Learn How To Easily Find Wines Of $50 Quality For $10 Or Less. Impress Friends With Your Expanded Wine Knowledge. Eliminate Your Dependence On Wine Salespeople. And Take The Hassle Out Of Buying Wine.
Earn $6.17 / Sale! %75 Commission! The Ultimate Resource For Anyone Who Wants To Learn How To Make Outstanding Wines & Spirits From Their Very Own Home!
You may not be aware of this, but the Portuguese are excellent bakers and pastry makers, each famed for their traditional local pastries! And because of this special culinary tradition, I wanted to dedicate a series to the stories behind each of these unique pastries, in addition to what dessert wines are commonly paired with them. I will try to do an installment every few weeks or for as long as my body can handle this much fat and sugar content!
Although I typically avoid highly popular tourist destinations, Pasteis de Belem is an exception. Pasteis are pastries in Portuguese, and the Pasteis de Belem is one of the oldest and most renowned in Portugal. The tradition dates back to the early 1800?s when the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos was shut down after the Liberal Revolution. Needing a means to survive, the monks used the sugar from the sugar cane refinery connected to the general store to produce sweet pastries. In 1837, they stopped selling through the general store to open a bakery, catering to both locals and visiting steamboat tourists alike. These mini egg-custard pies with a crisp, flaky crust are made from the monk?s ancient, top-secret recipe. It has remained unchanged, passed down only to the master bakers, who still hand-craft them in the ?secrets room? in the bakeshop. The Pasteis are normally served warm out of the oven and lightly sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon.
Today, the Pasteis de Belem bakeshop is still hugely popular. And though it may look small from the outside, it is quite extensive and windy in the back, with many individual dining rooms decorated with old traditional Portuguese blue and white tile art. Yet, despite its size, the lines on the weekend go all the way out the shop into the street! I was smart this time to come on a weekday night. And since there?s no menu, as they only serve Pasteis de Belem, you?re only job is to decide how many and what to drink with them.
I asked my waiter to bring me a wine that is typically drunk with the pastry. Judging from the vast number of Port bottles displayed on the shelves, it was no surprise when he came back with a glass of Ferreira ?Dona Antonia? Reserva Port. Aged 8 years in oak casks, this port has the ripe fruits of a Ruby with the nuttiness and spice of a Tawny. A.A. Ferreira happens to be one of the best-selling Ports in Portugal, and also one of the oldest houses, so I could see how it might pair well. However, it had such a powerful, spicy finish that it literally overwhelmed my palate, masking the lighter, creamier flavors of the Pasteis. Port may be the traditional pairing with this pastry, but I would suggest a Moscatel de Setubal from JP Vinhos, or Jose Maria da Fonseca, which are smoother and sweeter, but still match the richness of the ?crème-brulee? like Pasteis.
Andrea?s Tip: you can find the generic version of Pasteis de Belem called, Pasteis de Nata?, all around Lisbon. So don?t make the mistake of asking for Pasteis de Belem outside of their bakeshop! It?s still good, but not as good as the original.
Sainsburys Taste the Difference Sancerre 2004 £8.54 has a round, fruity, open nose with a touch of minerality and a clean freshness. The good, underlying fruit with its tantalising honeycomb edges was somewhat hidden by the very high acidity on the palate. So I thought perhaps what it needed was some cheese to round it out...
First up Organic Wensleydale. This crumbly white is more texture than flavour but did fill out the wine and brought forward the fruit -peachy aromatics. The lightness of the almost cottage cheese texture really complemented the delicacy of the wine. There was a hint of a salty tang too.
Then Woolsery, http://www.woolserycheese.co.uk , this is a medium hard goat's cheese from Dorset and is so tasty. It was the best in combination with the wine too. The slightly salty creaminess perfectly cut the acidity of the wine down to size. The cheese had a decent level of acidity to it as well. It was grassy and had a goaty note but was not overly pungent. Great stuff.
Next up Vintage Gouda, the label didn't give a year or age though - perhaps this is cheese parlance that someone can enlightenment me about? This had a wonderful flavour, nutty, earthy, hay aromas, very fruity in fact. It is a dense and creamy cheese which cancelled out the acidity in the wine altogether and made it seem almost flabby! Not quite right together.
