A pain worthwhile~

You shower your vines with love and constant care over the months, but it is when the most long awaited period arrives, when you and your works steps into the final stage, that your heart ache to see your vines go through the period of thirst. You are tempted to shower them with water, but only to be held back by the cruelty of reality and for the best of results at the end of the race.

You even pray hard no rain comes in to intercept in this struggle. You smile with mixed feelings when the sun rises everyday. You walk to your beloved cluster of grapes with a heart full of love, but only to find yourself not able to give them their very needs.

You run your fingers over the vines, hoping somehow they will understand and continue to saturate and bring out the ultimate sweetness from deep within them. And when the time comes for them to take the sugar and acidity test, you smile with relieve that all hardship has paid off. The harvest takes place, and you know with the final batch of lovely grapes being cut off from the stem, it is a time of reward - for both you and the grapes for you may finally unleash all your love and provide them with some quenching water!

P.S: It's been such a long time since I last posted and share here...hope this small little post will help water this blog and bring some sweetness to it once again.
Picture attached taken from : http://www.pcimagenetwork.com/wine/wine11.html

Open a bottle with Red hot tongs and cold water?

Saw this video in Decanter.com and was truly amazed! Thought you guys might find it interesting too...so here's the video. Get ready to be awed! =)

From Decanter.com: Luis Hurtado de Amézaga of Marques de Riscal uses red-hot tongs and cold water to open a bottle of 1900 Marques de Riscal, Christie's King Street, London 18 June 2008

P.S hope you guys enjoyed the video. For more information on the exact post on Decanter.com, click on the link above. *Cheers*

Some German wine for you?

A loyal reader of this blog might have learnt mostly about reds and hear very little about whites mentioned in my winelov3r blog. Same goes to the country France being mentioned more then any other. Shall we deviate from the norm and peep in a little more to another world of wine...Germany.

A country that sees itself holding a mixture of reputation in the world of wine is perhaps a good way of introducing Germany. To date, while the first impression that was imprinted in my mind about German wine is delicious white wine...specifically Riesling...you bet many out there also carry the impression of this as a place where cheap and low-quality mass produced wines are made from.

But putting that upper and lower status associated with German wines aside, I would prefer to appreciate more of the main characteristics of the wine itself. Hmmm..close your eyes and taste a German wine and you might start to notice that most of the time your mouth will be covered by a layer of dryness. And that's so true because most of the wines sold in Germany tend to be dry, especially in the case when your foot is in a restaurant. But let not the dryness deprive or blind you of the many wonderful sweet wines that were born from this wonder land as well. In fact, the sweetness of some German whites that I've tried felt so pure and crisp. Not the type that will make one sick cos' of its sweetness..and one that brings me to the land it originates - one of refreshness and head-to-toe indulgence. But of course that is if you manage to grab hold of a nice one..as mentioned cheap and low quality ones do exist as well, so I wish you luck!

Coming back to German wines, one would definitely see less of reds, one main reason being the climate in German. If you've read one of my very first few posts, you might still remember how the surroundings affect our very beloved grape babies. And so is the case for the growing of the darker members of the grape family in Germany. But definitely there is no doubt that more and more dark and richer reds such as Spätburgunder (or else better know as Pinot Noir by us) are popping out from Germany these days. To be fair, they seriously worth some try (though I'd still go for my reds from France anytime=p).

Another point worth taking notice is that German wines tend to have a higher level of acidity in them, and 2 attributing factors underlie this characteristic. These being the fact that firstly the grapes that are selected (eg. Riesling) tend to contain high acidity levels even when there are at a high ripeness level. Secondly, we might want to thank the northerly climate which causes the lower ripeness.

A little understanding might help one when you enjoy a sip of the German wine. Why? Because for every sip, you consume not just the physical taste but also a romantic and long journey that this wine carries with it. And so while Gewürztraminer makes my taste buds shun away from it with the very first sip, that sip that I tried made my emotions seep a little closer to the lands of Germany, to feel yet another influence it brought with it. And with the wonderful Riesling, it brings yet another different understanding as to why many others out there respect it so much. In that sip of Riesling, I felt the wonder.

