Wine Blogs in English

February 7, 2012

05:12

Wine of the Week

Blended with 10 percent fiano grapes, the Tormaresca Chardonnay 2010, Puglia I.G.T., ferments 90 percent in stainless steel and 10 percent in second-use French oak barriques, followed by three months aging in French and Hungarian oak. The result is a pure yet delicate expression of the chardonnay grape subtly supported by a tinge, a sheen [...]

Source: Bigger Than Your Head

Categories: Wine Blogs in English

04:51

Sustain Ahead Pour les Bottes

Lorsque Géant vous cherchez à choisir baskets pour les dames,   Chaussure Nike  Read more

Source: grape

Categories: Wine Blogs from South Africa, Wine Blogs in English

02:00

Google Street View takes new strides

Google yesterday announced that users can now view even more Cape wineries on Google Street View, from the comfort of their PCs or smartphones. A further five wineries have been added, making it total of 30 wineries that are included in the most comprehensive database of winelands imagery in the world.

Source: Wine.co.za

Categories: Wine Blogs from South Africa, Wine Blogs in English

02:00

Draft Gauteng Liquor Bill

The Department of Economic Development in Gauteng published a draft Gauteng Liquor Bill for public comment on the 24th of January. The Bill, if approved, will replace the Gauteng Liquor Act.

Source: Wine.co.za

Categories: Wine Blogs from South Africa, Wine Blogs in English

02:00

Valentine's Day at Doolhof Wine Estate

Come celebrate the month of love at Doolhof Wine Estate in Wellington on 12th and 14th of February 2012.

Source: Wine.co.za

Categories: Wine Blogs from South Africa, Wine Blogs in English

02:00

"Be my Valentine" at Avontuur Estate

Valentine's is one of our favourite events to celebrate at Avontuur Estate and the restaurant and tasting room jump in annually to make this "day of love" special for all the romantics out there!

Source: Wine.co.za

Categories: Wine Blogs from South Africa, Wine Blogs in English

02:00

New Horizons for Kumkani

The company of wine people TM is pleased to announce a restructure of its Kumkani brand as a black owned business with a strong commercial focus to grow sales in both the local and international markets.

Source: Wine.co.za

Categories: Wine Blogs from South Africa, Wine Blogs in English

02:00

Valentine's Day at Opstal

Opstal has organised a great evening on the 14th of February with the best wine and food on offer for you and your lovie.

Source: Wine.co.za

Categories: Wine Blogs from South Africa, Wine Blogs in English

02:00

Valentine dinner and dance at Slaley

Dance to Jesse Jordan with Slaley on Tuesday 14 February from 19h30 till late.

Source: Wine.co.za

Categories: Wine Blogs from South Africa, Wine Blogs in English

02:00

Waterkloof releases new red trio under Circumstance label

Waterkloof, the cellar outside Somerset West with its award-winning architecture and panoramic views of False Bay, unlocks nature's true potential with a new 2009 vintage triple act in its acclaimed Circumstance collection - a Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah.

Source: Wine.co.za

Categories: Wine Blogs from South Africa, Wine Blogs in English

February 6, 2012

21:11

Hoogwater fig-picking: 11 February 2012

Join us for a convivial lunch in the shade of the peach trees at Hoogwater Farm in Wolsely, followed by a stroll through the fig orchards where you can chose the juiciest fruit for yourself. Hoogwater farmer Charles Osche also makes wine, and will give us an introduction to them in the cellars before we [...]

Source: Slow Food Mother City

Categories: Food Blogs in English, Wine Blogs from South Africa, Wine Blogs in English

20:05

Extreme Winter In Montalcino But We Are Very Lucky

On the day of Friday 3 February it has not snowed. The minimum temperatures have arrived to -4° C. It seems however that it is even colder because of the strong wind from the north. The bad weather has move...

Source: Montalcino Report

Categories: Wine Blogs in English

18:53

Uncorkings 2.6.12

News and notes from the world of wine.

Source: Wine Enthusiast Magazine

Categories: Wine & Beverage News, Wine Blogs in English

17:41

1971 Monsecco (Gattinara) and Rock ‘n’ Roll Baby G

A couple of my favorite rock stars were over on Friday night, to meet Georgia P and to share a special bottle of a wine. The 1971 Gattinara Monsecco by Conte Ravizza was vinified the same year that David Garza was born: David (above, center) is one of the greatest musicians I’ve ever had the [...]

