Industry

The wine industry has its ups and downs.  Markets fluctuate.  Tastes change.  But one thing will never change; wine tastings before lunch. 

 

Today's selection were our newest from Chateauneuf du Pape.  Full review coming soon.

RUGBY 7s!!

The day after tomorrow marks the beginning of Hong Kong's most iconic weekend; the Cathay Pacific Rugby 7s!!

We're offering the following 7s specials to our blog readers:

 Poggio Prosecco (was $75) now $67/bottle

With enticing aromas of apple and peach, this refreshing sparkler is perfect for any occasion.  The harmonious crisp fruit flavors are perfect with prosciutto, stuffed mushrooms, spicy entrees, popcorn, or just on its own!

 

Mercat Cava Brut (was $100) now $77/bottle

40% Macabeo 40% Xarel-lo 20% Parellada.  89RP.  Vinified in the traditional method and aged 18 months, this sparkler is rich with pear, apple, and cream aromas.   Brilliant finesse balanced with notes of papaya and pear and subtle notes of hazelnut, this refreshing Cava is perfect at cutting through fatty, fried and rich foods .  Enjoy with tempura, mushroom cream sauces, donuts, ceviche, eggs benedict,  olives, potato chips, and creamy cheeses.

Val d'Oca Punto Rosa (was $100) now $87/bottle

50% Pinot Noir 50% Pinot Grigio.  This sparkling blush from Marca Trevigiana has an enticing pink colour and a floral bouquet.  With its balanced structure and flavors of cranberry and strawberry, this is a forgiving food friendly sparkling wine option.  Try it with spicy Asian entrees, popcorn, blue cheese, or on its own as an apertif!

As always, free next day delivery anywhere in Hong Kong for orders greater than 6 bottles.

Vermentino

This was the theme of last week's Hong Kong's Italian Food & Wine Lover's tasting at La Perouse.  I had never heard of La Perouse before this tasting, and I'm wondering now why not.  Centrally located on Wyndham street, there is an amazing outdoor space complete with twinkle lights, that make you forget your in the heart of all the hustle and bustle that is Hong Kong. 

Marco B,  leader of HK IF&WL, led us through a tasting of 3 Tuscan Vermentinos.  The setting was very casual with guests free to chat and move around, and Marco made himself available for questions and comments.

Wine 1
Moris Farm Maremma Toscana IGT 2010
This was pretty light, pretty high in alc (13%), and had some nice white fruit flavors.

Did you know?

Italy has 354 indigenous grapes.  France only has 52.

 

Wine2
Gualdo del Re DOC Val di Cornia 2010
This was my least favorite of the three.   It had an oxidised characteristic that probably would have been good with the right food, but on its own I found it a bit overwhelming.

Wine3
Suveraia DOC Monteregio di Massa Marittima 2011
My favorite of the night!  High acid, nice texture and body, with a lot of minerality; wet stone if you will, with some melon flavors.   It had an almost kerosine-like aftertaste which I enjoyed- and had a greenness, but not bitterness, that I found interesting.

What was really amazing is how different these three wines were despite that they were all 100% Vermentino and all from Tuscany.  The first two were even the same vintage!

It was a totally informative and interesting evening with a lot of great people.  I can't wait until I can attend the next one!




**Marco hosts tastings every Wednesday at La Perouse, and wine dinners every Friday at various locations.   

Sicily!

An Odyssey of Wine 2013

Paolo of Palari (and Banfi)

Hong Kong Jockey Club

Happy Valley

Learning about the different soils via Debra's scarves

Yesterday producers, importers, distributors, and writers alike, came together for a tasting all about Sicilian wines.  It began with a Master Class led by Debra Meiburg MW. 

She taught us about macro and micro climates, varietals, soils, and trends that have effected Sicily throughout history.

Lauren and VIP Bill in class

Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean and produces 14% of all of Italy's wine! 200,000 hectares of plantings.  That's twice the size of all of Hong Kong!

The soils range from dark and fertile volcanic in the East to limestone and sandy colored in the West.

