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The latest edition of Decanter (March) came out this week, and several articles caught my eye. The first was entitled Start Your Own Wine Cellar. As I’m often torn between buying bottles to drink and those I think I may like to keep for a special occasion, I was drawn to the profiles of the 3 different types of people for whom Decanter made recommendations. There was the couple who did not know much about wine, but wanted to learn and had £500 to get them going. At the other extreme was the couple who already drank a lot of good Bordeaux and had £5000 to spend. I found myself drawn to the example in the middle, someone who knows her grape varieties, but would not describe herself as a connoisseur. Decanter put together an interesting cellar at a cost of £1000 for her.
The one question I was left pondering with the suggestions was the distinction between wines for drinking 2008-2010+ and for 2010-2018. Why do a couple of decent Italian reds from 2004 fit in the first category, but a Portuguese 2005 and a Spanish 2003 fit in the second? I know it’s down to how it is made and matured, but how are you expected to know that for the slightly more unusual wines? Labels don’t always given enough information and certainly very few give how long to keep the wine for.
I always peruse the Wines of the Month to see what recommendations I can pick up. These wines are available from stockists in the UK so I feel sorry for foreign readers who may be unable to source them. However I’m always a bit frustrated to read other reviews elsewhere in the magazine and see the dreaded ?N/A? next to them. Although I figure what’s the point in reviewing them if they aren’t available in the UK I have to keep reminding myself how international Decanter is. In this month’s issue 4 of the 9 letters are from non UK readers. I am sure this helps the editorial team keep an international focus which is good for all us readers.
The panel tastings this month are both French, 2005 St Emilions and 2005 cru bourgeois. I was stunned to see a great value 2005 cru bourgeois at £7.35. I must seek it out.
Next month’s edition features Italy and is out, according to the ad in the magazine, on February 6. Oops ? I think they forgot to change the date from last month’s edition as I’m sure they mean March 6th!
by Martin Field Lunch was at Bilson?s in Sydney. Foster?s Group winemakers were hosting a roadshow for winewriters from all over. I?d asked for the vegetarian option at lunch and was dreading a glutinous risotto or an over-oreganoed, limp-wristed pasta. Should have trusted Bilson?s reputation, the chef presented as a main, one of their entrée items: Fricassee of Wild Mushrooms with Truffle and Poached Egg. Picture: a beautiful platescape of a perfectly poached egg surrounded by sautéed Shimeji mushrooms, King Brown mushrooms, chanterelles, oyster mushrooms, fresh black truffles. Anointing the egg is a ?salt? of marinated chanterelles, thinly sliced King Brown, black truffle slices and cepes. The accompanying sauce contains cepes, chanterelles and King Browns. Crowning the dish is a tiara of latte-hued foam made with madeira and mushroom cream. Not as complicated as it sounds but as delicious a course as ever I?ve been served. Went down very well with a goblet of Castello di Gabbiano Chianti Classico 2006.
Using bargain wines is often preferable for occasions when it would be unwise to to invest a large amount of money in expensive wine.
Do you really want to use top-notch red wine for making sangria or for serving up at parties, when friends have already had enough to drink? No, I didn't think so!
Drinking Bargain Wines
Blended wine is usually cheaper and a reasonable bet in terms of drinkability. As a general rule, Chilean blends are the cheapest option, although it's often worth paying that little bit extra for Australian blends. In fact, a number of Australian producers market two excellent blends at the lower end of the price spectrum, one white and one red. The red is a blend of cabernet sauvignon and shiraz and the white consists of semillon and chardonnay. Keep an eye out for these grape combinations, if you're after a bargain!
Another winner at the cheaper end of the market is Spanish Rioja (both red and white). As Rioja is usually less fruity than the previously mentioned blends it is generally better for serving with food, rather than drinking on its own.
Other Uses of Bargain Wines
Sangria
If you're making sangria, you need red quaffing wine - and lots of it. As sangria is made from red wine, sugar, fruit juice and spirits, the quality of the red wine becomes largely secondary. This is where boxed wines come into their own. Buy large boxes that are relatively cheap - no one will notice! Be sure to purchase reasonable quality fruit juice and don't go for the absolute cheapest wine as you may live to regret it, the following morning!