Finally Doux de Montagne, very like a Spanish Manchego with its subtle flavour and rubbery texture. It tasted slightly soured too but in a good way. The wine overwhelmed this cheese though and it had very little impact when tasted together.
I just finished listening to one of my favorite podcasts, Science Friday, which aired a program on the Science of Smell. Psychologist and smell scientist, Avery Gilbert, who recently published What the Nose Knows: The Science of Scent in Everyday Life came on the show as the guest speaker, talking about the various ways that we as humans interpret smells/orders/aromas. And while they only touched on wine, he did raise some ideas that really made me think about wine judging.
Any hardcore wine lover knows that the “blind tasting” is the great equalizer, but how accurate is it really? I once asked the famous wine taster and Spanish wine critic, Jose Peñín, if he did his tastings blind, and his response was “Never!”. For him, wine was a multi-sensory experience. He felt that because there are a multiplicity of characteristics in a wine which can directly affect the flavor, to eliminate any of them, would be a disservice to both himself and the consumer. So if the label is effecting the flavor of the wine due to its pictures of raspberries, why would you taste it blind? If the consumer will be effected by the label/price/color, shouldn’t the wine be judged in the way it will be consumed instead of a sterile setting that no consumer will choose to replicate.
A few points that jumped out at me from this program were that:
There is no scientific definition, or test, as of yet, for a “super smeller”, or individual who is better than others at sensing odors. People can train themselves to recognize and identify smells, but there is no definition, or empirical test, that definitively concludes that some humans are “super sniffers”.
Humans generally have a sense of smell on par with dogs, or at the very least, not as far off as most people think.
Most people can train their noses to identify odors, but because a smell reminds you of one thing, does not mean that it matches that object on a chemical level. For example, they had mentioned that when making cleaning supplies, the scent of “chemically correct” lemon does not smell like lemon to us. Therefore, cleaning companies mimic “chemically correct” grapefruit so that we may perceive the “scent” of lemon.
Take a liquid and pour it into two glasses, then dye one of the glasses of liquid darker than the other. Test subjects regularly say that the tinted one smells stronger.
Females do have more sensitive noses, but, and this is funny, women ounce for ounce have stinkier farts! Though in fairness, men do it more often! Not sure what this has to do with wine, but I laughed and thought you might too!
Vanilla is one of if the most agreeable aroma to humans as a whole and is added to perfume, and to WINE(by the less scrupulous of winemakers), so as to make them appeal to a larger audiences. No wonder why there is so much oak in wine now-a-days.
I suggest that you listen to this program and tell me what you think. Can wine really be objective? Especially when the scientific community can show how even the most highly trained individuals are not always identifying what is infront of them correctly. I know that we all have strong feelings on this, but personally, my answer is no, we cannot be objective. Everyday, wine is influenced by what I’m eating, who I’m drinking with, and where I am standing/sitting. I have rated the same wine differently at different tastings. Sometimes the wine is a bit colder/warmer, or the wine glass is slightly different, or maybe, I’m in a tasting with other “geeks” where I push myself to delve deeper into the intricacies of the wine. Clearly, the experience influences my perception of the wine more than simply the liquid itself.
Though I will argue that you can tell some some objective facts about a wine. Whether is is powerful or delicate, light, or an ethereal treat. But you CANNOT tell a 87pt wine from a 88pt wine. It’s impossible. You can’t give me an objective argument as to why one is better than the next, only a subjective preference. This is why I drink and love wine. It’s subjective and my opinion matters. I can approach wine from whatever angle I want, and I can be right.
Yes, you can learn about wine and study wine and “geek out”, but in the end, this is true for any form of obsession. Wine is an obsession for me, and I choose to dig deeper. Some people do this with music, some with movies, but in the end, everything is influenced by cultural norms, expectations and opinions.
Viagra (sildenafil) may impair the ability to smell. This may be due to an increase in nasal congestion as reported in The Journal of Urology.
90% of women tested identified their newborns by olfactory cues after being exposed to them from only 10 minutes to an hour. All of the women tested recognized their babies’ odor after exposure periods greater than 1 hr. These results suggest that odor cues from newborns are even more salient to their mothers than had been thought previously.