The hot Scirocco winds from the South West heat the coast, dehydate the land, and create dust. 

So what did we drink?

Started with Luna Sicana, Luna Y Sol 2011.  Sparkling Nero d'Avola made using the Charmat method (same as Prosecco).  This was fresh and fruity with pear and apple flavours dominating.  Not Champagne, but I don't think it claims to be either.

No 2.  Bentanti, Rovitello, Etna (volcano) Rosso DOC 2007.  This was my second favorite of the 6 wines tasted and a new grape for me; Nerello Mascalese.  It had a cool ashy/charcoal-iness to it that I was into.  And at 14% it's a good start to your evening!

The next 2 Nerello Mascaleses to follow were too astringent for me, so I'm going to skip to my favourite of the tasting; Palari, Faro DOC 2007.  This was also a Nerello Mascalese, but spent time in new small oak.  Lovely strawberry and cherry flavors that was both structured and elegant.  Word.

We ended with Gregorio de Gregorio, Enjambee Rosso 2010.  This was quite purple, light, with high tannin which Debra explained was natural grape tannin as the wine spent zero time in oak.  Interesting.

Then it was time to head downstairs to try one of the roughly 40 other Sicilian wines.  I would approximate I probably tasted 30 of them.  Well done.

I think everyone's favorite of the day was in line with our favourite from the master class:
Palari Santa Ne Sicilia IGT 2007.  This is made from a blend of....of....well no one knows as the vines were planted over 70 years ago and are a mix of whatever was planted then!  This was rich with subtle hints of toffee.

Hills on the Palari vineyard

Spadafora dei Principi di Spadafora  had a lovely Grillo (white), which I really liked too.  Then there was a short supply of a dessert wine that was quite delicious.  Bernati Moscato Passito.

I can't forget to mention the olive oils.  Shots of olive oil, no joke, and they were amazing.  Shoot the youth down your throat.  Olive oil is the key to staying young, and my best friend's mom is a testament to this.  60+ and she doesn't look a day over 30 with zero plastic surgery.  You heard it here kids, olive oil!

Have a wonderful sunny weekend!  And if you have a chance, pop by the Island East Market this Sunday for a taste of what we're pouring!

In the Vineyard

How many of you have been to a vineyard?  Raise your hands.  Anyone helped prune a vine?  Witness harvest? Tasted the berries right off the vine?

Well I have not.  I have visited vineyards in the US; New Jersey, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, but unfortunately these are mostly tourist destinations with the bulk of the grapes planted elsewhere.  Now that I am knee deep in my diploma studies of viticulture and vinification, I am wishing that I had gone out and spent some time with the vines. 

Next time you pop open a bottle, take a moment to ruminate on all of the work that dozens, hundreds, maybe even thousands of people have had to do to get it to your mouth. 

It all starts with an idea.  Lets start a vineyard and make wines!  But first you have to....

a)  find the perfect places with the perfect climate
b) determine which grapes are viable for the soil, climate, market, etc. and procure them
c) get the soils ready for planting (years of work)
d) determine the best planting density given your soil and cultivar.  plant the first vines
e) 3 years later can plant the first crop
f) spray, prune (decide on the trellis system and pruning style), water, love, pray for those vines

g) carefully monitor the crop...canopy management, soil management, water management, pest control....
h) determine optimum ripeness for style and harvesting

This is all before the winemaking ever begins!  I would be very curious to hear from anyone who has participated in any of these processes.  How do you assess what's just right for your crop?  Comment if you have some experience.

Weekend Round Up

Friday and Saturday evening HOFWs sponsored the wines for Ernest So's beautiful piano concert, Golden Age of Piano, at Anastassia's Art House .  What a wonderful piano player he is!  He just makes it look so easy and so incredibly difficult at the same time.  Well done!