Large Parties and Receptions
When serving wine to a large party, cost is obviously important. As a rule, boxed whites are generally more palatable than boxed reds, so if want to trim costs, anywhere, buying cheaper white wine may be a safer option.
A great way to improve boxed red wine is to add a reasonable quality bottle of red wine. Provided that you choose the correct bottle of red, this can make an impressive difference to the taste. Of course, you do need some suitable decanters or serving carafes and a little patience to pull this one off, successfully.
Finally, choose your nibbles wisely. Plain potato chips will do little to help you disguise a poor wine. Instead opt for a selection of cheeses, as they will enhance the flavor of even the cheapest of wines.
About the author: Since Neil Best first pondered the question, Who made the first wine anyway? he's been recording his findings at http://www.goodglug.comFind about your favorite wine regions, wine recipes, and speciality wines along with how it's made and how best to store it for maximum enjoyment
Recently I opened a bottle of Rosemount Estate Show Reserve Shiraz 2002 which was sadly corked. The next day I followed this up with the producer via their website, which led me up submit my request about replacement of corked wine via their online email form.
Flash forward a couple of weeks and I realised I had not received a response and the offending bottle had long since vanished, presumably down the sink. I called up the customer service line explaining the situation, and to cut a short story shorter, a replacement bottle from the current vintage is on its way - bravo Rosemount.
Ahhh, “Dear Abby“…what ever happened to that in this age of near real-time social media…anyway, here’s one thats worth a chuckle (but not worth the e-mail bandwidth its probably taking up!).
Maybe this is a way to reduce traffic on the Internet, just post funny stuff up on a blog and send friends the links not giant emails.
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Dear Abby:
I have never written to you before, but I really need your advice. I have suspected for some time now that my wife has been cheating on me. The usual signs; phone rings but if I answer, the caller hangs up. My wife has been going but with ‘the girls’ a lot recently — although when I ask their names, she always says, “just some friends from work, you don’t know them.” I always try to stay awake to look out for her coming home, but I usually fall asleep. Anyway, I have never approached the subject with my wife. I think deep down I just did not want to know the truth, but last night she went out again and I decided to check on her finally. Around midnight, I decided to hide in the garage behind my golf clubs so I could get a good view of the whole street when she arrived home from a night out with ‘the girls.’ When she got out of the car she was buttoning up her blouse, which was open, and she took her panties out of her purse and slipped them on. It was at that moment, crouching behind my golf clubs, that I noticed a hairline crack where the grip meets the graphite shaft on my 3-wood. Is this something I can or should try to fix myself, or should I take it back to the pro-shop where I bought it and try to get a refund?
Today is my anniversary and Kipp and I have a babysitter so we are going out tonight. I'll make up for no blog today by posting one for Thursday!! Cheers!
Another summer is quickly coming to an end, and I hope everyone got a chance to visit their favorite local vineyard for a tour or a wine tasting. The highlight of my summer is always being able to visit the northern Michigan wineries. This summer, I got a chance to go up to the Leelanau Peninsula several times, and each time was memorable.
Leelanau Cellars is, by far, my favorite place to visit up north, especially because of the tasting experience. You don’t feel limited of how many wines you can taste, and the staff working the tasting room are VERY knowledgeable and friendly. I left with about 16 bottles of wine the last time I visited! If you are looking for some odd fruit wines, this is the place to go.
The wine: I shared a bottle with my new roommates in Grand Rapids. All three of us loved it.
Matt: “Delicious with chips and dip” Casey: “It would be a good winter wine. Surprisingly smooth!”
I enjoyed this 5 dollar bottle of wine with a thin-crust pizza and it was great. The wine was rich, and had a lot of flavor. I could taste the typical hints of cherry that most Michigan wines boast.