“Ninety percent of what is perceived as taste is actually smell” (Dr Alan Hirsch of the Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, quoted in MX, Melbourne, Australia, 28 Jan 2003).
The secret is out: there?s always something to celebrate in British Columbia, particularly in the regions famed for their wine and food: Vancouver, Whistler, the Okanagan Valley and Vancouver Island. Eat, drink and be merry at ten of the most...
Lime. My #2 favorite smell and my #4 favorite taste. Here’s something about my favorite two limey and ready products: How To Prevent Scurvy and Get a Buzz in this issue of the Seattle Weekly Incidentally, my other top four smells are: violets, cardamom, Bailey’s and coffee, and pho. And yes, every one of these smells is grafted [...]
Based in Kavadarci, Macedonia, Tikve? is the largest winery not only in Macedonia but also in the whole of south-eastern Europe.
The Tikve? region is a part of Macedonia abounding in natural beauty, with a distinctive habitat and climate, important cultural and historical sites, and a very long tradition of grape growing and wine making.
The Tikve? region occupies the central part of the Republic of Macedonia; it is situated about a hundred kilometres south of Skopje, around the middle section of the River Vardar. The sub-Mediterranean climate is prevalent here, characterized by long, hot summers and mild and rainy winters. Spring is shorter and fresher here, and autumn is longer and warmer.
The ratio between produced red and white wines is 50:50. The most widely grown grape varieties are Smederevka (white) and Krato?ija (red).
The range of produced wines depends on the vintage, but the list of wines they produce as quality wines (a step above table wines) could be wrapped up as:
Reds: Krato?ija, T?ga za Jug, Teran, Alexandria, Merlot, Burgundec, Kavadarka, Cabernet Sauvignon, Vranec and Rose
For the ?Special Selection? wines Tikve? has chosen the highest quality grapes and turned them into their best wines. In the red wine range these are Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Vranec, while in the white wine range these are Chardonnay, Riesling, Temjanika and Traminec. The Special Selection wines come with a distinctive label.
July 4th--the day when we celebrate the independence of our nation from the rule of uninvolved individuals living far across the ocean. Uninvolved in the sense of estranged from the culture they were trying to rule. They were very involved with respect to placing laws and taxes--especially taxes--on the citizens of the not yet united states. It just didn't fly and brave souls gave their lives to shed the bonds of of government that was not their own.
Now how do we go from fighting red coats to BBQ and corn on the cob? Who knows and who cares! It works for me though but barbecuing can be challenging when it comes to wine pairing.
First--prep your mind with a nicely chilled down Gewurztraminer or other delicious wine of your choosing and then stoke up the grill--preferably real charcoal--and throw on the ribs, the steaks the chops, the dogs or whatever.
While I can enjoy any number of solid red wines with the smokey taste of good grilling, Zinfandel is the All American pairing wine and on this 4th of July, while there are many Zins I enjoy, few can come close to the value of Cline's 2006 Zin which I find all over the place but is less than $8 at Sam's Club.
So whatever you do, raise a glass to Ben Franklin--I finished his bio this morning at 6 a.m.--and remember T.J., John Adams, Al Hamilton, Madison and General George W. and thank God for the sacrifices of our predecessors enablin gus to BBQ and drink wine in the land of plenty!
Rocket Science 2004 Proprietary Red $45 Wine Label says: “Son, your 21 years old. It’s time you learned the art of wine tasting.” “I already know how you taste wine,” replied the sure young man. “This wine has an inky, purple hue with a sensational purity, flavors of a blackberry liqueur with a creme de cassis intensity and [...]
Researchers in the United States, New Zealand and Canada are collaborating to help grapegrowers and winemakers better understand and anticipate the role nitrogen plays in wine production.
International team seeks genetic biomarkers to measure biological states...
Scientists at the University of British Columbia Wine Research Centre in Vancouver will lead the project, which will work with Pinot Noir and Gewürztraminer vines in Canada and Sauvignon Blanc vines in New Zealand to identify genes that can serve as biomarkers. Biomarkers indicate particular biological states of a plant, such as water stress, receptivity to nitrogen and carbon accumulation. The ability to identify genes that respond to nitrogen in particular promises to help forecast how grapes will develop.left click image to enlarge:
There are some new Kemeny's RBG specials just listed. Also an update on the cleanskin Heathcote Shiraz 2006 at GWD, it is from the Rufus Stone vineyard at Heathcote, but it isn't exactly the same as the branded release.