Source: Do Bianchi

Categories: Food Blogs in English, Wine & Beverage News, Wine Blogs in English

17:37

Amarone 2008 – A First Look

(Photo ©Tom Hyland) I recently joined a group of journalists from around the world who were invited by the Consorzio Valpolicella to take part in the annual Anteprima Amarone event in Verona. This tasting is an opportunity for writers specializing in Italian wines to taste the soon-to-be-released examples of Amarone from several dozen producers; this [...]

Source: Learn Italian Wines

Categories: Wine Blogs in English

17:00

5000 Wines a Year

 

I saw a comment recently from a wine writer noting that they tasted over five thousand wines a year. I could only think how sad. Was this some sort of punishment? Did someone commit a crime? What a pity to turn such a pleasure into such a grind.

Another comment on a forum noted that the writer first scored the wine 88 points , but that it had mellowed into a 89 point wine after about thirty minutes. It improved by a point? I could only think how sad it is to force flavors and aromatics into one point increments. Again pleasure becomes a grind.

While I was attending a wine faults seminar by the University of California at Davis the professor passed off the answer to a question as obvious when someone asked the equally obvious question. “Professor I’ve noticed that the sample with the VA was very strong at first, but now that I’ve gone back to it several times and it gets harder and harder to pick up,” said one of the winemakers in the seminar. The professor almost off-handedly commented that was just how your nose worked. It could take twenty minutes or so before it reset itself.

So, as the Ph.D. from Davis noted, if you get a nose-full from a a wine loaded with VA or Brett or a long line of wine faults you will be severely disabled aroma-wise for a signifiant period of time. Then there is simple palate fatigue on top of that.

What does this mean? It means that the people that taste five thousand wines a year or those that nudge a wine by a point after a half hour are just kidding themselves. It can’t be done, we’re humans not machines. Your senses lose the ability to accurately judge wines even after just a dozen or so. The idea of defining the difference between 88 and 89 points as a relative quality value is simply a joke. Mother Nature did not give us the tools required.

This, of course, extends to all the major wine publications and wine competitions. What they claim to be doing can’t be done. Fact and end of story.

In addition to the fact that they’re totally inaccurate as an indicator of quality, marathon tastings and pointy nit-picking just take the joy and pleasure out of wine. They are also a slap in the face to the intellectual side of wine appreciation.

One thing I appreciate about wine bloggers over the traditional wine press is that instead of pounding through dozens of bottles and pumping out points, most take a more thoughtful approach. Wine blogs are full of tales of wines at the table, which is the only place you can really get to know a wine. Wine writing about the experience of the true pleasures of wine tells you more than any point ranking or gold medal ever can or will. There are so many good wine blogs out there these days that they cover more than enough wine to fill anyone’s needs. What you won’t find in the blogs are reviews of Screaming Eagle or Lafite, but let’s face it, if you’re buying those wines you don’t really care about reviews anyway.

My mind keeps drifting back to the person tasting more than five thousand wines a year. It sounds so terrible to me. I’m more than happy tasting a few hundred or so a year. It also means I get to enjoy wines that I really love more than once. I think it often takes a few bottles, consumed over a period of time with different foods, before you really know a wine.

I doubt there are actually five thousand wines in the world that I want to try. Someone else will have to take that punishment for me. No thanks.

Source: The Wine Camp Blog

Categories: Wine Blogs in English

17:00

AVA Marketing: All Quality, All Destination, All The Time

What makes American Viticultural Areas, like similarly demarcated wine growing areas in Europe and other parts of the New World, important is that they are among the few items that can legally be placed on the front of a wine...

Source: Fermentation: The Daily Wine Blog

Categories: Wine & Beverage News, Wine Blogs in English

16:49

South African Wine | wine news | The “ideal wine”: why it’s different in London, San Francisco, Berlin and Beijing

South African Wine | wine news | The "ideal wine": why it's different in London, San Francisco, Berlin and Beijing.

Source: Bubbles on Wine

Categories: Wine Blogs from South Africa, Wine Blogs in English

16:42

Winery Steps, Castello della Sala

Winery Steps, Castello della Sala

A day late with this Sunday Snapshot post; but I have an excuse – I have spent the last week in Italy. It seems an age ago now, but in reality it was just over a week that our party rolled up at the Castello della Sala winery in Orvieto. Its new and gleaming, all ...

Spittoon.biz - A UK Wine Blog - We Spit... So You Can Swallow

Source: Spittoon.biz Feed

Categories: Food & Related News, Food Blogs in English, Wine Blogs in English

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