Wine

[ikileo]

I was at Isetan's yesterday. There are d'arenbergs on offer... but i cant find the Riesling one

On a side note, I noticed that they have sparkling sake too... there was some on offer - but gosh, there seems to be coloured residue on the bottom of the bottle when i inverted it.... sugar residual? Anyone knows?

I am wondering - Wines need to be consumed within 24-48 hrs of opening. What about Sakes? Will screwing back the cap and keeping into the fridge help?

Thanks for the sharings!

are you talking about their dessert riesling? the 08 Noble Wrinkled Riesling? you can get those at jasons and marketplace. if u are looking for a dry rieslings, d'arenberg doesn't make a 100% dry riesling but blends it into their entry level white: The Stump Jump

as for sake you can refridgerate it back but try to drink within the week. most sake should be drunk within the year of production

 

[Wine Learner]

okies thanks!

found Carrefour on their promotion-booklet ... wines on sale... Balthasa Ress Riesling Kabinett Trocken / Riesling Kabinett Halbtrocken / Pathburgunber Weish / Trocken.

from $45.30 to $35 now...

seems interesting!

 

[Wine Learner]

What's the difference between Dessert Riesling and Dry Riesling?

How do we tell the difference when we pick up Riesling bottles?

I noted that Moscatos usually has lower alcohol % compared to other types...

So am I right to say that lower alcohol % gives a clue as to being easier and/or smoother to drink? Do I make sense? Thanks

 

[ikileo]

if you take a look at my recent (and also long) blog post on my wine blog, i do give a brief overview on the various labels and words used on german wine labels. do check it out if u got the time.

on a side note: the FairPrice Xtra Wine Fair is still ongoing until the 6th Oct 2010. Only at Hougang Point, Jurong Point and AMK Hub. I will make a trip down to the JP one this weekend.

if anyone of u have been last week or during this week, do update us here!

 

[ikileo]

What's the difference between Dessert Riesling and Dry Riesling?

How do we tell the difference when we pick up Riesling bottles?

I noted that Moscatos usually has lower alcohol % compared to other types...

So am I right to say that lower alcohol % gives a clue as to being easier and/or smoother to drink? Do I make sense? Thanks

- check my recent blog post on german labels (wineofthepeople.livejournal.com) or you can wiki about german wine classification (lots of information overload, but very information, i try to simplify it in my blog)

- Dessert Rieslings have greater amount of residual sugar (that means sweeter) than dry rieslings. Dry wines (red or white) are just your regular wines that you see everyday and are not sweet.

- Sweet wines (including Moscatos) have lower alcohol because of the fermentation process. In wine, grape juice and must are fermented together and the natural sugars in the juice are fermented into alcohol and other substances. So simply put, the sweeter the wine, the less time it has spent fermenting and hence less alcohol being produced.

Got it?

if u got time, read the first few pages of this thread. i wrote a big overview about the different aspects of wines which will help you get some level of understanding and foundation when it comes to wine.

 

[ikileo]

hey guys,

so finally i think i can squeeze out some time to organize some wine session (with or without dinner). Here are some options:

1) Dinner at a restaurant/eatery with free/cheap corkage
2) Dinner at hawker center (but must bring your own glasses)
3) Wine Bar (Wine connection etc...)
4) Open to suggestions

Depending on how many people there are, there will be anywhere between 3-5 bottles of wine.
I will cap the number of participants (including myself) to about 8-10 people. Anything more will be quite difficult.

Mode of purchase:
1) Bring you own bottle (BYOB, but must be within a specified price range)
2) Get someone to buy the wines, see cost on receipt and split

Types of Wine:
1) A whole range of varietals (white and red)
2) Wines from a specific country/region (to taste the type of wines found in a specific region)
3) Wines from a specific varietal (to see how a grape performs in various climates)

Theme of Tastings:
1) Blind tasting (no one knows, except the buyer, what the wines are and just taste. wines will be revealed later)
2) Normal tasting etc...

Of course location, date and number of people are most important right now.
Open to suggestions. Those interested please contribute so we can get this show on the road and not drag so long. Kindly take note that this is for those who are seriously interested in expanding their wine palate and knowledge; not a social drinking session.

 

[Beta_Tester]

Sounds good. im more free from next week. Everyday except Tues/Wed. As promised earlier i will offer the Modesto's Voucher. I dunno Free Corkage is for just 1 or 2 bottles or is it free for all. i will do a check.

 

[Beta_Tester]

Waiver of corkage for 2 bottles of wine (per table, per bill) and a discounted corkage of $18.00 ($30.00 for non-members) for every subsequent bottle of wine.

http://www.modestos.com.sg/m_member.html

This one means cannot have a lot of ppl. lol.