Summary: Great job, Leelanau Cellars! I look forward to coming back next year! Rating: 9/10 - Excellent! Price: 5 bucks Winery Information: Leelanau Cellars Leelanau Wine Cellars 12683 E. Tatch Rd (County Rd. 626) Omena, MI 49674 (231) 386-5201
How could I omit the two intelligent value Godello picks? I chose these two because they convey distinct interpretations of the variety, in spite of the two D.O.?s not being terribly far apart. Taste them together to see the immense differences evident in each Godello within what would amount to a short bus ride from Bierzo to Valdeorras. It?s quite hard to argue that neighboring wine regions cultivating the same variety aren?t little miracles, with this sentiment growing even more potent for the wine lover within single vineyards with many producers, though that?s another topic altogether.
Enjoy this, one of many examples of all new things Spanish that will slowly become more prevalent in the U.S. market over the coming six months or so?Godello.
Before I forget, speaking of the next wave of imports from Spain, if you haven?t been paying attention to Telmo Rodríguez in the past few years, I would try his Godello and watch this video. Aside from being a fascinating Spanish entrepreneur, he exudes passion for well-crafted, regional wines. The video is eight minutes in length, though for some reason, it winds up being 3 and change. Nevertheless, listen to Mr. Rodríguez introducing his wines on a recent visit to Toronto?s Lifford Wine Agency. In essence, he is responsible for affordable little masterpieces from various Spanish D.O.?s. His progressive outlook in terms of production methods is matched by an ability to reinvigorate production of traditional varieties in the regions where he owns vineyards. This in turn, yields intelligent value wines from various Spanish D.O.?s that much like Susana Balbo?s wines in Argentina, seem to be produced in a manner which never sacrifices regional character for novelty or the wrong type of market's tastes. What with how things are going nowadays in the wine business, what a refreshing point of view!
Los vinos: 2007 Pilgrim Godello Bierzo D.O.
This wine is clean, pale straw and unassuming at first sight. The nose is vibrant, driven by wild flowers, citrus, treefruit and stone minerality. Complex mouthfeel, with a crisp, racy shot of acidity (pink grapefruit), alongside rich treefruit and distinctive mineral notes.
This wine is produced by Viñedos Agribergidum in Bierzo, located at the westernmost outpost of León bordering Galicia. The Godello vines are an average of 40 years old, with the variety purposely farmed to very low yields.
Imported by Beacon Wine Company. 2005 Gaba do Xil Godello Valdeorras D.O.
A really nice pale gold in the glass. The nose is clean and pronounced, with perfumey floral element, lush green pear, peaches, honeydew melon and touch of sweet spice. Complex but never overwhelming medium-bodied white with great balance of ripe fruit flavors and medium citrus acidity. Love the soft spice undertones that follow the lovely fruit into the aftertaste.
Yesterday would have been Liz and my 11th anniversary. On our third (and last) anniversary, in 2000, we were given a bottle and encouraged to put it away and drink in eight years. At that time the election hadn?t yet been decided, but what had been put in place in the next three months, by a power greater than any of us, was the downward spiral of my wife?s health and the last days of her life. We were cut off, never got a chance to drink that bottle of wine.
This weekend, while rooting among my wine closet I found that bottle of wine. It was an Italian wine, and it was red, and from a very good vintage. Now the issue isn?t whether the wine is ready to drink. I?m not sure I am.
The last eight years have been a time I would never had imagined in my life. I never planned to turn 50 as a widowed person. Jobs and friendships, loves and passions have all tried to make up for the giant crater in my own personal ground zero. And yes, we do rebuild, if ever so slowly, again.
So I will put that bottle of Italian wine back in its slot in the wine rack and maybe let it rest a little more.
I?ve just spent a few hours researching some wines Susan and I are tasting next week. Well, attempting to research would more appropriately describe this exercise in frustration. I?m still astonished how many winery websites are hard to find, poorly laid out, and then give little or no information. Sometimes I dig through page after page after page and finally discover a two-line tasting note ? how exciting.
