Wine

[stayhappy21]

Most of what I got were selected from the pricelist, rather than what was on tasting.
I got the cheap Aussie reds - Hutton Shiraz, Kalleske Grenache, Wild Duck Yellow Hammer, a few value Bordeauxs - Malartic Rouge, Fontenil, Climens (375), some obscure Italians - Lamborghini (run by daughter of founder Ferrucio) from Umbria and Ambria Elanza, Carmignano DOCG. Also got a Napa Cab (Forman) and Banfi's Brachetto d'Acqui to try. Most around 20+ to 30+ bucks.

Think the tasting flight is quite nice, well organised, good range and depth and showed a fair bit of sincerity from the organisers.. Have personally been to some free tastings where the wines are all well below average or very dumb.. But I also got thins from the winelist, wines that I either drank before and I know I will like or wines that I've read about and wanted to try.. Personally I think the discounts and the prices are very reasonable.. When I was leaving I saw many people carrying boxes of wines to their cars.. Envy, envy..

 

[stayhappy21]

ok guys, i am proposing the nice burger place at Queensway area kopitiam there.
definitely free corkage, but BYO glasses as well.

the burgers would go really well with the syrah/shiraz. also there is a german store selling stews and roasts so all in all should be quite good!

and u can wash it down with some nice european (incl swedish) beers/ciders from the drinks store in the kopitiam.

what do u guys think?

Hi ikileo,

Shall we set it on the 20th of October? Saturday? Lunch? Burger and wine (syrah/ shiraz)?

On!

 

[stayhappy21]

Last post from me for the day. Promise.

Cold Storage International Wine Fair 2012 is back!
Cold Storage International Wine Fair 2012 is back! - LifestyleAsia Singapore

Date : October 2, 2012 - October 8, 2012
Location : VivoCity, Level 1 Atrium
Time : 10:00am - 10:00pm

 

[ikileo]

nice, i recall the last time they did something like that was 1 or 2 years ago. mostly commercial supermarket brands but some nice ones here and there.

 

[hkm520240]

calling hkm for any advise and input on right bank merlot dominant wines.

@gohks: what was the more expensive wine that you tried that made u choose this blend?

Kind of busy since last week, but I see that stayhappy gave a good explanation on why it is difficult to find exact match for the wine.

Beside the climate, we don't find the blend information on the label make it difficult for us to ascertain the wine is make of what blend. It is not a regulation for Chateau to state the blend although those classified growth or famous chateau do provide their blend information in their website. Other than that we can only gauge from its appellation.

Anyway hopefully you got something from last week's Auric Pacific wine sale as they have lots of good bargain (I have to miss it... too far for me) and the wines like Fombrauge, Fontenil and Haut-Carles are very good affordable choice if you want to try Merlot based wines.

 

[hkm520240]

ok guys, i am proposing the nice burger place at Queensway area kopitiam there.
definitely free corkage, but BYO glasses as well.

the burgers would go really well with the syrah/shiraz. also there is a german store selling stews and roasts so all in all should be quite good!

and u can wash it down with some nice european (incl swedish) beers/ciders from the drinks store in the kopitiam.

what do u guys think?

Where is this nice burger place? Is it De Burg you mentioned before? Should be no problem for me.

Can we do it a Sat dinner or we can start earlier from 5-6pm? May need more time to slowly enjoy the big red...

What about others? reign? condor?

 

[looiwte]

Yes, the discounts are quite significant, and I agree that the tasting was friendly and organised. Overall the deals at the fine wine section were much better than the commercial wines they also had.

Funny that you mention about wines tasting dumb. I have frequented this particular retailer for its tastings a few times and on at least three occasions, found the wines tasting too acidic and shall I say, reductive - without any fruit and depth to the wine? It could be that on two of these occasions they were typically acidic Italian wines, and that often due to time constraints I have had to go to the tastings before dinner, ie. in a rather hungry and famished state. Not sure what this does to the palate, but many of these well-rated wines ended up just tasting vinegary and biting-dry to me. Anyone with similar experience?

Think the tasting flight is quite nice, well organised, good range and depth and showed a fair bit of sincerity from the organisers.. Have personally been to some free tastings where the wines are all well below average or very dumb.. But I also got thins from the winelist, wines that I either drank before and I know I will like or wines that I've read about and wanted to try.. Personally I think the discounts and the prices are very reasonable.. When I was leaving I saw many people carrying boxes of wines to their cars.. Envy, envy..