 

[bigbadber]

theres this pasta restaurant called Sopranos at portsdown road.

for every bottle u purchase from them, u can open ur own BYOB bottle w/o any corkage charged

 

[ikileo]

i would advise against buying straight from a restaurant itself but they will always charge a premium for wines bought onsite versus straight from a wine retailer or distributor. ie: a wine from a retailer can cost $30 while at a restaurant will jack up the same bottle to $60-$80.

there are a couple of places i know with free/low corkage:

1) Imperial Treasure group of restaurants (yes wine and chinese food do go together)
2) Jumbo (1st 2 bottles free)
3) Saizeriya ($5 per bottle)
4) Bistro 103 ($5 per bottle)
5) Modestos (with Beta_Testers membership, 1st 2 bottles free)
6) Tonkichi (Orchard Central)

i have to think of more...

 

[ikileo]

Waiver of corkage for 2 bottles of wine (per table, per bill) and a discounted corkage of $18.00 ($30.00 for non-members) for every subsequent bottle of wine.

http://www.modestos.com.sg/m_member.html

This one means cannot have a lot of ppl. lol.

if like that then at most 4 or 5 people liao...

but at least can we settle the day and attendance first?
i think that one always will cock up one...

as with Beta_Tester: I am open on the 7th or 8th Oct (Thurs, Fri)
if going somewhere to makan is too mah fan, eat your own dinner first then just go to wine connection on a thursday evening and drink there loh (friday and sat evening got corkage charge there for their own wine...lol)

 

[Wine Learner]

Hi, interested to join if time permits.

If it's about space, can try ION basement.... there are seats out there.... I dont think they restrict you to bringing anything (just like Plaza Sing's foodcourt... where we ate Ice Cream there during lunch, bought from Carrefour: Wine Ice-Cream)

(dont want to divert the topic, but hor, my Hare's Chase still taste the same after 4 days? is it just me? ie something wrong with my tastebuds?? --> I kept it refrigerated after every pour....)

 

[ikileo]

Hi, interested to join if time permits.

If it's about space, can try ION basement.... there are seats out there.... I dont think they restrict you to bringing anything (just like Plaza Sing's foodcourt... where we ate Ice Cream there during lunch, bought from Carrefour: Wine Ice-Cream)

(dont want to divert the topic, but hor, my Hare's Chase still taste the same after 4 days? is it just me? ie something wrong with my tastebuds?? --> I kept it refrigerated after every pour....)

i have tried the ION basement, but I was given a first warning. maybe it was because I was bringing outside food to eat there. so that's one option

confirm it tastes exactly the same after 4 days? typically it will be a little flatter and one dimensional taste after a couple of days.

 

[ikileo]

to keep things simple,
if i were to set it as WINE CONNECTION (cuppage terrace, orchard) on NEXT THURSDAY NIGHT, would all of you be ok with it?

this means you have to go settle your dinner first before meeting. i think this saves the trouble of finding a restaurant that everyone agrees on and issue of free corkage and issue of paying more since its food + drink as well.

 

[Condor]

Waiver of corkage for 2 bottles of wine (per table, per bill) and a discounted corkage of $18.00 ($30.00 for non-members) for every subsequent bottle of wine.

http://www.modestos.com.sg/m_member.html

This one means cannot have a lot of ppl. lol.

Like that ask them to open multiple bills loh. Not uncommon that even for a group of 10 will ask the restaurant to bill individual separately.

 

[Condor]

to keep things simple,
if i were to set it as WINE CONNECTION (cuppage terrace, orchard) on NEXT THURSDAY NIGHT, would all of you be ok with it?

this means you have to go settle your dinner first before meeting. i think this saves the trouble of finding a restaurant that everyone agrees on and issue of free corkage and issue of paying more since its food + drink as well.

Count me in for any day any where any mode next week.

 

[ikileo]

Like that ask them to open multiple bills loh. Not uncommon that even for a group of 10 will ask the restaurant to bill individual separately.

it's not so much the bills, but the corkage if we wanna do more than 2 bottles.

so for those ok with next thurs night at Wine Connection (either at orchard or Robertson Quay) just indicate as such.

 

[Condor]

it's not so much the bills, but the corkage if we wanna do more than 2 bottles.

so for those ok with next thurs night at Wine Connection (either at orchard or Robertson Quay) just indicate as such.

2 bottles free corkage per table per bill. so more adjacent tables/separate bills, more free corkages mah.

 

[ikileo]

2 bottles free corkage per table per bill. so more adjacent tables/separate bills, more free corkages mah.

that would only work if there were more than one modestos member since this promo is for their card holders. so far only Beta_Tester is one...

 

[ikileo]

as per my previous suggestion at wine connection next thursday, anyone in?
need to confirm numbers before proceeding.