To all you wineries, if you think this amount of information will have wines flying off the shelves, think again. First of all, by the time most consumers are looking up a wine on the Internet they?ve already tasted it, so they?re after more detail than ?black cherries and leather.? And could you include just a few words on your different vintages? Your 2001 tasting notes are getting a little dated. Besides, I?m sure your 2006 will taste different ? different weather, different harvest conditions, different wine.
How about a little technical information? French Oak or American Oak for example. A few lines covering pH, harvest dates, Brix at harvest, and residual sugar would be nice. Wine geeks will love you and talk up your wines ? free promotion.
I?d also think you would have your labels available for download ? after all, your design person?s already done the graphics in digital format, so just get a copy. Buyers could then print the label and take it to their favorite store as a reminder of what they?re looking for. Wine reviewers would be able add a label to their review or blog ? more free promotion. People could share copies with their friends and family: look at this great wine I just found. Even more free promotion.
People viewing your site aren?t usually there to read all about the owners and how wonderful they are ? at least not at first. Surprise ? top of most people?s hit list are the wines themselves. What grape varieties? What quantities in your Bordeaux style blend? Can we have a little story on the style of wines you are trying to produce? Who is the winemaker and what?s their philosophy, experience, and technique. What does your winery look like ? a picture or two might be nice especially for the folks buying your wine who live across the country.
Oh, and some way of getting a hold of you would be nice ? an email address or phone number would be cool. How can you except to answer questions ? like ?where do I buy your wines?? Or maybe you just like seeing your wines sitting in the warehouse.
None of this actually takes that much effort. Really, it doesn?t. All you need to do is spend a little time and money on your website to make it stand out among the rest. If you want to see what I mean, here are links to a couple of websites that get it right.
Arrow Leaf Cellars in BC?s Okanagan has a site that?s easy to negotiate and includes a contact list, newsletter, pictures of the vineyard, and a great tech sheet. There?s even info on screw caps with a link to the New Zealand Screwcap Wine Seal Initiative ? just in case you haven?t been converted yet.
Down under, Peter Lehmann Wines has another fantastic site ? history, descriptions of the area, info about the winemakers and the wines. After spending time on the site, you want to buy rush out to the store and buy a bottle or two.
And to the winery in Australia who will not put info on their web site because it is too ?techie,? it?s time to get with the Digital Age. You say you?d rather have people come to the cellar door to get info than surf the Net. Yeah, right. I?ll just hop on a plane from Canada right away. Lots of luck selling wines in our local market and no reviews from this quarter. SUSAN'S NOTE:
I confess, I have a severe love/hate relationship with the web. I admire Frank?s ability to search through layers and layers until he comes up with some nugget of information, but I certainly don?t share it. No results after a couple of Google searches and I?m on to something else. And sites that give me no contact information put me into orbit ? Frank usually doesn?t even bother telling me about them any more because then he has to listen to my usually loud, always colourful verbal tirades.
However, one interesting thing did come out of his visit to the ?We don?t believe in an Internet presence? Aussie site. Our debate on whether the owner was simply stupid or was being blatantly arrogant was lively, thoroughly entertaining, and will certainly keep them at the top of our ?Do Not Visit or Buy From? list for a long, long time. FYI: arrogant won hands down.
Note: Photos show the Arrow Leaf Cellars' vineyards and porch area. Wine bottles show Arrow Leaf's Zweigelt and Peter Lehmann's Semillon. Enjoy.
Every year, millions of pumpkin-Americans are gouged with knives and subjected to having their innards scooped as they are crafted into Halloween Jack-o-lanterns. After their one big night, they?re eaten by squirrels, unceremoniously discarded, or splattered on the roadways. Those that escape the annual slaughter are allowed to live for another month until, if they are fortunate enough to be selected, they realize a pumpkin?s ultimate calling: being transformed into a delicious pie.
