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Guy Woodward (decanter.com) writes:

In what might be seen as a reversal of recent trends, two Bordeaux first growths have triumphed in a top-level blind tasting^?.
 
Yesterday in London, premium Chilean producer Errazuriz gathered some of the UK's top palates to recreate its landmark 'Berlin' tasting, pitting its own wines against the top names of Bordeaux, Tuscany and California.
 
In a line-up of a dozen wines, the judges gave the first two places to Chateau^? Margaux 2005 and Chateau Lafite 2005, followed by a 'Super Tuscan'. Errazuriz wines took the next four places, while Opus One, the sole^? Californian wine, was placed last of the 12.
 
Errazuriz president Eduardo Chadwick first conducted the tasting in 2004 in Berlin, when his wines took the top two places. Describing the event as 'a milestone in the history of the Chilean wine industry', Chadwick has since repeated the event in Tokyo, Toronto and Beijing.
 
The tastings frequently elicit protests from Bordeaux, whose producers complain that taking their wines out of context leads them to underperform.
 
On this occasion, however, a panel comprising some of the UK's top tasters, including Jancis Robinson MW^?, Tim Atkin MW and Oz Clarke, were unanimous in favouring the clarets.
 
Decanter consultant editor Steven Spurrier, who took part in the inaugural tasting, and has attended several since, observed that this was 'without doubt the most pro-Bordeaux result we've seen'.
 
...
 
The results in full:

1. Château^? Margaux 2005
2. Château Lafite-Rothschild 2005
3. Solaia 2005
4. Don Maximiano 2006
5. = Viñedo^? Chadwick 2006
5. = Seña 2005
7. Seña 2006
8. Château Latour 2005
9. Sassicaia 2005
10. Don Maximiano 2005
11. Viñedo Chadwick 2005
12. Opus One 2005

» Full Story

Tags: melgab, wine, contest, bordeaux, berlin tasting, south-africa, South Africa

16/04 Update: Photos are up:

» ProWein + Vinitaly Trip (27 March - 10 April)
» ProWein + Vinitaly Trip 2 (27 March - 10 April)

Yep, Melgab's currently in the process of packing to take a trip at the end of the week: first to ProWein in Düsseldorf, Germany, and then to Vinitaly in Verona, Italy.

At this stage, if you're a participating producer at either expo, don't bother contacting us to make an appointment unless you propose to use outright bribery to make it worth our while. Our timetable is fully booked for the duration of both shows and promises to pack a mouthwatering punch.

If you happen to feature on said timetable then we look forward^? to seeing you soon!

Tags: melgab, wine, exposition, festival, germany, italy, south-africa, South Africa

Chianti Classico^? once again held its presentation in Florence's Stazione Leopolda, the old train station between Porta al Prato and the Parco delle Cascine (just outside the city walls), whose construction was begun in the 1841, and which is named after Grand Duke Leopoldo -- it was discarded (as a train station) in 1860, and was thereafter put to many uses, ranging from site of the Espozizione Nazionale (National Fair) opened by King Vittorio Emanuele in 1861 to munitions plant in WWI.
 
The bombing it suffered in WWII destroyed the roof; a makeshift roof held up by iron pipes was applied, and the complex^? used as a railway warehouse until 1993, when it was transformed into an extraordinarily beautiful exposition area, which now hosts all sorts of things, from fashion shows to wine tastings. As Carlo Macchi points out, the lighting's beautiful, the temperature is just right, there's all the space one could want, and it's also quiet. In short perfect, and I began with the Riserve, starting with the one Chianti Classico Riserva^? 2001 being presented.

» Full Story

... be sure to browse both our Chianti and Classico sections if this leaves you with cravings. ;]

Tags: melgab, wine, italian, chianti, classico, south-africa, South Africa

Hmm, an instance of slightly overstretched cross promotion. Crazy enough to work though. Elena di Luigi (decanter.com) writes:

An Italian trade body^? is looking for writers to come up with the most original literary work on the affinities between the Grignolino grape and football.
 
Terre d'Asti, a promotional body representing the Asti region^? in northern Italy, has launched Wine & Passion, an international literature competition to promote Grignolino d'Asti wine.
 
The red grape grows on the hills surrounding Asti, in the Piedmont region of Italy. It has been cultivated since the 18th century and is generally made as a youthful dry^? red wine.
 
Among locals it is seen as an anarchic grape occasionally capable of excellence. Andrea Cerrato of Terre d'Asti said that if the grape was a footballer it would be given the number seven shirt.
 
'When teams were numbered from one to 11, the number seven shirt belonged to the most talented and rebellious player,' he said. 'Grignolino d'Asti is our number 7, and literature and football will give us a hand to promote this unsung hero.'

» Full Story

Tags: melgab, wine, italian, grape, soccer, south-africa, South Africa

This should be used to verify the smart cork tracking method. That would result in a foolproof indication of the origin and authenticity of a wine. Frank Smith (decanter.com) writes:

Two forensic scientists at the University of Western Australia have found a way to prove the origin of wine chemically.
 
Alex Martin and John Watling used mass spectrometry to determine the chemical 'fingerprint' of 400 wines from around Australia.
 
The 'fingerprint' is made up of the concentration^? of over 60 trace elements. These depend mainly on the soil composition of the growing region^? and grape variety^?. It changes little during winemaking, transportation and storage.
 
Wines made from one grape variety in one region have similar chemical 'fingerprints', and are quite different to those of the same grape variety in other regions.
 
