A recommendation to make..=)

Here's a recommendation i would like to make to those of you who love smooth tasting wine...something that is suitable for leisure drinking or even with your meals. I personally love this wine because i love the feeling of how it blends with my taste buds. The touch it gives is so smoothing that the first sip makes me long for more. And if you're concerned that the smoothing touch is not gonna excite your taste buds enough, not to worry because this Bordeaux is also rich in taste as well, thus giving a lovely combination. I hope you guys will love this recommendation =) The details are as follows:

Classic Chateaux Wines - Red Bordeaux Wine
2004
BORDEAUX SUPERIEUR
Appellation Bordeaux Superieur Controlee

Selected by CAMUS
Product of France

The secrets that lie beneath…

Do you believe in us having the ability to influence each other? Have you ever wondered how you, your very sole presence, could have impacted someone or something else somewhere in this universe? The breath you take (that help contribute more carbon dioxide for the green), the footsteps you leave behind (that might be of help to someone who lost their way), or perhaps even your smile and laughter (that can make the one who love u smile with you too).

You must be wondering at this instant, what has all this got to do with wine? I thought and I suggest you could place it aside for awhile. That is, place what I’ve just said for the past minute away for awhile while I prompt a thought in you.

You’ve probably read books on wine, or even talk to some experts while you do wine test. And you might have come across descriptive words like “spice”, “fruity”, “chocolate” or even “wet dog” while they are trying to describe the taste to you. At this moment, a sneaking suspicion might have crept into you as you wonder if you’re drinking sweats of a wet dog, or some you-don’t-know kind of strange stuff. So, an embarrassing question many of us might be wondering secretly in the inside of us would be if the wine-makers actually do add in fruits or wet dog into the wine in order to achieve these aromas in it. Well, heave a sign of relief now will you, because NO they do not add any of these things in.

So, where do all the aromas come about?

Well, this is when I would like to invite you to pull back the first paragraph that I’ve earlier on suggest you to place aside. As much as we influence each other in our very unique ways, the terroir (i.e. the environment) influences the wine through the grapes that grow on it. The surrounding environment plays a major part in creating the unique mixture of aromas that you smell in each individual wine bottle. The air, the water, the soil and even any other nearby elements could be a contributing factor. Thus, if the grapes are grown in an area that has lavender scent infused in the air, you just might be able to then sense some lavender smell that has been imprinted on the grapes.

So having gained some knowledge on how the cultivation environment actually “communicates” with the grapes, here’s a brief list of possible “consequences” that might spark off from this interaction. They are as follows:

Floral, Fruity, Spice, Earthy, Animal (yes I know this doesn’t sound delicious), and Herbaceous.

Oh, and seriously don’t be shy or feel silly to turn away if you actually come across wine with an off-putting smell. It does occur and it can be so bad that it might smell like a dead rat. This sure kills all appetite right? Well several reasons can be the cause of this bad smell in the wine. It could be a bad cork or just some errors in the wine-making process, for example like storing the wine in the wrong temperature etc. So, do feel free to take it back to the shop for a new bottle. This goes the same should you be at a restaurant. You definitely wouldn’t want to match your meal with a wine that smells badly ya?

But other then this, the likes and dislikes really is a very subjective issue. So do allow yourself some time to find the taste that suits you best. Remember, wine is all about appreciation if you really want to enjoy the fullest. Therefore, do bring along some patience because your patience will let you allow yourself to be influenced. *cheers*

P.S. The above information is gathered from:
- ‘The Downtown Girl’s Guide to Wine” by Megan Buckley and Sheree Bykofsky

Learn to understand its inner hidden beauty!

Step into a beautiful restaurant, stop for a moment to enjoy the tinkling of the music notes upon your ears. Drift with the ambience and be elegantly seated. You could be there alone, or you could be there with a significant other, but no matter what the circumstances may be, you probably think in your heart like I do now - This is not a night to be missed so easily.

The menu is here. But please do not just focus on the main dish of the night though that's supposed to be the star of the night - the reason you are most probably there for. Here's why. Imagine a night, so magically drawn and made before you. You may have gone through a tiring day at work. Right before you is a chance to reward yourself. And no, just a main dish can never make you enjoy the time with your loved one. How much can you possibly talk and share your day when your mouth is busy munching? Or how romantic can it get when you talk with your mouth that is so full of the smell of garlic and sauces that you just swallowed? And have you no time at all to stay a while more after the main to relax with the tunes?

Are you able to sense what is lacking here? With no doubts, the answer is revealed. Yes, a bottle of wine, or even just a glass is the complementing element of the night.