Pumpkins haven?t always played the role of Jack-o-lanterns. Long before the tradition came to North America, European Celts carved faces out of hollowed-out turnips and rutabagas and used them as lanterns to fend off malevolent spirits. The name is most commonly attributed to the legend of an Irish farmer called Stingy Jack who tricked the devil a couple of times and was cursed to wander the night forever with only a turnip lit with a candle as his only light. Jack-o-lanterns made the leap across the pond to the United States in the middle to late 19th century, and since pumpkins were plentiful, bigger and easier to carve, they got the job.
But a group of British, um, researchers has determined that a wide variety of fruits and vegetables can be pressed into service in the absence of or in addition to a pumpkin. They experimented with a pepper, a mango, an eggplant, an apple, a watermelon, a pineapple, a rutabaga and a butternut squash, as well as a control pumpkin. The fruit scoopings were utilized to make tropical rum smoothies, with no apparent adverse effect on the results of the experiment. The whole project was documented on a just-launched blog .
There must be something around here that would accommodate a candle ? I wonder if there?s still a cucumber in the fridge...?
The OCD Diet: Eating foods that rhyme
Here?s another apparently successful British experiment: The OCD Diet. Created and chronicled by b3ta denizen Oucheh (also known as Kate), this diet doesn?t require any calorie counting, carb avoidance, or any of those other tiresome details. All one needs to do is combine foods that rhyme ? beans and sardines, for example, or (shudder) Lamb?s Heart Treacle Tart. It seems to be effective ? Kate lost three pounds in five days. (And no wonder!)
Over two million Canadians have diabetes. For thirty-two years I?ve been a card-carrying member of the no-sugar-tonight club. The thing that always surprises people when they find out I?m diabetic is the significant part that food and wine play in...
Although I spend a reasonable amount of time (how much is reasonable?) thinking about which wine to enjoy with a meal, quite often I'll find that even if it's not perfect it is still entirely serviceable and rather than wail hysterically while tipping the bottle down my throat, I can enjoy both food and wine while making a mental note to try something else next time.
But then, when you most want to find just the thing to do justice to the efforts of the chef, you go and make an absolute clanger. Of course it is also about doing justice to the effort that has gone into the production of the wine so showing it off in the most flattering company is desirous in absolute propotion to the amount of effort it is to procure a bottle and how lovingly you cherish it.
I haven't gone too far out of my way to scout out the perfect steak to show off my £5.49 Argentinian Cabernet Sauvignon. Although they would be more laidback company than some, more intricate, menus.
Had the most wonderful meal a couple of nights ago courtesy of a former Masterchef contestant. We kicked off the evening with some Champagne Drappier Brut Carte d'Or NV. A very biscuity nose with a fresh, light and clean apple palate with a broad, creamy bottom layer with an enthusiatic but not overwhelming mousse and very decent length.
The first course was mushroom ravioli in a wild mushroom (girasol) broth in which the woodland flavours sang out in operatic fashion. We matched that with a Louis Latour, Domaine de Valmoissine Pinot Noir 2002 from Provence. Very light crimson this was correct and tasty. Already quite evolved but still lots of fruit, just not the concentration I'd hoped for. Made a great pairing with the mushrooms though and the lightness and acidity in the wine lifted the earthy tones and richness of the ravioli.
The fabulously elaborate meal continued with roast duck cooked in red wine with cherry sauce. For the duck I had brought along a Feytit Clinet 2000 from Pomerol having enjoyed right bank Bordeaux with duck on many previous occasions. Here though the intensity and sweetness of the cherries and the reduction glaze reduced this otherwise rather lovely wine to thin, metallic, short nastiness. Really very sad!
We tried opening an Eldridge Blue Chip Shiraz 2003 from Clare Valley in South Australia, which alone was sweet, unctuous and jammy but this too couldn't take on the cherries.
Which came first - the cherry or the Feytit Clinet? They both lost that night. Tant pis...learn from mistakes. Next time before rummaging through the cellar, I'll ask for an exact breakdown of the recipes from my host - NO, not really! This is just for fun.
