Wine

[ikileo]

Hi guys, hope you all can advise me on any nice red wine below the price of 50SGD? and where can i get them?

thks

hey man, thanks for joining this thread. first off, that is a very very broad question.
In order for the good folks here to help you out, perhaps you could give us a couple more parameters other than price point? 'cos there is a lot of good wine under $50.

Here are some variables to consider:
1) Any preferred country and/or subregion?
2) Any preferred grape varietal?
3) Any preferred style of wine? (oaky, big and fruity, soft/delicate, spicy etc...)
4) Who are you buying it for? Yourself or someone else? Do you know his/her style of wine?
5) Do you intend to drink it with food? In that case what kind of food?
6) Is it more for a novice or experienced drinker?
7) Do you intend to drink it in the immediate future or are you looking for something to age in the short/medium term (1-5 years)

don't feel daunted by all these questions. you don't have to answer them all. but it would help to answer as many as you believe you can for us to help you make a informed consumer decision.

 

[Pagani_Z0nda]

Bro ikileo, thks for your guideline below.

i have no preference on the country the wine comes from as long as its nice. but i've heard italian and south aussie wines are good.

i prefer wine to be smooth with rich taste and after taste where the fragrance stays in your mouth for awhile.

i intend to share it with a girl i've known.. prob during christmas period

i intend the wine to go with food like chocolate or pastries/cakes?

both of us are considered novices..thou we drank wine before.

Looking forward to your expert advice.

 

[ikileo]

chocolate can go well with red or white wines. i am assuming you are going for like a dark chocolate kind of thing right? but if you're having pastries (depending on what they are), you might be better off with a white/dessert wine.

regardless, if you are going for chocolate, Grenache or tempranillo-based wines can do very well for you. A wine that comes to mind is Finca Resalso by Emilio Moro. It's around $20-$30+ and you can get it at Wine Gallery. I tasted the 2007 vintage and I found it incredibly rich with notes of fruits, vanilla and chocolate fruitcake. I found it to be slightly over-the-top in terms of its intensity and flavour but that's my personal palate; but for novice drinkers, that wine should taste quite attractive and delicious so don't worry. They have several locations but their main outlet is at Redhill area.

that being said, there is so much wine out there to try to pair with it. If you are going for sweet pastries you could drink champagne with those as well. if you need more recommendations or wanna ask more questions please ask.

 

[ikileo]

finally found the 375ml bottle of champagne i wanted and placed an order.

N.V Pierre Peters Cuvee Reserve Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs. from reports and reviews, this is a serious blanc de blancs (100% chardonnay, non BdB are made from Pinot Noir and other red grapes to make white champange) which I hope to celebrate and surprise my gf with during Christmas time.

actually next time can do MO, 'cos this distributor typically doesn't sell in singles and have to buy a case of six 750ml bottles or 12 375ml bottles for all their wines. They specialize in premium producers from France and Germany. You can check out the site www.weinvin.com

maybe nearer to Christmas period we can do an MO. several good producers I have been searching for a long time since I tasted them in Europe and now these guys bring 'em in.

 

[ikileo]

*Disclaimer: in no way am I affiliated to the below distributor, i am just sharing some good stuff i found.

Hey guys, for those who are into Riesling and want to try some good new world Riesling there is a very good offer right now from one of the importers and retailers online in SG that I frequent. The latest vintage of the Grosset “Polish Hill” Riesling (2010) has just been released today for a low of $45. Current retail in Singapore goes for $50-$60+ or above, depending on the retailer.

This is a new world riesling you can age for more than 10 years and should let it sleep for at least 3-5 years before you open. An excellent example of a well made new world Riesling, good acid, great minerality and purity of fruit. He also has the 2009 available and the 2nd Riesling from Grosset if you are unwilling to pay the price of the top ‘Polish Hill’ Riesling. These can compare to some of the top German dry kabinett wines.

He also offers the range from Grosset, which includes their sought after Chardonnay and their unique Cabernet Franc/Merlot blend.

He also includes other Rieslings from Tim Adams, Mount Edwards and the sole German producer: Fritz Allendorf. All at promotion and non-retail prices. The good thing is also that you don’t have to buy a case (although you can and should if you have the money) and can buy one or two bottles to try out. You can meet up with him to pick up your wines (email him) or pay a couple of bucks extra to send it to your house. I am probably going to hit up some 2010 Polish Hills

http://www.wineexchangeasia.com/

 

[Condor]

Free sampling of Penfolds Koonunga Hills or pay a little for other labels.

http://www.penfoldswineevents.com/SG/sampling.php

 

[nautilus]

Free sampling of Penfolds Koonunga Hills or pay a little for other labels.

http://www.penfoldswineevents.com/SG/sampling.php

$80 to taste grange. Looks like a pretty good deal. Pity i'm not around during the dates. Sigh.

