Wine

[alxin]

I'm interested to get some red wines for weight loss purpose. Of course I know diet and exercise are the key factors, but it'll still be great to enjoy wine and burn fats at the same time.

http://winefolly.com/update/one-red-wine-linked-weight-loss/

For this article, they recommended red wines with ellagic acid

Red Muscadine (aka “Scuppernong”)
Ellagic acid isn’t found in other V. vinifera wine grapes (e.g. Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec etc)
Ellagic acid is found in oak-aged wines (any type) as ellagitannin.
Ellagitannin increases with each year of oak aging
Fermentation increases ellagic acid levels in Scuppernong/Muscadine grape juice


Anyone can teach me how to tell what type of grapes each wine is made of?
Any wines to recommend that fit the above?

I am not sure how well investigated that claim is. I don't think any lab experiments with human volunteers have been carried out, and so, personally, will not buy that idea. The best is to take everything in moderation.

Most wines that originate from non European countries (i.e. new world wine countries), will have the grape varieties stated clearly on the label. Grape varieties are like Chardonnay, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz / Syrah and the likes.

Most wines (>95%) that are available in Singapore are made from the Vitis vinifera species, which the author had pointed out as not containing Ellagic acid. And so, I do not think we have wines in the market that can fit those requirements.

Buying cases of wines and carry them back, will be considered as weight lifting, and thus exercise, which can then possibly lead to weight loss.

 

[Delicièux Treats]

wine with steak.

 

[kunzzy]

If you are looking for a ready to drink wine. you can consider Le Petit Haut Laffite. Although its a 2nd wine of Smith Haut Laffite its really a value for money wine as RP rated the SML 2010 @ 98+. Furthermore the grapes of the 1st and 2nd wine are grown on the same plot of land.

$79 its really a steal for this wine. Smooth with strong fruits and little tannins. You can read more here.

http://www.finewines.com.sg/?page_id=13902

 

[charle]

If you are looking for a ready to drink wine. you can consider Le Petit Haut Laffite. Although its a 2nd wine of Smith Haut Laffite its really a value for money wine as RP rated the SML 2010 @ 98+. Furthermore the grapes of the 1st and 2nd wine are grown on the same plot of land.

$79 its really a steal for this wine. Smooth with strong fruits and little tannins. You can read more here.

http://www.finewines.com.sg/?page_id=13902

$79? Where to buy ?? Finewines is not $79

 

[alxin]

By the way, there seems to be some clearance sales going on at the Suntec 1855 Bistro retail shop. Looks like doing some sort of inventory realignment. Maybe can find something unusual at a good value.

 

[Dexter71]

hi Friends

I always see this French Cellar label in the supermarkets. Is this a house brand only for Singapore? How is the quality?

Thx

 

[ikileo]

If I'm not wrong it's a house label from cold storage

 

[Dexter71]

Just open a bottle of Penfolds 2012 Bin 138 SHIRAZ GRENACHE MATARO which I cant remember where I bought it and how much. I doubt it is pass $50 duty free which is my ballpark budget.

Anyway I love the medium body taste and quite fruity blended red without too much tannins. When I first poured it, the red is so dark and I thought this fellow is going to be very heavy stuff. I might be even say its highly drinkable and I was surprised I pop opened Bin 138 at the right time which is 2015. I did not knew it and I just pulled this out from my wine cooler.

Not sure my impression is correctly described here for those that had this before. Pls share your tasting experience as well.

Thanks!

 

[seth05]

Hi everyone, would like to seek your advices on where and what red and white wines to buy for my wedding based on a budget of around $30 per bottle. Is it a reasonable budget? Thank you in advance!

 

[ikileo]

Hi everyone, would like to seek your advices on where and what red and white wines to buy for my wedding based on a budget of around $30 per bottle. Is it a reasonable budget? Thank you in advance!

$30 per bottle is pretty high than the average. to be honest due to the volume of bottles you need your best bet is to link up with wine retailers that do wedding wines as they have the volume and prices to help you.

 

[ikileo]

Just open a bottle of Penfolds 2012 Bin 138 SHIRAZ GRENACHE MATARO which I cant remember where I bought it and how much. I doubt it is pass $50 duty free which is my ballpark budget.