The Pisco Sour is one drink that comes and goes and almost has its day in the sun… Why do people like it so much? It’s the egg white, stupid. Some where back in the 80’s bartenders stopped using egg whites in their sours, but they had bigger problem with the pre-made bottles of sour [...]
Firm, focused and juicy, with good density to the plum, berry and dark cherry flavors. The spicy finish features medium-weight tannins. Drink now. 20,000 cases made.
When people find out that I enjoy cheap wine enough to devote a website to it, they usually ask me if I have been to Trader Joe’s. My response, until last week, has always been “No, not yet”.
Well, I finally caved and took a trip to Detroit, the nearest Trader Joe’s location for me here in Lansing. Ann Arbor might actually be closer, but as an MSU Spartan, I try to stay out of there.
I’d like to preface this review of Charles Shaw Cabernet with a synopsis of Trader Joe’s. If you have one near you, go there. If not for the wine, then for the thousands of food items that pack the small market. I spent 80 dollars, which sounds like a bit much especially for me. I ended up leaving with 2 cases of wine and enough food for a week. Fresh mozzarella, fresh gnocchi, fresh salsa (notice a pattern?), Guacamole chips, Trader Joe’s Marinara, soups, veggies…. I was in heaven. They have got all kinds of cheeses, breads, meats, micro-brewed beers, and their wine selection was out of this world. What a great store!
Trader Joe’s is the exclusive retailer of Charles Shaw Wines, better known to most as “Two-buck Chuck”. In California these wines sell for $1.99, which is just amazing. Here in Michigan, though, the price was $2.99.
Did we like it? Was it worth the trip?
Hell yes it was! For 3 dollars, I don’t think it could have been any better. The Cabernet was great. At first, I found it to be a little sweet, but looking back, I was actually enjoying the salsa with the wine, which probably wasn’t a great combination. Along with the Cab, I also purchased some of the Shiraz, Merlot, and Chardonnay (reviews coming soon).
Congrats to Two-Buck-Chuck and Trader Joe’s for achieving the highest rating available here on Cheap Wine Reviews. Hats off to you!
Rating: 10/10 Price: $2.99 Place of PurchaseTrader Joe’s
Schlepping in the West Village. Cold and windy but bright. Glamour and sensuality are well hidden today, layered away for winter. The same could be said for the heady, expansive displays of prosperity which ruled till just yesterday. Christopher Street, once the epicenter of gay commerical life, is half shuttered and empty. Many storefronts are bare except for rebtal signs in English and Spanish. Familiar coffee bars and eateries seem long gone. The same forlorn...
Quite an unusual combination for the Balkans, since Syrah is fairly rare in the region. Skovin is probably trying to follow the world commercial trends with this Syrah Cabernet Sauvignon combination, and it’s not doing a bad job. Syrah brings in the spiciness and the earthy taste, which brings memories of those strong South African tastes of Syrah wines. Cabernet softeness it a bit, so overall it’s a nice wine, but distinctively dryer than the famous Australian Syraz-Cabernet’s.
Rating: 6/10 Price: 400 RSD (5 euro) Retailer: Super Vero
This really tickles my funny bone. Deidre Woollard (luxist.com) writes:
We may all be cutting back, but at the the White House dinner Friday night for foreign leaders to discuss the global financial crisis, the meal was anything but spare.
The menu for around 24 global leaders gathered in the White House State Dining Room included, according to the AP, fruitwood-smoked quail? with quince gastrique; quinoa risotto?; thyme?-roasted rack of lamb?; tomato?, fennel? and eggplant? fondue?; a salad? course of endive?, baked Brie and walnuts?; and a pear torte. What's raising some eyebrows though is one of the wine selections, the Shafer Cabernet Hillside Select 2003, which runs for around $300 a bottle, if you can find it. This wine was served with the main course will more modest wines such as the Landmark Chardonnay Damaris Reserve? 2006 (around $40 a bottle, served with the appetizer) and the Chandon Étoile Rosé? sparkling wine? (about $30 a bottle, served with dessert) rounded out the rest of the meal.