While your senses are probably awaken and enticed by the wonderful atmosphere surrounding you, please don't neglect them so soon. Engage your senses with wine. Well, except maybe for the hearing sense. Here's how:

Look at the wine. For just the appearance of the wine alone can tell much about the sort of style you can likely expect. Next, just like how you probably see a thousand times how people use to swirl their glasses , yes you may do it. This is to help aerate and release the aroma of the wine. And no, you don't need a bull's strength to do this. A simple way would be to just place your glass on the table, and sliding the stem of the glass between your index and middle fingers, press down on the base of the glass and slide it gently from side to side. Then invite your nose to the test and sniff the aroma released. What do you smell? Spices? Chocolates? (I'll touch on the different aromas released and how these smell come about in probably the next post..stay tuned) Spend a good 60 seconds to appreciate. Don't worry about the waiter who might be standing beside you to wait for a nod from you while you test. Take your time. Ultimately, you are going to be the one drinking that bottle of wine for the night.

Now, take a sip (yes a sip and never a gulp). Swoosh the wine around your mouth to release and bring out the flavor of the wine to its fullest. Notice the taste and texture that is now occupying your tastebuds. And then for a finish, while some do this, you may choose not to do it too. What the "finish" consist is actually spitting out the wine. And the reason professional testers do this is to save their sobriety. Note that this doesn't then mark the end of the assessment. Texture of the wine can also be assessed right after the wine is spat out. Any tinge of lingering flavor can help determine if you love it or not. Certain unusual nuances also often come through more during the finish. So enjoy the whole process for this may be seen as the first touch of love towards the wine by your precious senses!

Savour the taste of your dish with the aromatic taste of your carefully picked wine. Be prepared to fill your tastebuds with the warming touch of balance between your food and wine. Spend the night toasting to a greater tomorrow with your loved ones after the main and build your love in the midst of romance.

And here I toast to you my readers for we have now equipped ourselves with more understanding on how, through the revealing of the hidden inner beauty of wine, we can appreciate the next dinner that is blessed upon us in the coming evening better.

P.S The above information have been gathered from :
- "The Downtown Girl's Guide to Wine" by Megan Buckley and Sheree Bykofsky
- "International Wine Guide" by Susy Atkins
(These 2 books are my newly borrowed books. Looking forward to sharing more with you guys. Hope you'll like it.=) )

It made me love!

Don’t ask me about the past.
For yesterday is too heavy to think.
I carry myself through the pathway to my cosy fireplace.
With the rain splattering the window and with my heart tearing out of burden,
I no longer know who I can lean on.
The house is empty
For I have only the rain drops and burning wood to accompany me.
My heart feels cold and my mind is tired
Would the world know about my loneliness?

I stand up and walk towards the window,
With only my glass of red wine that never fails to warm me.
Rain drops trickle,
Making me wonder if the coldness will take away my will to love.

Then came the warmth that revived my dead emotions.
A sip I take in that very moment,
When I don’t know what I can give anymore,
Is enough to warm my inner soul,
And because of this warmth I feel,
I will continue to live.

I once lost the heat running in me,
But its embrace within me is the reason…

That made me love again!

The façade of the life of wine

Escape from the cloud and mist of the city, hide in the room of muskiness and drown your sorrows, as you worry about the sun rising tomorrow. You wish and hope that the alcohol in the wine will numb your tongue and numb your senses. You drink as if you are enjoying but you tear and drip drops of blood in the inner self of yours. Alone you sit, and you no longer remember how it feels like to savour the smooth taste of a glass of harmonic wine that once made you so peaceful.

Do you long for it? Do you still long to regain the warmth and comfort that the glass of red wine always promises you? If you do, please allow yourself to depart from the city of stress, but not with a longing to glurp and be drunk. But i urge you to depart from the city of unease and search for peace and a refreshing of the mind once you hold "her" in your embrace.

Yes you may feel burdened from work, but why not take a minute to choose the love of the night you would wish to have for company tonight? Assess her colour, her clarity, and her subtleness. Swirl her to release her mysterious aromas, and please do allow her to take your burdened mind away with the swirls. Listen to the waves and close your eyes as you bring her closer. Do you not see behind your closed eyelids, how gentle the drops of wine are dancing in the wavy movements? Awake your taste buds that can no longer wait by now. You finally take a sip but please do not let her pass you by just like that. Feel the swoosh in you mouth and you will realise how she feels for you. "She" may love you with sweetness of fruits or hate you so much out of love that she makes your gums and teeth dry or furry with tannin. Appreciate her nevertheless, for every one of them are unique in "herself".

And as my topic goes, wine has got many façades. It is really worth while to pay a little more attention to them. Gushing them down your throat is never a good way to appreciate them. Sip and savour. You may not love it the first time, but if you are patient enough to taste it one more time, you may start to discover the deeper roots of the vine that it once belonged to, something that you just might fall so in love with.