Anyway I love the medium body taste and quite fruity blended red without too much tannins. When I first poured it, the red is so dark and I thought this fellow is going to be very heavy stuff. I might be even say its highly drinkable and I was surprised I pop opened Bin 138 at the right time which is 2015. I did not knew it and I just pulled this out from my wine cooler.

Not sure my impression is correctly described here for those that had this before. Pls share your tasting experience as well.

Thanks!

thanks for the note. honestly there is no such thing as a right or wrong tasting note because we all perceive and form our own impression based on our senses and experience. of course with time as your taste more and broaden your palate you will have more vocabulary to describe in more detail what you smell & taste

i've not had the 138 before though but penfolds usually makes wines that are very tasty due to the weather in aussie. plus the grapes of shiraz, grenache & mataro is a classic blend from the Rhone valley in France where they use the same gapes but their French names are Syrah, Grenache & Mourvedre. What you described sounds about right that it's rich and delicious as these grapes have lots of flavour to them. Did you drink them immediately upon opening or was there any breathing involved?

 

[Dexter71]

thanks for the note. honestly there is no such thing as a right or wrong tasting note because we all perceive and form our own impression based on our senses and experience. of course with time as your taste more and broaden your palate you will have more vocabulary to describe in more detail what you smell & taste

i've not had the 138 before though but penfolds usually makes wines that are very tasty due to the weather in aussie. plus the grapes of shiraz, grenache & mataro is a classic blend from the Rhone valley in France where they use the same gapes but their French names are Syrah, Grenache & Mourvedre. What you described sounds about right that it's rich and delicious as these grapes have lots of flavour to them. Did you drink them immediately upon opening or was there any breathing involved?

I did not decant the Penfolds n drank immediately

However my first two glasses taste better than after I have store back in wine cooler. I did vacuum pumped it and only drink the third glass only next day. The taste becomes slightly more tannin or siap siap.

 

[ikileo]

I did not decant the Penfolds n drank immediately

However my first two glasses taste better than after I have store back in wine cooler. I did vacuum pumped it and only drink the third glass only next day. The taste becomes slightly more tannin or siap siap.

yes wine does evolve. personally i would have given the wine more air on both days that you drank it.

when you mentioned it becoming slightly more tannic on the 2nd day are you referring to how it had a more drying and slightly coarse mouthfeel in your mouth?

also for the 'siap' feel would you be referring to it being slightly tart/acidic/sour?

either way some air would have benefited it as with most wines.

 

[Dexter71]

The siap siap is that the after taste not as smooth.

By the way (kind of noob) the reason I dont decant is because I thought I have to pour the entire bottle into the decanter. I will not be able to finish whole bottle that one night by myself. So can I just decant one or two glass per time. And then vaccum sealed the remainder and put back into the wine fridge.

 

[jarvis]

You can always just pour whatever you want into the decanter and vacuum the remainder straight away.... then just finish up whatever you've poured in the decanter.

 

[ikileo]

as we get over the middle of the week and inch close to the weekend, i would encourage all of you who plan to drink some wine this week/weekend to pick a grape you have never had before and take note of the experience.

definitely spend within your budget, but if you have an opportunity to purchase a mid priced one, at least $30+ that will let you try different types.

if you've never had a wine made from 100% grenache grapes (red wine), i would recommend d'Arenberg 'The Custodian'. It's available in Jason's Marketplace and other wine retailers.

there are many other types of grapes in the world so try new ones this week.

 

[Dexter71]

Just opened a Cortese de Gavi which is a Italian white from the northern part nearer to Piedmont. From the internet this is a medium body white but too me it is very refreshing and sweet tasting.

Again this is an example of getting out of the usual whites like chardonnay and savingnon blanc.

 

[Genesisz]

as we get over the middle of the week and inch close to the weekend, i would encourage all of you who plan to drink some wine this week/weekend to pick a grape you have never had before and take note of the experience.

definitely spend within your budget, but if you have an opportunity to purchase a mid priced one, at least $30+ that will let you try different types.

if you've never had a wine made from 100% grenache grapes (red wine), i would recommend d'Arenberg 'The Custodian'. It's available in Jason's Marketplace and other wine retailers.

there are many other types of grapes in the world so try new ones this week.

Thanks for your postings and sharing.

I have been drinking wine for a while. I used to like red wine but I realized that some brands or types of red wine tend to give me hangover or migraine the next morning or within a couple of hours of drinking. Then I switched to having white wine and they were good. Occasionally, they tend to give me the gastric issues but not as often as the problems I have with red wine.

