Wine

[sWirL84]

Hi guys/ladies!

I never had an interest in wines until recently when I had my wedding (in malaysia). My cousins managed to buy the following:

For beginners like me, I find it pretty nice but haven't seen it around locally. Any thoughts on the "quality" of this and where I can find this?

Recently I also got Yellow Tail Moscato to try. It was quite nice too. But I am willing to explore to find what is "best" for me. Any recommendations? I don't mind slowly increasing my budget to appreciate the better side of wine!

Or probably I should go for wine tasting? haha..appreciate the advice 'cos I'm really noobish in this area.

 

[ikileo]

From the pic, the wine seems to be from the south of france. If a wine is labeled Vin de Pays (it translates in to Country Wine), it usually indicates an entry level wine. Since it’s a Vin de Pays d’Oc, it means that it’s entry level wine from the Languedoc-Rousillon region (south of France).

Merlot generally a makes a softer style of wine compared to other varietals which is why it’s rather tasty and pairs well with a wide range of food. I dunno where you can find this specific wine in SG but there are many entry level wines from good producers in good regions that you can start off with. Carrefour is one of the places you can look at without breaking your budget. Try entry level wines from the Rhone Valley, they are called Cotes du Rhone and the ones from good producers offer very good value.

Yellow Tail (YT) is the one brand the wine industry picks on because many experienced drinkers would rather top up a couple more dollars to drink better quality wine. Not saying they make terrible wine, but they don’t make good wine and life is too short to drink average wines. As for moscato in generally, it is a very palatable style of wine especially in SG due to its sweetness and we generally have a sweet tooth. There are many other high grade moscatos that delivery more complexity other than just sugar.

Good on you that you want to explore more. What is your current budget? When you first start off, you should start with getting a good grasp of typicity; meaning drinking deeply to recognize various varietals. Perhaps every month you drink a certain varietal, so lets say for August you only drink cabernet sauvignon (red) and chardonnay (white). And every month you change varieties. This is so you get a good handle at least on the wines.

You can join the next makan session, or class , that I am trying to organize in August and we can share our experience and queries there together also

 

[yehosaphat]

Yellow Tail (YT) is the one brand the wine industry picks on because many experienced drinkers would rather top up a couple more dollars to drink better quality wine. Not saying they make terrible wine, but they don’t make good wine and life is too short to drink average wines. As for moscato in generally, it is a very palatable style of wine especially in SG due to its sweetness and we generally have a sweet tooth. There are many other high grade moscatos that delivery more complexity other than just sugar.

Bro, any recommendations for a good moscato that is not just sweet but also complex?

 

[ikileo]

Bro, any recommendations for a good moscato that is not just sweet but also complex?

u can get the ones from La Spinetta. their local distributor is 'Cellarmaster Wines', you can drop them an email to see where they retail them.

I would recommend you open the bottle, chill it in an ice bucket and as it chills for about 20 minutes let it breathe in the bottle at the same time.

drink it slowly over the next hour or so (don't guzzle) to enjoy the flavours and aromas as it opens up more and more.

 

[yehosaphat]

u can get the ones from La Spinetta. their local distributor is 'Cellarmaster Wines', you can drop them an email to see where they retail them.

I would recommend you open the bottle, chill it in an ice bucket and as it chills for about 20 minutes let it breathe in the bottle at the same time.

drink it slowly over the next hour or so (don't guzzle) to enjoy the flavours and aromas as it opens up more and more.

Is it cellarmasters wines at thong teck building or hillview ave? Seem to have 2 addresses

 

[ikileo]

i just email them. they distribute their wines to several retailers so just ask where you can find that moscato.

 

[yehosaphat]

Went carrefour during lunch time to check out the moscatos they carry. Taken some pics as below

Any recommendations which one to start with?

 

[ikileo]

yeah this makes my advice a lot easier to give.

if u had the money i'd say get one of each and drink with a whole bunch of friends to compare

but actually neither of these few interest me, but for a start you could try the boroli and the cesare pavese. if u're at carrefour and willing to top up a bit more money ($40+) you can get the Chateau Fesles Bonnezeux 2005. it is a dessert style wine from a very good producer from the Loire Valley (france) made from Chenin Blanc grapes. Excellent stuff. I have the 1996 sleeping in my wine fridge. These things can last for at least a decade or two.

 

[ikileo]

do u guy read any wine magazines? The magazine area in Kino carries a nice selection of the major wine magazines. my favourite one is the top UK wine mag: Decanter.

 

[Delusion_Disorder]

Fully agreed...excellent value ..when it was mid S$30's
....

yeah this makes my advice a lot easier to give.

if u had the money i'd say get one of each and drink with a whole bunch of friends to compare

but actually neither of these few interest me, but for a start you could try the boroli and the cesare pavese. if u're at carrefour and willing to top up a bit more money ($40+) you can get the Chateau Fesles Bonnezeux 2005. it is a dessert style wine from a very good producer from the Loire Valley (france) made from Chenin Blanc grapes. Excellent stuff. I have the 1996 sleeping in my wine fridge. These things can last for at least a decade or two.

 

[ikileo]

even at the $40s it's still acceptable for me.
i have to get one of the '05, i only have the '96.

back to the topic of moscato, u can drop Intervino (a distributor) an email and ask about their moscato from the producer Boeri. very good stuff.

 

[yehosaphat]

even at the $40s it's still acceptable for me.
i have to get one of the '05, i only have the '96.

back to the topic of moscato, u can drop Intervino (a distributor) an email and ask about their moscato from the producer Boeri. very good stuff.

wah... this is never ending.. I should start from bottom up so that I can appreciate the nicer ones rite!

 

[ikileo]

haha...wine is never ending. just try a wide selection and see which ones suit your style. keen in mind for the more serious wines to let it breathe more before drinking.

 

[yehosaphat]

yeah... i have been a long time fan for reds. Shiraz and Pinot Noirs . And now I'm really new into moscatos. So moscatos need to breathe as well?

What other things to take note? I suppose we have to finish the bottle at one go and cant really cork back moscatos to store since they have bubbles rite?

 

[ikileo]

ideally you should finish it in a single sitting. all wines benefit from some amount of breathing; sometimes longer, sometimes shorter. drink it a little chilled but not ice cold.

what nice shiraz and pinot noirs have u had recently that u can share with us?

 

[Baggio10]

Fully agreed...excellent value ..when it was mid S$30's
....

where to get this?

 

[Baggio10]

ideally you should finish it in a single sitting. all wines benefit from some amount of breathing; sometimes longer, sometimes shorter. drink it a little chilled but not ice cold.

what nice shiraz and pinot noirs have u had recently that u can share with us?

aust Shiraz Black Opal not too bad..

 

[ikileo]

where to get this?

Carrefour....

 

[yehosaphat]

ideally you should finish it in a single sitting. all wines benefit from some amount of breathing; sometimes longer, sometimes shorter. drink it a little chilled but not ice cold.

what nice shiraz and pinot noirs have u had recently that u can share with us?

sure sure... will take some photo of the stash sitting in my fridge and share some info tonite. Shiraz mostly from aust and pinot from nz. Very much wanted to try french but lost in translation...

 

[Delusion_Disorder]

even at the $40s it's still acceptable for me.
i have to get one of the '05, i only have the '96.

back to the topic of moscato, u can drop Intervino (a distributor) an email and ask about their moscato from the producer Boeri. very good stuff.

Yes...I tried the 99 vintage recently..but I think 05 is way better...the 2005 HV is S$49 currently..will try to get few of them when having promotion later if any....