The President pays for his own groceries in the White House but state dinners such as this one are paid for with taxpayer dollars. It is perhaps some comfort in this case? that at least two of those attending: President Bush and French President Nicolas Sarkozy are said to be teetotalers. Others in attendance included Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd; Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper; Chinese President Hu Jintao; German Chancellor Angela Merkel; and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Christina Rowan of Washington DC thought quickly and calmly when a gunman crashed a backyard barbecue and held a gun to a 14-year-old girl's head. Moments later, the gunman left with a glass of wine and a smile. Read the whole story.
Ringing in at 13.5% alcohol by volume, this cheap wine was an equal match to the FishEye Merlot. From Ripon, California, this wine lets the fruit speak for itself. Along with the dark plum taste, I also experienced a little pepper in the nose.
At only 8 dollars a bottle, I found this to be a great wine. I had mine with Spicy Montreal seasoning. Try it! Rating: 7/10 Price: 7.99 Place of purchase: L&L Grocery Vineyard Info: FishEye Winery Ripon, CA www.fisheyewines.com
A few weeks ago someone came in and said, ?I have this new wine from Armenia you have to try?. So, with much hesitation I went over and tasted this Armenian wine. I was even less excited when I saw the label and realized that it was a pomegranate wine. It was pretty nasty I must say. But, the folks in Isreal didn?t think so and they made their own version.
Several years before the trend got started, a family in Israel's Upper Galilee region began working to create a tastier and healthier version of the ancient fruit, only to cross their way into yet another huge food market. Their product: the world's first pomegranate wine fit to be sold to international wine connoisseurs.
The craziest part though, in my opinion, is that Pomegranate doesn?t have enough natural sugars to ferment to alcohol. The majority of the time it has to be tampered with to even get it to the alcohol content that it needs to be a wine.
In general, pomegranates don't have enough natural sugar to ferment into alcohol on its own," Leo Open, Rimon's director of international marketing, told ISRAEL21c. "In the past, some people have added alcohol to pomegranate juice to create a form of liquor, but no one has successfully made wine. Our pomegranates are the only ones in the world that have enough sugar to do so naturally."
Hmmmmm.
"Like with all wines, the fermentation process is totally natural," Open says. That being said, pomegranate wines clearly belong to a different class than the typical reds and whites, and Rimon recognizes that the market has to treat it as such, Open says. "We consider it a fruit wine, definitely not a liqueur, and it has to be appreciated in this way."
If you have to tell me that your wine is a fruit wine and not a liquor, that?s probably not a good sign. Here?s my advice, make wine from grapes. That?s it?.it?s simple. Wine= grapes!!
So, in Illinois a police chief has a big beef with big beers. Apparently 22 ounce beers are ending up as trash all over the city and the chief is fed up. He even goes so far as to say?
Tecnorati
The one question I was left pondering with the suggestions was the distinction between wines for drinking 2008-2010+ and for 2010-2018. Why do a couple of decent Italian reds from 2004 fit in the first category, but a Portuguese 2005 and a Spanish 2003 fit in the second? I know it’s down to how it is made and matured, but how are you expected to know that for the slightly more unusual wines? Labels don’t always given enough information and certainly very few give how long to keep the wine for.
Every year, millions of pumpkin-Americans are gouged with knives and subjected to having their innards scooped as they are crafted into Halloween Jack-o-lanterns. After their one big night, they?re eaten by squirrels, unceremoniously discarded, or splattered on the roadways. Those that escape the annual slaughter are allowed to live for another month until, if they are fortunate enough to be selected, they realize a pumpkin?s ultimate calling: being transformed into a delicious pie.
Quite an unusual combination for the Balkans, since Syrah is fairly rare in the region. Skovin is probably trying to follow the world commercial trends with this Syrah Cabernet Sauvignon combination, and it’s not doing a bad job. Syrah brings in the spiciness and the earthy taste, which brings memories of those strong South African tastes of Syrah wines. Cabernet softeness it a bit, so overall it’s a nice wine, but distinctively dryer than the famous Australian Syraz-Cabernet’s.