It was also a great opportunity for us to check out the new art gallery.  Anastassia's used to be located in Happy Valley, but they have recently set up shop in Stanley Plaza.  The new gallery is large, open, and stunning.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous all weekend, so I hope you got out into the sun and enjoyed something refreshing.  Post beach on Sunday I had a wonderful wine that Celine from Monsieur Chatte recommended to me:

I believe this was biodynamic, but can't be sure.  No headache today though :)   Smooth.  Velvety smooth.  Vero hot chocolate smooth.  LOVED this wine and I am so excited to go home tonight to polish off the second half.  Thanks, Celine for the suggestion!
 

Hungarian Wine Culture

Welcome to Hungary

How many Hungarian wines can you name?  Familiar with Bull's Blood?  Perhaps the infamous Tokaji?  How bout a Cserszegi Fuszeres?

Monday evening the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Hungary, Veritas Wine, and Wiseville International held a wonderful tasting highlighting Hungary's wide range of wines.  Hungary has a ton of local varieties that no one outside of Hungary can pronounce, but as Helga Gal explained, there is a lot of experimenting with international varieties to become a bigger player in the global wine scene.

Csilla introduces

Helga Gal from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Hungary,  hosted not one, not two, but three different classes yesterday between Macau and Hong Kong.  The goal was to familiarize our market with these largely unknown wines.  And I can tell you after our hour and half class, I learned not only a lot of Hungarian wine culture, but also a lot about the broad appeal of their wines.

Adrienne and Fay meditate on the first wine

Throughout a large part of the 20th century, Hungary was under the control of the Soviets.  Finally in 1990s the vintners were free to go back to their vineyards to start producing quality wines once again.  Gone were the days of bulk tasteless wines, and with a renewed passion and dedication, Hungarian winemakers combined modern winemaker technology with tradition and history.

So what did we drink?

Our educator awarded 'prof of the day!' from HK tourism school

We started with a wonderfully aromatic Hungarian native variety Cserszegi Fuszeres from Benedek Winery in the Northern Highlands of Matra.  Floral and fresh on the nose, and floral and fresh in the mouth.  This reminded me of a mix between a Riesling and Gewurztraminer, and as Greg noticed, it was high on the booze at 13%.  According to my Hungarian tasting neighbor Adam, this wine smells just like the vineyard!

Next up was a varietal I am slightly familiar with (mostly because it's the easiest of the Hungarian varietals to say!) was a dry Furmint from Tokaj.  I loved this wine. After 9-12 months in oak, I found this smooth and buttery, with nice body and floral honey notes.  It was slightly reminiscent of a Viognier which is always a good thing.

Pouring the wines

Now we jumped over to the reds, and over to soemthing a bit more familiar.  Pinot Noir!  Etyeki Kuris (North Pannoia) 2010.  This was bright and fruity, and had flavors of green tea.  Greg took a bottle of this guy home.

Then Hungary's Bordeaux; Gere Attila Winery; Kopar 2007.  Cab Franc, Merlot, and Cab Sauv, this assemblage was deep purple, ripe with some brown spice, and to me a wee too young.  I think another 5 years in the cellar would do this guy proud.

My favorites of the reds was last, and at $880, will probably be my last for a while.  Malatinszky Kuria Organic Wine Estate.  100% Cab Franc and unfiltered.  You know I love me a gritty wine!

Late Harvest vs. Botrytis

Then we switched gears to what Hungary is most famous for; sweet wines.  First we had a late harvest, and second we had a botrytised sweet.  It was really interesting to have them next to each other and to taste the differences that a little (noble) rot makes.  Tokaji Nobilis; Tokaji (region) Sargamuskotaly (muscat lunel-grape) 2008 was sweet yet fresh, floral, crisp and clean.  The Disnoko; Tokaji Aszu 5 Puttonyos 2005 was totally complex and multifaceted.  Smelled like fresh marigold flowers,with an almost pollen like quality, and on the palates was rich with toffee, caramel, candied apricot, and honey flavors.  I picked up a little wood in there too.  The sweet was totally balanced with the brilliant acidity, and I could have kept drinking this until breakfast.  Or for breakfast.  You should note this was a blend of botrytis infected 45% Furmint, 45% Zeta, and 10% Harslevelu.

Overall the tasting was super informative with some really unique and flavorful wines.  I look forward to seeing more of Hungary around HK!