I came across these beautiful wine stoppers recently in my Web surfing. Not only are they attractive, but they are hand-crafted by a native of Murano, Angelo Tiozzo, who has been making glass since he was 11 years old-more than 50 years. Tiozzo moved to Canada in the 1960s and Gala Glass, his family business, creates a wide range of hand-crafted glass items.
Prices for the stoppers range from $21.97 to $32.97
Contents of this feed are a property of Creative Weblogging Limited and are protected by copyright laws. Violations will be prosecuted. Please email us if you'd like to use this feed for non-commercial activities at feeds - at - creative-weblogging.com.
Sangiovese is a unique grape, best known as the primary ingredient in Chianti. This red wine grape thrives in the hilly, rocky terrain of Tuscany and almost no where else in the world. Sangiovese, which means literally "blood of Jove," has been grown in that region since the 16th century. This grape is also used to craft Brunello di Montalcino, Rosso di Montalcino, and many "Super Tuscans."
Italian immigrants have introduced the grape to other parts of the world, such as California and Australia, with limited success.
Contents of this feed are a property of Creative Weblogging Limited and are protected by copyright laws. Violations will be prosecuted. Please email us if you'd like to use this feed for non-commercial activities at feeds - at - creative-weblogging.com.
It is home to over one third of all vines planted in France. Yet, how the Languedoc adjusts to world glut in grapes will have a profound effect on its future. Once responsible for massive amounts of low quality grapes, growers in the France's south have had to make a choice as competition from other countries have made this a less viable business.
Faced with the option of simply pulling out vines, a new generation of winemakers have chosen to make higher quality wines. While lower yields have improved the wines, putting more emphasis on more marketable grapes like Syrah and Grenache have no doubt made them more attractive to today's varietal conscious consumer. However, this second decision has come at a price.
The Carignan grape, indigenous to the south, has suffered as many growers have switched to Syrah and Grenache. Carignan can do wonderful things if given the opportunity, adding color, structure, depth, as well as dark cooked fruits, licorice and earthy aromas. However, since it is often relegated to the more fertile plateaus where it over produces, it can become rather innocuous.
At a recent tasting of Languedoc wines, the bottles that had appreciable levels of well-grown carignan were the ones that stood out. If you place a value on the importance of regional ?distinctiveness,' look for those Languedoc wines with higher percentages of this grape. Coteaux du Languedoc 2001, Mas Jullien One of my favourite producers is Olivier Jullien. His estate, Mas Jullien, is spread out over 15 acres around the village of Jonquiers, just north of the Mediterrean coast and the city of Montpellier. I have already reviewed his Mas Jullien Blanc, a six grapes blend that includes Grenache Blanc, Viogner and Chenin Blanc, and to my taste is one of the most distinctive and interesting whites in France that requires years of cellaring to reach it's apogee.
His red, a blend of Carignan, Syrah and Mourvedre, is no less interesting. Like many carignan based wines, it requires a couple of years of cellaring to iron out some of the rougher edges, but it rewards patience like few wines from the region. This was my fourth bottle (I still have two left).
Drunk to the tune of a big juicy steak.
Deep purple in both color and style. Like Richie Blackmore's guitar playing, Jullien combines virtuosity with power, beauty without being very pretty. It smells and tastes of dark plums, marinated in licorice and sweet spices. Rich and concentrated, the tannins melted away to a dense, powerful and harmonious finish. This is not the new dulcimer Blackmore, but the Richie of Old.
I got to try a new grape variety today, Misket Varnenski. One of the down sides of traveling is that I have limited research resources with me. As far as I can tell this is a recent crossing of the widely planted white Bulgarian grape Dimiat and the ever popular Riesling.
The name certainly evokes Muscat, and the Varnenski either suggests or literally means "From Varna" (one of the famous beach towns of Bulgaria) but the wine I tried had nothing in common with the venerable Muscat grape. In fact it had nothing in common with Riesling for that matter. Perhaps it takes after Dimiat, I will have to search out a few examples and see for myself.