 

[ikileo]

aside from the burger joint, i am also looking up Roadhouse in Dempsey. it's open by the Prive group and the food is focus on classic American grill. Plus they have the Josper grill, which is like some really kick-ass grill to make kick ass food. You can google it for more info.

Prices are not killer, especially if we can share plates.

Menu link is here: http://theprivegroup.com.sg/images/roadhouse/rh a la carte menu.pdf

I am asking them for the corkage charges and since we are coming in as a sizeable group, whether they can either waive it or give us a good deal.

so i would need your help and the lurkers helps to join in our Syrah/Shiraz session so that we have enough people to make it worth their while to waive their corkage

Let's have a good time with good syrah/shiraz or white rhone blends. for those who want to join us but not too sure what to get, u can just walk into a wine store and ask for a good syrah/shiraz within a certain budget. I am sure they can help u out.

2 more weeks! COME ON!

 

[stayhappy21]

nice, i recall the last time they did something like that was 1 or 2 years ago. mostly commercial supermarket brands but some nice ones here and there.

Went for the Wine Fair during my lunch break. This fair, organised by Cold Storage, is quite different from the Carrefour one which I'm more used to. The booths are organised according to country, and then by vineyard. Good range of the usual suspects, Australian, New Zealand, American, South African (try their Pinotage!), Argentinian, USA, Canadian, French, Italian and Japanese.

In my humble opinion only 2 booths that's worth your time: do spend some time at the Italian booth (wide range of wines to try) and the Japanese (surprising quality and mouth feel from the Land of the Rising Sun).

Rest of the wines pretty supermarket stuff. But they do have a good representation from the new worlds.

 

[ikileo]

the italian booth sounds familiar. the last one i went to there was also an italian booth and i could taste a wide range of the italian products. mostly piedmonte wines.

weekends confirm super crowded.

 

[stayhappy21]

By the way, I am looking for a place where I can enjoy a good bottle of wine (either from the establishment or BYO) with good ham (either Italian or Spanish is fine) and lots of cheese..

Any recommendations (short of going to Cold Storage to get the ham and wine and go home to drink?)

 

[ikileo]

actually i would go to Jone's the Grocer at Dempsey.

i usually bring my own bottle or buy theirs (corkage is like $20-$25 IIRC). I go into their cheese room and pick out what i want. then i go to their charcuterie counter to point out the various sausages, hams and cured meats i want.

i love spanish cheese, spanish wines & spanish cured meats. Jones has the cheese and meats I like. For the wines, honestly i don't really buy from there cos I just bring my own.

Keep in mind for the meats and cheese, the minimum order is 100g; which is a bit much for a single person. so go with at least 1-2 other people to make it worth your while.

 

[shalome]

Sorry if this question replied before, where can I get wine rack? Not those silver one. The white colors type. How much usually?

 

[ikileo]

wine rack as in those criss cross type? or this type?

 

[shalome]

hmm.. i not sure how this one is called..

something like this

 

[ikileo]

ooh that looks very specific. i guess u can go to those home decor or interior stores like Ikea, Molecule, I Wanna Go Home, etc...

personally i've not seen any. actually in SG climate i would not recommend to keep bottles outside in room temperature for long.

 

[shalome]

o, ikea.. i forgot about this place. thanks
i was told to get something similar to that.. or those when you go see fridges, inside they got 'showcase' similar rack. i putting that in fridge.

 

[ikileo]

yeah u should go ikea and take a look, definitely should have something.

 

[hkm520240]

Having a 2004 Boschendal Shiraz Reserve Collection tonight which I got from Robinson from a recent visit and I spotted it from a cabinet of wines that bring in by Cellar Master.

A good quality Shiraz for the price (less than $40 on promo), showing vanilla/Oak wtih dark fruits, dark cherry, earth, licorice and hints of smoke and spice on the nose. Silky mouthfeel, subtle and elegant, the palate is more on dark cherry and red fruits, quite meaty. End well with medium spicy finish and fine tannins...

Yeah I'm looking forward to 20 Oct Shirax tasting to taste more Shiraz

 

[ikileo]

i had their '04 grand reserve which was a Cab Franc blend. it was really good.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=771473