So are you ready for some German wine tonight? Do remember however, that as you take a sip, close your eyes and enjoy the acidity and uniqueness of her, and leave the status of high or low away for a minute. Experience with your very own judgment. That to me, is unique. *cheers*

P.S : The above information has been gathered from :
- Personal wine tasting lessons
- Wikipedia

German wine tasting

Went to a wine tasting session at a German restaurant named Magma this evening, thought it would be nice to share some details on the wine tasted. There are as follows :

The first one to come:
- 2006 Langenlonsheimer Riesling, Q.b.A., Semi Dry
Alc. 12.5% vol, acidity 7.1g/l, residual sugar 7.0 g/l
Sweet, exotic yellow fruit aroma with mineral note
Price per btl: SGD 38.00
(I quite like the sweetness and chrisp feel of this white..)

The second one to come..also a white:
- 2006, Langenlonsheimer Koenigsschild, Gewuerztraminer, Selection, Semi Dry
Alc. 13.0% vol, acidity 5.0 g/l, residual sugar 8.9 g/l
Price per btl: SGD 55.00
(Didn't really like Gewuerztraminer due to the bitter finish though...)

The third one, finally a red!!:
- 2004 Blauer Spaetburgunder (Pinot Nior), dry
Alc. 13.5% vol, acidity 5.4 g/l, residual sugar 1.4 g/l
A fresh, soft wine with fine cherry aroma
Price per btl: SGD 40.00
(Very smooth and soft red, comfortable for leisure drinking for me =))

The final one..a dessert wine!!woohoo~:
- 1999 Langenlonsheimer Loehrer berg, Scheurebe, TBA, dessert, 0.5 l
Alc. 7.0% vol, acidity 10.1 g/l, residual sugar 287.4 g/l
Price per btl: SGD 145.00
(Yes you read it right..nearly 150 bucks..but the taste is worth every cent! Very sweet and viscous..I lurrrveee it!!)

FYI: all the above wines are actually from the Nahe region. To be more specific, they are all from the Wilhelm Schweinhardt winery, which happens to be one of the largest in the Nahe region. Hope you guys love the wine if you happen to try them *cheers*

How about a warmer version of ice wine? -2

If you have read my previous post, you just might be interested to read on. As promised, let's bring in our main characters of straw wine in, namely the Dry red wine and the sweet red wine versions of straw wine. We shall focus more on the dry red wine in this post.

Amarone della Valpolicella (the dry red wine) as the nature would explain for itself, consist of the process of making this beautiful wine by allowing the grapes to dry, and not surprisingly, on straw mats! Of course, as per many other things of this world, names flow from their historic growth. Thus, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that straw mats, while remains a traditional method of drying the grapes, has started to see its fate being replaced by special drying chambers nowadays for the modern Amarone. Talk about being sentimental, sticking onto the traditional method might not always be ideal here. If you've been a loyal reader of my blog, the term "Botrytis cinerea" might in this instant ring a bell in you. Yes, just as mentioned in my post about ice wine, grapes processed here should be free from the noble rot as well. Thus the reason why the modern processing method might appear to be a better method of processing these grapes here. With the special drying chambers, the amount of handling that the grapes undergo is greatly minimized, hence decreasing the chances of the onset of Botrytis cinerea. Another term worth knowing would be "rasinate" - to dry and shrivel in Italian. And just as in the case of ice wine, though the grapes are not collected while it's frozen, by rasinating the grapes brings us quite the same result, and that is the concentration of sugars and flavors in the grapes. Following the drying of grapes comes the familiar step of fermentation. However, note that this shall not be mistaken as a step that is similiar to the usual fermentation. The fermentation of the dry grapes here are kept at a dry low temperature fermentation and is usually a much longer process. This is because with the reduced water content, it is easy to see the higher level of spoilage and possibility of wine faults.

And with the right grasp of time for fermenting the grapes comes the birth of our dry red wine, Amarone. However, interestingly, while the dry and sweet red wine are categorised apart, they are yet not so apart. This is so because should the fermentation be stopped early, the residual sugar in the resulting wine might just twist the fate of the wine and turn it into a sweet wine known as Recioto della Valpolicella. For the sweeter version, you might like to try it with some chocolate desserts!

Just like the making of the ice wine, the process of producing these straw wines are quite a challenge in itself as well. No wet and rainy weather is really welcomed here as this might lead to the rotting of the grapes even before it can dry out. And if the luck doesn't help here, the winemakers will then see themselves putting in extra effort in trying to remove those rotten grapes in order to ensure the quality of their final product is not compromised. Ask me what would happen if the effort of the winemakers are compromised? Well, I can only wish you enjoy the wine with the moldy flavors! *cheers* or *puke* you know it now~

Enjoy~

P.S The above information is obtained from
- The Wikipedia
- The website "http://www.detrafford.co.za/w_straw1997.htm"
- The picture from "http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Zyance" and "italianwinehub.com/news05.html"

How about a warmer version of Ice wine? -1

The dried grapes ready to contribute to the makings of Amarone!