The wine I tried was from one of my favorite producers, so while there may well be better examples, I had high hopes. There was nothing wrong with the wine, there just was nothing special about it either.
I have an expression I use when I am speaking into my tape recording at wine tastings. It is designed to keep the winemakers or representatives from knowing exactly what I am saying. The term is NVNV and it stands for "no vice, no virtue."
That sums up this wine, and likely the grape from which it hails, perfectly.
It is not a bad little wine, it just has no real character. It tastes exactly like white wine, and save for a hint of dust in the nose and aftertaste has almost no specific flavors that I can find.
Why would a wine industry embrace such a grape? The usual, it grows well, it makes consistent wines, and it is probably cost efficient.
At least one technical report I found on the wine referred to its pleasant muscat like quality. I think the name fooled them into finding something that isn't there, or they had a far different example than the one I tried.
Am I bashing the grape? Not at all, it really is pleasant and that is saying more than a lot of other varieties can boast.
I have also read references to a red variety of Misket, I will keep my eyes open for it. Muscat also can be found in dark varieties, although as I said Muscat doesn't seem to be related to this grape variety (unless Dimiat is related to Muscat). They may well just be using the similar sounding name for marketing purposes.
If anyone has more information on this variety or Dimiat for that matter, please drop me a note or leave a comment.
With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, people will be uncorking bottles of wine the world over. After all, when you think romance, wine is never far behind. In her book, The Simple & Savvy Wine Guide, author Leslie Sbrocco suggests “a deep red wine such as a sparkling Shiraz” as the perfect drink to celebrate the occasion. She also set about to dispel a few popular wine myths:
Myth: A screw cap means the wine is cheap. Fact: Some of the world’s most forward-thinking wineries are using screw caps these days. They’re easy to open and reclose, and they preserve the wine longer.
Myth: Older wine is better. Fact: Most wine sold today isn’t meant to be aged. If it’s from a reputable source, it’s safe to assume that it’s ready to drink.
You cannot have a better match with a plate of salumi than with this wine. Chill it up a little bit, and start your engines. From the Grasparossa grape, I took a bottle over to a chef from Emilia-Romagna the other day. He has known me for years, but has rarely if ever acknowledged my presence in his world. When I handed the bottle to his son to give to him, you?d think I was his long lost cousin. His eyes lit up, he smiled, he liked me. He really, really, liked me. I owe it all to this friendly little Lambrusco.
Served slightly chilled, it is frizzante, and enters with a burst of slightly under-ripe dark cherry notes. Then the fruit kicks in and there, all of a sudden, you have a party on your palate.
Note: this wine is bone-dry.
Get yourself hooked up with a Lambrusco like this. It takes the snob off the table. It?s subtle and bold, delicate and a romp. It?s a serious wine that laughs at itself. Go get yourself some.
El Celler de Can Roca is one of my most memorable dining experiences, up there with Troisgros. At 279? for 2 people with 19 courses and 9 wines by the glass, one could also call it a bargain (the top menu is 100? per person). To read more about this experience, please visit Vinix, the wine social network site run by my friend Filippo Ronco. My complete article is there with some pictures taken on the cell phone.
The Greeks called Italy Oenotria - the land of wine. A large, colourful wine map of Italy hangs on my study wall. I've been exploring the viticultural tastes and textures of Italy from Abruzzo, Piedmont and Tuscany to Sardinia, Sicily and Venice. Melgab, an Italian father-and-son company, import a wide range of fine wines and grappa? of origin from Argentina, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain to South Africa.
Treat your taste? buds to a range of new flavours? in classic Italian varieties such as Barbera, Chianti, Nebbiolo, Sangiovese and Trebbiano. The dry?, fruity?, minerality of Lamberti Santepietre Pinot Grigio or the fine, fruity bubbles of Teresa Rizzi Prosecco, the vino? spumante? of Veneto will take you all the way to Harry's Bar in Venice. I loved the herbal? quality of Medici Sangiovese Rubicone from Emilia, the main grape of the great Chianti Classico? wines. Last but not least, try the intense?, robust ruby red Montepulciano d'Abruzzo with its evocative forest fruit and liquorice flavours.
Watch out for Melgab's Italian wines in wine stores at R60-R85.