They are now building up a database of wines from around the world. Once completed it will be possible to identify the origin of an unknown wine sample by comparing its fingerprint to those in the database.
 
'We aim to reliably place a wine within 20km of its origin,' said Watling.

» Full Story

Tags: melgab, wine, australian, appellation, fingerprint, south-africa, South Africa

We're well into 2009 and with Valentine's Day a month away, we decided to put together a small selection that would make any happy couple's day together all the more memorable.

Valentine's Day Suggestions

Antonini Ceresa Prosecco Raboso (Pink Italian Spumante)

Ca'Bianca Moscato D'Asti (Italian Dessert Wine with a Light Fizz)

Renzo Masi & Co Rosato di Toscana (Italian Rosé)

Covides Duc de Foix Cava (Spanish Méthode Champenoise)

Click on any of the links above to view the wine's detailed profile or contact us should you wish to place a request and we'll quote accordingly.

Tags: melgab, wine, italian, valentines day, gift, 2009, south-africa, South Africa

Kerin O'Keefe (decanter.com) writes:

Italian co-operative^? Riunite & CIV has bought Italy's largest wine firm^?, Gruppo Italiano Vini^? (GIV).
 
The deal, which saw Riunite & CIV consolidate its majority shareholding of GIV, will cement the Italian co-operative's position as one of the largest wine groups in the world. It is expected to generate a turnover of €450m (£423m, US$627m).
 
Before it became the sole^? shareholder, Riunite & CIV held shares of GIV along with four other firms. Originally two separate companies, the Reggio Emilio-based Riunite and the Modena-based CIV merged on 1 September this year.
 
'After our merger we became majority shareholders and it was then decided among all parties that it would be best to buy the others out,' Vanis Bruni, the new president of Gruppo Italiano Vini and vice-president of Riunite & CIV, told decanter.com.
 
Bruni added that GIV would be independently run, 'as far as production and marketing', and that current managing director Emilio Pedron would remain in the post.
 
GIV also recently acquired the Bolla brand of Italian wines from American distributors Brown-Forman.

» Full Story

Tags: melgab, wine, italian, takeover, giv, south-africa, South Africa

Well documented are our previous accounts of the benefits of resveratrol.

An Australian doctor says he has created the world's healthiest wine, which cleans your blood vessels and reduces the risk of heart attack^? as you drink it.
 
Each bottle contained up to 100 times the amount of resveratrol - a naturally occurring anti-oxidant found in grapes - than a standard drop, says Sydney's Dr Philip Norrie.
 
Resveratrol helped to maintain blood flow by keeping arteries free of fatty deposits called atherosclerotic plaque, Dr Norrie said. A wine infused with high levels of the odourless, tasteless anti-oxidant would act as a "vascular pipe-cleaner".
 
"While the positive effects of moderate wine consumption have long been documented, the inclusion of such large quantities of this beneficial anti-oxidant is very good news for wine drinkers," says Dr Norrie.
 
"What we've been able to do is boost the amount of resveratrol in wine and you won't even know its there ... you're effectively clearing your arteries while you drink."
 
Dr Norrie said he is producing both a Chardonnay and a Shiraz and each have 100mg/L of resveratrol per bottle.

» Full Story

Tasting notes anyone?!

Tags: melgab, wine, australian, resveratrol, health, south-africa, South Africa

A bumper harvest is expected to push Italian wine production above that of neighboring France for the first time in a decade, possibly making Italy the world's largest wine producer.
 
The Coldiretti farmers lobby estimates the production of Italian wine is up 8 percent over 2007 to 4.7 billion liters, compared with 4.44 billion liters in neighboring France, where production fell 5 percent. Figures will be confirmed in January.
 
Italy last surpassed France's production in 1998, and has since been reducing the area of land cultivated as vineyards in favor of improving quality, Coldiretti's wine expert Domenico Bosco said Wednesday.
 
Italy's strong harvest is largely due to good weather, Bosco said, which helped Sicily, in particular, recover from lower 2007 yields caused by a deadly fungus there.

» Full Story

Tags: melgab, wine, italian, harvest, france, south-africa, South Africa

This is the glorious Italian realisation of an old sentiment. Evan Rail (nytimes.com) writes:

HALFWAY through our six-course tasting menu of regional Piemontese cuisine, the sommelier^? arrived with a special beverage to accompany the plate of raviolini stuffed with local pumpkin and asparagus^?.
 
"I think this will go well, because it matches the sweetness^? of the pumpkin," he said, setting down a glass not of wine, but of a slightly oxidized^? golden ale, which, he explained, had been fermented with wine yeast^? and had spent four years aging in the bottle.
 
A cold beer might seem like a strange pairing for traditional Italian cuisine, especially in the heart of wine-loving Piedmont, but the entire meal that night was based on local brews, and the sommelier himself was Teo Musso, a brewmaster with near-rock-star status in the Italian culinary scene. Through his artful small brewery, Le Baladin, Mr. Musso has helped bridge the worlds of craft beer and fine dining, ensuring that fine beers have a large presence in Eataly, Turin's high-end supermarket, and founding his own beer-themed restaurant and hotel, Casa Baladin, where my wife and I stayed one night this spring.
 
"I want people to think of my beer as something that belongs on a table in a good restaurant," Mr. Musso said. "I do not want them to think of it as something from the pub."

» Full Story

*tears^? of joy*

Tags: melgab, beer, artisanal, piedmont, dinner, south-africa, South Africa