 

[ikileo]

depending on the vintage, the 3 i would pick to taste is Grange, RWT & St. Henri. but for $80, I'd better be getting a proper serving and not a trickle. As for the Grange, it would likely be a more recent vintage so that would require lots of air; keep in mind, Granges on average need at least 10 years asleep before attempting to consider cracking one open.

 

[Condor]

Looks good! Been spending a little too much recently on eating and drinking.

 

[ikileo]

just placed an order for the Grosset Polish Hills Riesling 2010 and the Grosset Springvale Riesling 2010. wanted to get their special offer 2008 Felton Road Pinot Noir (RRP:$70+) clearance price: $45, but i was too late by a couple of minutes as all 18 bottles were sold out. oh well....

my rieslings will sleep for at least 8 years before popping them.

now i have to find a bottle of red and white that's crowd pleasing and goes with regular Christmas food, as my family does an annual Christmas dinner for our family and friends. now i am on the lookout for an affordable red and white that's easy drinking but 'unique' at the same time.

in other news, i will be collecting my half bottle of champagne tomorrow

 

[Condor]

Came across this: http://www.mangafox.com/manga/kami_no_shizuku

There's also a drama: http://www.mysoju.com/kami-no-shizuku/

Read a chapter of the manga. Seems interesting. Will probably watch the drama over this weekend.

 

[ikileo]

unfortunately the manga has stopped scanlating since chap 24.
the scanlating group took almost a year to get chap 24 out. but do check periodically to see if they update

haven't watched the drama, but the manga is pretty good, but it's heavily laced with the typical jap over-exaggeration and hyperbole. plus u can see the authors have a huge bias towards French wine (as is the majority of the Japanese wine market)

here's the New York Times article a year or so ago: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/22/world/asia/22iht-comic.1.17160430.html

 

[Condor]

Anyone going?

 

[Condor]

grr... robinson's having a member special yesterday and today with 20% off. only know of it now and this evening cannot make it. good chance to get a pair of spiegelau or riedel.

 

[ikileo]

u may not know how to swirl but you should expand your palate and try new things. that being said, i have report your account to moderator for not very subtle advertising.

 

[nautilus]

u may not know how to swirl but you should expand your palate and try new things. that being said, i have report your account to moderator for not very subtle advertising.

Banned and cleaned him.

 

[ikileo]

thanks.

what have ya'll been drinking lately?

 

[nautilus]

Just attended a wine tasting session at my hotel in bangkok. It was just pure coincidence that the event is tonight while i'm here. The producer is Castello Banfi Montalcino. Although i was not too familiar with Italian wines, it was too tempting cos it's only 500 baht! Altogether, 6 kinds of wines were for tasting with unlimited servings:
1. Le Rime Chardonnar & Pinot grigio, ICT Toscana 2008
2. San angelo pinot grigio, IGT Toscana 2008
3. Brachetto d'acqui rosa regale 2008
4. chianti docg 2007
5. chianti classico 2007
6. belnero IGT 2005

Out of all, i liked 6 best - big robust and dry with lots of tobacco and coffee. 4 and 5 were pretty mild but still with the distinct sangiovese taste. Out of the whites, i liked the Le Rime Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio, nice fruity, floral and refreshing. Didn't really like 3 though as it was too sweet which is not truly to my liking. It was a good event with glasses sponsored by Schott, and free canapes. Best of all the proceeds go to a local charity so at least i can drink with less guilt.

 

[ikileo]

how lucky you were!

what was the Belnero IGT made from? Syrah/Cab/Merlot? it's typically these few. Sangiovese, at least in the form of Chianti, are generally not big full bodied wines so i guess that why you preferred the IGTs to their DOCGs. No pics?

 

[ikileo]

it's been a while but i will be posting up my review for the awesome Portuguese red wine i drank last week and the dessert wine I had last night.

I will be trying out some french sparkling wine that's NOT from Champagne but rather from a small appellation in the Languedoc, south of France. Will test out and report back!

other than that, what wines have you all been up to this past weekend?