I discovered the seductive delights of limoncello? this summer - a traditional Italian liqueur? made from steeping the juiciest, fresh lemon peels in alcohol?. Commonly called limoncello in Tuscany, this zesty digestif is made in family cellars in the region? from age-old recipes. The rinds from lemons? freshly picked in the orchards are steeped in alcohol until they reach a perfect infusion of colour, flavour and zest. Made by A&G Distillery, Limonello is sold in an elegant frosted glass bottle in South Africa. Drink frozen, on the rocks or drizzle over ice cream? and fruit salad?.
A&G Limonello costs R86 per 500ml. Visit www.melgab.co.za for more information.
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?
Police Chief Rich Miller wants to outlaw the sale of beer in 24- or 32-ounce cans, saying those sizes are preferred by trouble-making drunks.Miller says stores sell them in paper bags that conceal them perfectly and end up as litter, and that Granite City would be better off if stores just didn't sell such beers.
So, lemme get this straight, only drunks drink 22 ounce beers?? http://cbs11tv.com/watercooler/watercooler_story_254120050.html
Science Rocks!
Check it out. I found this clip on You Tube for a new robot created by Asahi that pours your beer for you. Sure I have no idea what it is saying (probably something like Americans are retarded) and it takes a little over 3 minutes to pour the damn thing but cool nonetheless. If you?re wasted, or if you?re name is Kipp and are obsessed with beer gadgets I am guessing that it is a necessity!
For years I have loved you. I have sold your wine to people who don?t even know how to pronounce your name yet they always come back for more. I know the quote on your bottle ? ?Through this earth gate, this Torii Mor, we step, to make glad the soul with wine?. I have visited your winery and tasting room, I have bought your expensive single vineyard wines. I loved you Torii Mor. I loved you even after Patty Green left you to make her own winery but I should have known. I should have known that one day one of my undiscovered baby wineries in Oregon would sell its soul for cash. Premier Buying Group from Napa has been buying vineyard land in Oregon in a very deceitful manner and Torii Mor owner Jim Olsen has been the man behind the scenes. Expect a ?Mondavi? like venture that whores out cheap ass pinot noir in your near future.
I went to New York last week and had a great time. I went to the Bubble Lounge which is a restaurant that serves over 350 champagnes by the glass. I was in heaven. I drank the Veuve Cliquot MV "La Grand Siecle". Yep that's right MV - not NV. MV means that they blend vintages. This particular wine was '88, '90, and '95 vintages from Veuve single vineyards and it was well worth every penny I paid for it. Here's a picture. I'd post more pictures but the night went downhill from there and while the pics are very funny, they are also very telling!!!
Tecnorati
came on the show as the guest speaker, talking about the various ways that we as humans interpret smells/orders/aromas. And while they only touched on wine, he did raise some ideas that really made me think about wine judging. 
Though in fairness, men do it more often! Not sure what this has to do with wine, but I laughed and thought you might too!
For the ?Special Selection? wines Tikve? has chosen the highest quality grapes and turned them into their best wines. In the red wine range these are Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Vranec, while in the white wine range these are Chardonnay, Riesling, Temjanika and Traminec. The Special Selection wines come with a distinctive label.
With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, people will be uncorking bottles of wine the world over. After all, when you think romance, wine is never far behind. In her book, 
You cannot have a better match with a plate of salumi than with this wine. Chill it up a little bit, and start your engines. From the Grasparossa grape, I took a bottle over to a chef from Emilia-Romagna the other day. He has known me for years, but has rarely if ever acknowledged my presence in his world. When I handed the bottle to his son to give to him, you?d think I was his long lost cousin. His eyes lit up, he smiled, he liked me. He really, really, liked me. I owe it all to this friendly little Lambrusco.
I went to New York last week and had a great time. I went to the Bubble Lounge which is a restaurant that serves over 350 champagnes by the glass. I was in heaven. I drank the Veuve Cliquot MV "La Grand Siecle". Yep that's right MV - not NV. MV means that they blend vintages. This particular wine was '88, '90, and '95 vintages from Veuve single vineyards and it was well worth every penny I paid for it. Here's a picture. I'd post more pictures but the night went downhill from there and while the pics are very funny, they are also very telling!!!