandel "leftover" for me even though I can't spare time dining with him. Very touched.

Zinfandel

Observation: Very light rim, Long legs, massive sugar residual
Nose: Strong punch of red fruit. Intensive alcohol.
Body: Well-balance, smooth, need oxidize a bit
Taste: Prune, Licorice, Red Fruit, meaty, slight Oak
Length: long

Strongly recommend as this demonstrate a very nice zinfandel characteristics


No wonder it's more than 90 parker points :)
One of the before 2000 wine that I have enjoyed~

The media of wine

People often ask me where do I learn all the wine and related updates. Obviously not much source, they are from the internet, comics, of coz the word of mouth. Right, you can check some of the blog links on the left navigation bar. Today, I'm just glad to share my knowledge source so that you can have a glimpse of it and be the amateur :) Enjoy~

Wine Books & Magazines              Wine Tasting Events
Decanter                                                Ponti Wine
Wine Monthly                                        ASC Fine Wines
Wine Spectator                                      Concord
神之水滴                                              Tell Me Wine

Wine Making Game

BigFishGames again comes first in terms of online game, or even iphone gadget games now.

Impressed by wide sorts of games available, including Winemaking. Must be wine enthrusiasts cuddled together and think of what to play with.

Unlike Sally's salon (I was playing that at a real salon and the hair stylist thought the salon I was playing makes me look busier than him, LOL), it's all about simple clicking and tapping, relax and airy game.

Things you may learn: Famous wine producing countries. Grapes availability. Origin of grapes and bottle size pairing. Ratio between grapes and Vinis Vinifera etc... Not to the details, let the screencap motivates you~

***Enter the game by clicking the title***

Gathering 2: Give a "Themeless" a Theme

2nd anniversary at Lian - Theme: BIG WINE

12 wines all-you-can-drink. They got red, white, sparkling... Shall I treat that as irrelavancy or bonus offer??

They are from all over the world-- France, Aussie, chile, Spain, south Africa, Germany...you can call it
WWW - World War Wine.

Unlimited refill 6-10pm, unfortunately I arrived at 9. What we do is hiding the glasses and raise our hands for moreeeeee...
Yes, you're right, it's more like drinking competition. Me? Half drunk on the way home (ssshhhhh...)

Slight comments for some wine:
1. Loxarel, Cava Brut 2004: fizzling as usual, more for mouth cleansing, end with stale and metallic note.
2. Moscato d'Asti: Honey comb pungent, vanilla round the palate, fresh and sweet, go best with cholate or cake, groan that I didn't have...it's the lady killer in my fd's mind. I can't agree more as the next day my fd proved the 'theory' right!
3. Shiraz, Malbec: Typical Shiraz & Malbec, goes well with pork and light red meat.
4. Barbera D'alba: Intensive dark cherry flavour; delicate, a well-balanced red of the day. Goes nicely with beef cubes
5. Casablanca Nimbus Gewurztraminer 2007: Less lychee, still retain the crisp, the after-taste is very short, and little acidic, a fair fair average. Can't beat the Moscato to become gal's favourite, that's unusual.
6. Viognier: Drunk...can't recall...

============================
Recommendation to LIAN:

Problem with THEMELESS drink is that you will find it hard to do food pairing. Especially the dishes come at different times the chemical reaction may not sync.


WHY don't we take Lian as a "Food Pairing Workshop"? Customers to pay reasonably to achieve win-win wine & cuisine night under comfy environment, nice pairing service and NIL complaints on fishy food only becoz they match it wrongly.

Blog ME!

I was randomly searching google for pictures tonight, wondering if I search "Obama", I'll see Jason Obama picture. If I search "Sammi" , I'll see Sammi Cheng as first picture.

What if I search "Lillian Chan"?
Ok, I see myself on 3rd picture.

How about "Lillian Chan" & "Wine"?
OMG!!! I saw my picture on somebody's blog!!!!!! (US accent plzzz)
http://maxbordeaux.blogspot.com/2009/11/hong-kong-is-seriously-wine-crazy.html

Title: Hong Kong is seriously Wine Crazy!
(I am a bit calm, at least not only pinpointing at me...V_V)

Now I remember this Mr. Max, echoing my blog post:
http://par-lor.blogspot.com/2009/10/chateau-montrose-1996.html
http://par-lor.blogspot.com/2009/10/chateau-canon-la-gaffeliere-2002.html

Thanks for remembering me and most of all --> BLOG MEEEEEEEE ^.^

Now I become your official blog follower~~~

God of Dew

Studying the aroma wheel the other day, reminds me of a miracle...

When people get into the world of wine, their first tasting question would be

"What smell? I smell wine! What flavour? Wine! alcohol! grape @.@"

They are then very shocked by the label description of "toast, strawberry jam, licorice..." @@@@@@@@@
"Where the heck are these aroma from?"

Imagine...How can our devoted winemaker create all these~~~

Winemaker has been using more than 10 years to fertilize the vineyard before the grape is capable to absorb the nutients of terror. Not even mention the history of soil itself. (some are like hundred years!!)

