Wine

[bigbadber]

ikileo, I need some wisdom from u

I only know how to drink white wines, and more of those sweeter ones, like moscato, late harvest, or chardonnay....

some of the moscatos, which I hardly drink now, they have very low alcohol level. does that also mean that they have low acidity level? once a wine promoter said something like, low alcohol level, then low acidity level, usually can only taste sweet, not much else. and its like a waste of money actually. i've seen moscatos with only 6% alc. i drank some white and red, very low, less than 10%, i dont taste anything but sweetness, i think its a waste of time and money.

I like very much, south africa's Nederburg Late Harvest. and Woodbridge's Robert Mondavi Moscato, this one isnt as bad as others. esp Italian moscatos, aiyoh, waste money really. and Brown Brother's Moscato, its very popular, but i seem to have lost the taste for it, cant taste much either.

1) so isit true that those with a low alcohol level = low acidity = waste money? in ur opinion i mean.

2) do u know anything about california's disappearance of White Zinfandel? what happen to it? no more of such grapes? I used to like White Zinfandel, esp Woodbridge Robert Mondavi's one. now they are all gone. they have all transformed into Rose. other brand's white zinfandel disappeared too, and suddenly I see a lot of Rose. its like something went wrong with the white zinfandel grapes and somehow they wine become Rose? oh man I hate Rose. dont like the taste.

the closest I've found is Beringer White Zinfandel, but its a sparkling... have yet to try it. kept it for 1 year liao.

3) do u know where is a good place to buy wine racks? preferably those that u can assemble piece by piece and add on more pieces to make it bigger? cheap/good pricing would be appreciated as well.

racks like these:

Im not sure if this is an add on or a 1 piece set:

 

[ikileo]

First thing you need to know is this: low alcohol doesn’t mean low acidity. Acidity comes from the malic, tartaric, acetic, citric acids and a few other ones. These occur naturally in grapes. Alcohol comes from the fermentation of the natural sugars in the wine.

Sweet wine is made in a couple of ways. Two of the most common ways are late harvest and letting the grape rot. Late harvest means the grapes are left on the vines for a longer period of time, allowing them to ripen further and their natural sugars to increase. As their natural sugars increase, their natural acids decrease. Hence the wine-maker needs to pick them at the right time for a balance of sweetness and acidity.

The other method is allowing Noble Rot to set into the grapes. This is caused by the fungus Botrytis Cinerea which saps out the water content from the grapes leaving a more concentrated juice.

Regardless of method, the one key thing to a sweet wine is a balance of acidity and sweetness. If a sweet wine has no acid, it will taste flabby and not focused, gobby and hard to drink. Kind of like when you drink cordial concentrate. Acidity gives it focus and balance to keep the sugars in check, like making a cordial drink and putting a squeeze of lemon inside to give it some vibrance and freshness.

You can have a high alcohol dessert wine that’s sweet and has high acid as well. I don’t know if you have this pre-conceived notion that higher alcohol = better wine, but this is a mindset that you should scrap. Some of the best sweet wines from Germany have low alcohol but have great balance, concentration, complexity and longevity. When tasting sweet wines you have to look beyond just the sweetness and see if there are other complexities and flavours. That’s why people age famous sweet wines like Sauternes and German Auslese/Trockenbeerenauslese etc…, so that the sweetness balances out with the multitude of additional flavours that will develop.

So when choosing sweet wines, you don’t have to look at the alcohol levels, but instead do some research (cellartracker.com) on whether it’s balanced and complex because as you appreciate wine more and more, you will want to look beyond the sweetness, no matter how yummy it may be.

Even dry red and white wines, nowadays I’m looking for something with a lower alcohol like 10%-12% for whites and 12%-13.5% for reds because sometimes the big burly 14.5%/15% alcohol wines can be tiresome to finish and wears out my palate. But that’s just my preference. The lower alcohol dry wines tend to show a little more complexity and variance of flavours rather than a one note fruit cake.

As for moscatos, you have to wean yourself out of the cheapo stuff because at the higher end Italians make very good moscato d’asti but those start in the high $30s and go into the $50s. There is a time and place for everything. If you are having some rich seafood a nice balanced moscato will go brilliantly with it, or you can use it to pair an appetizer if you are throwing a house party. If you want some brands I’m sure we can help you out with that.


WHITE ZIN
For white zin, it’s still around I think. I don’t really drink the stuff but they are good for casual relaxing drink. I didn’t know retailers pulled it off the shelves. If you can locate who imports it you can contact them directly. Rose is different, don’t expect rose to be sweet. The best rose wines are dry and taste similar to a white wine with a hint of red fruits in them as well. Perhaps over time you can try more dry style of wines. Understandably sweetness is a very easy thing for any palate to accommodate and be seduced by, but look to expand your palate and try new stuff like drier style wines because lots of complexities and pleasure can be derived from them as well. Oh and you can open your beringer now, don’t keep these stuff. They are meant to be drunk young so that you can enjoy the burst of fruit.

RACKS
As for wine racks, to be honest, I dunno. You can check ikea I guess or perhaps even a carpenter can do it. Many people in US DIY it themselves so I would believe there’s lots of tutorials online on how to make your own. But do you

 

[reign]

Hu bigbadber, I will suggest u try out @ ikea. Got mine frm there all diy, just minus the fashion.