If you have read my previous post about ice wine, and love concentrated versions of this wonderfully creation (i.e. our beloved wine), here's something else you just might be interested to know about!

And Yesss, i present the Straw wine. Oh, what a name you might think! But let not the name dampen your heightened desires to drink it. Nope, it's not gonna taste like straw, or even smell like one. A warmer version of ice wine might just be the phrase I would gladly attach to it.

Straw wine, or else better known as raisin wine, holds a rather similar fate as our beloved ice wine. Being made from grapes that have been dried in order to concentrate its juice, you bet you're in for another sweetalicious treat. And yes if you're thinking this sounds a bit like ice wine processed in warmer climates, you're right! As for the attaching of this rather weird name, that you probably still can't figure out why it was ever named after, here's some enlightening. The classic method of processing this unique wine starts with drying clusters of grapes on mats of straw in the sun, though some other regions do dry them slightly differently like drying them under cover, hanging the grapes or even replacing the straws with modern racks nowadays. Not neglecting the recognition of its homeland, straw wines are mostly produced in Northern Italy and the French Alps. However, as per any other of its cousins, you should expect other areas to come out with more and more experimentation of producing this brother of ice wine.

Having the similar process as producing ice wine, it should naturally bring you into realization the labour intensive and low yields production straw wine has!And so needless to comment further, the higher price you will see yourself paying! But as per any other great wines of the world, you know it's always worth experimenting the fine works around, don't you agree?

Another area of straw wine I would find it worth mentioning would be the different diversification it holds. This being broadly categorized, its growth into either a dry red wine (Amarone della Valpolicella) or a sweet red wine (Recioto della Valpolicella) specifically in the region of Verona. Care to know more about the childhoods of Amarone and Recioto? Stay tuned as I bring to you "How about a warmer version of Ice wine? - 2".

Oh and before I end this post, how about adding a few new terms to your wine index. Here's presenting the various names of straw wine in the respective regions:

• Vin de Paille - France
• Strohwein - Germany/Austria
• Passito (Generic name) - Italy

Till then, let me toast to you a marvelicious glass of Recioto to end off our night with sweetness! *Cheers*

P.S The above information is gathered from the following:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_wine
- http://z.about.com/d/italianfood/1/0/y/A/201.jpg - Picture
- http://amarone.mangibene.com/ - Picture

An Australian wine review to share...

Very unlike my style to blog about an australian wine. However, since I came across this particular bottle of Australian red, why not share my experience ya?

A rather unique description was actually attached to this bottle as follows:
"Serpico was a famous NY police officer in the 70's who wasn't afraid to "work against the grain" and in doing so exposed the immense depth of police corruption in the era. With Mitolo Serpico we aim to step outside out peers and redefine the accepted style of Australian wine."

Hmm...so what has been stirred within you after reading the description? Will it be a bottle that will be able to get your curiosity aroused? If you're still in the midst of your hestiation, allow me to being you through some insights (probably biased insights though)...

A 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon McLaren Vale-thin in texture. However, I wouldn't see it as a good thing here because what was brought along with the thin texture, was a superficial finish. No in depth emotions was found. The mild spice that landed on my taste-buds subsided and left me like in a split-second moment. Savouring it seems like an unexpected request to be made. All in all, the tannin while light enough to serve for casual chit-chats, it just didn't meet the standard to add colours to the session.

Here's more information should you wish to know more about it:

Mitolo
Serpico
2004
Cabernet Sauvignon
McLaren Vale

Produced by Mitolo Wines
CNR of Angle Vale Road
Johns Road Virginia,
South Australia 5120
www.mitolowines.com.au

Produce of Australia
Preservative (220) added
15.0% alc/vol
approx 8.9 standard drinks

Audendum defendere fides tuas
nonque conformandum plebi est
750ml

P.S: The above review is solely based on my personal tasting experience and holds no intention against the producer in particular. All are still encouraged to give it a try. Afterall, with the unique tastebuds of every individual, you just might fall in love with this wine.