They then spend several years experimenting the best combo of tannin, flavour, alcohol to ensure it accomodate customers especially wine judges' taste:
1. Tartration
2. Carbonic Maceration
3. Sussreserve
4. Chaptalization
5. Controlling compression of skin
6. Malolatic Fermentation
7. Fortified or distillation
They all affect the taste

Certainly the bottle turning, corkage, storage all have huge impacts to the quality. See how fragile and delicate wine is. Any tiny mistake in between would spoil one's impression on that wine. (base on wide range of variety, people prefer drawing conclusions quickly than giving many chances to the same wine). It's a Fame or Lame to the winemaker.

They also acquire chemistry knowledge to investigate what are the essence that induce which flavour, followed by sensitive senses to cross check the wine quality through sight, smell, palette etc...just like a wine judge and sommelier.

Not to mention the selling skills...
So now you know why winemaker is respectable. They are the real God of Water~ Winemakers ROCKKKKKKK

Reference Picture: http://www.dannyhellman.com/imgs/maxim_winemaking.jpg

A Catchy Title

This post is more like a Branding / PR post.

Was thinking hard these days what to write for a blog. There are millions of blogs, forums, media, which one would you pick? What's your choice? How would you determine it?

Typical example is Twitter. Every 10-15 mins, there are more than 100 tweets from numerous followers, worshippers, etc. depending how much you were exposed to / being exposed to.
From these hundreds of tweets, which one would you look at? The eye-catching phrase? Those related to you? or you don't even care, only those you know, while others just stuff the space?

I had downloaded the twitterrific function and I found dizzy replying...
Nowadays, being "Trendy" and "Up-to-date" is not by week or by day, IT'S by MINUTE / SECOND!!!

People tend to read limited words / icons to share ideas. Imagine this is how the next generation is brought up, what would the world be like. No in-depth meaning, only impulsive response and intuitive judgement, no theory, no philsophy to support.

Back to the title. So what kind of catchy title would you prefer to click onto?
Another consumer behavior survey...your comments are important ^^

Top 10 Chateaus Around The World

Reference: 全球十大品酒旅遊勝地

全球十大品酒旅遊勝地

NO、1 意大利託斯卡納班菲城堡（Castello Banfi）
班菲酒莊是美國紅酒進口商John Mariani創建的，它是託斯卡納地區最好的酒莊之一。它擁有一座美麗的城堡，裡面有兩個很棒的餐廳，一間品酒室，還開放酒窖供遊客參觀。

NO、2 智利康加瓜山谷（Colchagua Valley）Montes酒莊
Montes是智利最富盛名的酒莊之一，但仍保存了其獨特脾性。Taber稱它是“我所知的世上唯一在酒窖裡播放格裡高利聖詠音樂的酒莊。”

NO、3 智利康加瓜山谷（Colchagua Valley）Montes酒莊
Montes是智利最富盛名的酒莊之一，但仍保存了其獨特脾性。Taber稱它是“我所知的世上唯一在酒窖裡播放格裡高利聖詠音樂的酒莊。”

NO、4 南非施泰倫博什（Stellenbosch） Ken Forrester酒莊
施泰倫博什被認為是全球風景最美的紅酒產區之一。當地是地中海氣候，風景讓人想起萬裡無雲時的納帕山谷。Ken Forrester在開辦這個酒莊之前曾數次造訪法國盧瓦爾河谷（Loire Valley）取經。

NO、5 阿根廷門多薩Fournier酒莊
這個酒莊距安第斯山只有約10英裡，如Taber所說，“全年你都可以看到山頂覆蓋白雪的景象。”這個酒莊設計現代，看上去像一個降落在沙漠中的宇宙飛船。

NO、6 澳大利亞瑪格麗特河Leeuwin Estate酒莊
瑪格麗特河離新加坡比離墨爾本更近。Taber說：“它就像一個小口袋，只出產優質紅酒。”這裡風光秀美，與世隔絕，“客人不太多，你能在這裡得到很好的服務。”

NO、7 新西蘭中奧塔哥（Central Otago）Felton Road酒莊
近年來，這一地區因現代建築設計大師Frank Gehry等人的作品而聞名。

NO、8 葡萄牙杜羅河谷（Douro Valley）Quinta do Portal酒莊
葡萄牙杜羅河谷（Douro Valley）Quinta do Portal酒莊

NO、9 法國波爾多林卓貝斯酒莊（Chateau Lynch-Bages）
法國波爾多林卓貝斯酒莊（Chateau Lynch-Bages）

NO、10 德國萊茵/摩澤河Peter Jakob Kuhn Oestrich酒莊
這裡擁有世界上最浪漫的美景，建在山頂的城堡和熱情的服務。

How could we dum dums register those gorgeous yet luxurious chateaus for "home stay"???

2009 --> 2010

Happy New Year~ Happy 2010~

Lots of goals to accomplish this year. Plan set, getting all excited!!! Engaged !!!
As for 2009, my first accomplishment is... the full year no. of blog entries beat 2008 by 283%!!!
And I finally got some friends noticing the existence of this blog (however not many "followers" still...hopefully the stat of ppl visiting this blog gonna rise, HURRAY!)

Seriously I got some more to post, it's just that I just roughly type some draft, then forgot. Remembering the taste and the delicacy is really difficult, better immediately jot them down in my itouch and just post it wherever I can. Hong Kong Government, I need some more Wi-Fi spot...

One of my loveliest gift this year is from my ex roommate, the camera strap. Really nice of her. Many trips I have been with my camera and heavy lens, it really hurts my neck. With this strap, I am more willing to share the moments I'm experiencing with you all through the lens :)