Ikileo, today have promo on the aust shiraz. Highly rated. Worth. Buying to test it out?

 

[ikileo]

the 09 jasper hill? Be prepared to wait for a while but the price is pretty good.

I unfortunately have no money left to spend this month and probably next. i should work on running down my stock level.

i have the 2003 one and it's still too young: http://tv.winelibrary.com/2007/01/02/94-point-parker-australian-challenge-episode-157/

 

[reign]

I thinking of getting frm wine exchange @ $100 nett. Collection is next year. So can play around with the timing. But this bottle suggested to be 2014. So fast? As your 03 is still young!

 

[ikileo]

cellartracker dates, as with any other dates by 'professional tasters', are educated guesses at best. there is no exact drinking date because people prefer different wines at different stages, not to mention bottle variation and store conditions.

take all dates with a pinch of salt (mine included). for me while 2003 has 8 years from vintage, it's still young to me because i like my wines to have the fruit to be equal footing with the other flavours, so i like for the fruit to lose some of its baby fat while the complexities develop.

I'd give a decent wine 5-8 years from vintage but for the higher end stuff I'll go for at least 10-15 years. I have patience.

 

[reign]

I think I might go for external storage @ wine exchang cos some of the bottles are really not due yet. Do u all this is a good idea?

 

[ikileo]

how many bottles u got so far?

 

[reign]

how many bottles u got so far?

I think Less than 10. Those that i got during the CNY, lagrange and some others.

 

[reign]

it's still young to me because i like my wines to have the fruit to be equal footing with the other flavours, so i like for the fruit to lose some of its baby fat while the complexities develop.

Can i take it that the Alc will drop over time and more of the flavour of the wine will be left...

 

[ikileo]

alcohol doesn't drop. the flavours change but the alcohol doesn't.

if less than 10 then i think you should do your math. calcualte how much the off site storage will cost over the period of time u estimate u will use it versus how much a wine cooler will cost.

actually what's the barrier for you not to buy proper wine storage at home? cost? space?

 

[reign]

alcohol doesn't drop. the flavours change but the alcohol doesn't.

if less than 10 then i think you should do your math. calcualte how much the off site storage will cost over the period of time u estimate u will use it versus how much a wine cooler will cost.

actually what's the barrier for you not to buy proper wine storage at home? cost? space?

Space my friend.. no space.Hehe,have not think of the cost yet, will have to start saving for it. The charges are $3.60 per mth.

Btw, Since bigbadber mentioned abt the moscatos, my gals friend prefer Brown Brother to Wolfblass... What are yr views and what other maker do you recommend? Haven't really tasted other brand beside these 2.

 

[ikileo]

i haven't tasted these 2 brands in a long time so i also dunno.

your best way to see for real is to serve it to your gf blind. When she states her preference ask her why that wine over the other. it help you to think about the wine and articulate your tasting notes and emotions better.

i would recommend La Spinetta (Culina - i think), Pio Cesare (Grand Vin), Boeri (intervino)...just to name afew. They usually start from the mid $30s

 

[reign]

i haven't tasted these 2 brands in a long time so i also dunno.

your best way to see for real is to serve it to your gf blind. When she states her preference ask her why that wine over the other. it help you to think about the wine and articulate your tasting notes and emotions better.

i would recommend La Spinetta (Culina - i think), Pio Cesare (Grand Vin), Boeri (intervino)...just to name afew. They usually start from the mid $30s

Thanks! Very keen to try out soon!

 

[reign]

Another wine event for vinophiles!
My first year as a full-fledged 'vino' and there are so many wine fairs, tastings, events etc.
Really need to pace oneself, and one's wallet!

http://www.thelocalnose.com/index.p...he-vine/370-wrx-wine-journey-wine-edutainment

Bro, going for this? Very keen.... what cat are u getting?

 

[ikileo]

i am going for this on Monday (i on leave that day, so zhun one)

http://www.simplyitaliangreatwines.com/Singapore_21Novembre2011.html

it's a trade event but one of the distributors let a bunch of us in upon registration.

 

[reign]

i am going for this on Monday (i on leave that day, so zhun one)

http://www.simplyitaliangreatwines.com/Singapore_21Novembre2011.html

it's a trade event but one of the distributors let a bunch of us in upon registration.

I recieved the invite too!

 

[ikileo]

i think it's worth it and luckily i am on leave on Monday anyway.

i wanted to go for this one also but no time and lack of funds, but actually considering what you are tasting, it's more than worth it.

http://taberna.sg/latest/details/42-E Guigal Tasting

 

[reign]

i think it's worth it and luckily i am on leave on Monday anyway.

i wanted to go for this one also but no time and lack of funds, but actually considering what you are tasting, it's more than worth it.

http://taberna.sg/latest/details/42-E Guigal Tasting

Gotta give this Pass got paper on that day.

 

[hkm520240]

Another wines fair coming this Sat by Wines Direction, at Extra Space Boon Keng road. The wines on offer more on low to mid range.

"Wine Directions Warehouse Wine Fair
Wines are open for trying before you buy them. Don't miss out on such great pricing. Delivery service available. For more information call 90611404 or email arjen@winedirections.com"

http://www.thelocalnose.com/index.php/wine-knows/details/972-wine-directions-warehouse-wine-fair

But this weekend I going no where but to stay at home
Next Monday I am on leave but not for the Italian fair although I'm keen to go too