I am also wondering if wines are supplied and sold on smaller bottles as the ones that I see typically sold in supermarkets are standard size bottles and as I usually drink alone, they are probably too much as I cannot finish the bottle at one attempt and I prefer not to keep the wine overnight or for too long.

 

[ikileo]

Thanks for your postings and sharing.

I have been drinking wine for a while. I used to like red wine but I realized that some brands or types of red wine tend to give me hangover or migraine the next morning or within a couple of hours of drinking. Then I switched to having white wine and they were good. Occasionally, they tend to give me the gastric issues but not as often as the problems I have with red wine.

I am also wondering if wines are supplied and sold on smaller bottles as the ones that I see typically sold in supermarkets are standard size bottles and as I usually drink alone, they are probably too much as I cannot finish the bottle at one attempt and I prefer not to keep the wine overnight or for too long.

there are a number of factors. some people day it's due to the sulphur dioxide (SO2) they pump into the bottle after pouring in the wine and just prior to screwcapping/corking it. this gas prevents/minimizes oxidation of the wine and keep the wine fresh and last longer.

while it may be true that there are some people with allergies to SO2, there are other things in wines that may cause a headache like histamines, tannins and (surprise) even alcohol allergies.

it can be a mixed bag but i doubt it's the SO2 but a combination of many things. do you take food with your wines usually or you just have them alone? I would recommend to take it with food and as with any alcohol to consumer twice the volume of water after your wine session before you sleep. your liver needs water (among many other things) to process the alcohol in your system. hangovers and headaches can be caused by the lack of hydration.


as for your other question where sizing is an issue, yes some winemakers produce a half bottle version (375ml) but these are usually in smaller quantities and not available in supermarkets. You would have to visit specific wine retailers in Singapore but even then it's not common. ENOTECA in the Takashimaya basement (the food floor) near TWG has a decent 375ml corner.

another way to manage this is to invest in some sort of preservation system. some people have the can of argon to spray into the unfinished wine and then close the wine to minimize further oxidation.

another method is to buy 2 half bottles and drink finish those bottles and keep them (please clean them). next time you buy a full bottle you can split & pour (via a funnel) 50/50 into the 2 half bottles, cork/screw one to keep as the amount of oxygen inside would be minimal. you can drink the other half bottle.

yet another method is to buy better levels of wine where it's higher quality grapes, terroir and wine making skills. these wines usually last longer in the glass and can last 24-72hrs in a bottle. I have drunk many good bottles over 2 days.

hope this helps. you can start experimenting.

 

[Genesisz]

there are a number of factors. some people day it's due to the sulphur dioxide (SO2) they pump into the bottle after pouring in the wine and just prior to screwcapping/corking it. this gas prevents/minimizes oxidation of the wine and keep the wine fresh and last longer.

while it may be true that there are some people with allergies to SO2, there are other things in wines that may cause a headache like histamines, tannins and (surprise) even alcohol allergies.

it can be a mixed bag but i doubt it's the SO2 but a combination of many things. do you take food with your wines usually or you just have them alone? I would recommend to take it with food and as with any alcohol to consumer twice the volume of water after your wine session before you sleep. your liver needs water (among many other things) to process the alcohol in your system. hangovers and headaches can be caused by the lack of hydration.


as for your other question where sizing is an issue, yes some winemakers produce a half bottle version (375ml) but these are usually in smaller quantities and not available in supermarkets. You would have to visit specific wine retailers in Singapore but even then it's not common. ENOTECA in the Takashimaya basement (the food floor) near TWG has a decent 375ml corner.

another way to manage this is to invest in some sort of preservation system. some people have the can of argon to spray into the unfinished wine and then close the wine to minimize further oxidation.

another method is to buy 2 half bottles and drink finish those bottles and keep them (please clean them). next time you buy a full bottle you can split & pour (via a funnel) 50/50 into the 2 half bottles, cork/screw one to keep as the amount of oxygen inside would be minimal. you can drink the other half bottle.

yet another method is to buy better levels of wine where it's higher quality grapes, terroir and wine making skills. these wines usually last longer in the glass and can last 24-72hrs in a bottle. I have drunk many good bottles over 2 days.

hope this helps. you can start experimenting.

Thanks for the sharing bro.

Appreciate it and will take note and apply your pointers and advice.