Wine Century Club

Last Saturday, my wife and I were inducted into the Wine Century Club at one of their tastings. To join as a member, one must at least have tasted at least one hundred different wine grapes, whether as varietals or in a blend. However, it is not as easy as it sound. Many grapes have local synonyms, so that for example, the nearly ubiquitous Trebbiano of Italy is actually known as St Emilion in Cognac (to be distilled into the famous brandy), but Ugni Blanc in the rest of France. Trebbiano also illustrated another problem: many grapes are known by the same name - the one I mentioned goes by the prime name of Trebbiano Toscana.

I went one better - I got doppel membership, which means that I crossed the threshold into the over 200 category! In fact when I complies my wife's application, I found that she was very near to the doppel mark. I am sure she will get her doppel membership next time.

But seriously, wine is about having fun as much as anything else. Sticking to the top brands in Bordeaux might ensure maximum enjoyment if money is no problem, but who knows what delights can await the adventurous, who find time to taste the unusual.

Eroica - Germano-American Riesling

This is a joint venture between Chateau Ste Michelle of Washington State and Weingut Dr Loosen of Bernkastel in Mosel. The former first planted Riesling in Washington State some 40 years ago, and came into prominence when its 1972 Johannisberg Riesling won the Riesling blind tasting sponsored by the LA Times in 1974. The latter has been producing fine Riesling from top Mosel sites for the last two centuries. The collaboration was first proposed by Ernst Loosen after he discovered Chateau Ste Michelle's Cold Creek Riesling.

Named after Beethoven's 3rd Symphony, Eroica combines Washington State terroir with the German know how of raising and making great Rieslings. The above wine was bought in Hong Kong some years ago and tasted then, but this was only one of three products in the range. I cannot locate the wine notes at present, but the lasting impression was of something more akin to German rather than say Australian Riesling (my experience of American Riesling is very limited to non-existent). The other two products are a Single Berry Select (similar to TBA) and an Ice Wine. I seem to have chanced across a Web Page suggesting that these are available in Hong Kong. I must redouble my effort to obtain and taste them.

A Non-Vintage Trophy Wine

Non-vintage (NV) wines tend to be regarded as somewhat "inferior" by connoisseurs as people spend a lot of time debating vintages, especially when it comes to highly regarded wines, the so-called trophy wines. Let me start off this mini-series on trophy wines with a NV wine, but still so highly regarded that it fulfills all the criteria of a trophy wine. This is a bottle of the Vega Sicilia Unico Reserva Especial (2009 blend) which is made by blending Unico wines of 1990, 1994 and 1996 vintages, producing 15,586 bottles of this product. It was awarded a score of RP98.

By blending the wines from the vintages that are drinking well that year, this NV blend tries to present the best and most representative wine of the estate in and across the recent years. In this way, it is not unlike the Champenois making NV blends with reserve wines to achieve a house character and to ensure that this does not change from year to year, whatever the weather and harvest.

HKIWSF 2011

The Hong Kong International Spirit and Wine Fair opened yesterday and over these three days, I intend to visit the fair and expand my vinous horizon. I had already done some homework and had a quick scan of the exhibitor list. One of my targets is to try a few of the grapes and countries (+/- regions) I have never met. Yet the first people I met was from Hong Kong. They had a winery in Tsuen Wan, where (unlike the Aberdeen operation which ships in juice) they actually air-freight in grapes at3 deg C and press and ferment on site!! My interest got me an invite to visit them.

I also spent a lot of time at the Georgian Pavillion. Although I had tasted wines made from Rkitaseli and Saperavi, the other 500+ indigenous grapes are entirely unknown to me. OK, I managed something like a dozen new grapes there, which was all they were exhibiting, but that a very fruitful start. I had tasted around 50 wines, including my first Kosher wine (made from Concord) as well as some honey wines. I'm sure I'll learn quite a bit from this year's fair.

Tre Bicchieri Tasting

I went to this tasting on the eve of the Hong Kong International Wine and Spirit Fair. Organized by Gambero Rosso to launch the Chinese edition of their Italian Wine Guide, the tasting focused on wines which have been awarded tre bicchieri (3 glasses, their highest rating) in their guide. It was an interesting event, although not all the wines were to everyone's approval. I tasted some 20+ wines. Some were old friends, like Caprai's Sagrantino di Montefalco. Others, like Banfi, I had had some other wines in their range (and in the case of Banfi, not only wines but also their Grappa di Brunello). They showcased their single vineyard Poggio all'Oro, of which I have a bottle of their 1997 still awaiting enjoyment. My greatest delight was being able to taste the Tenuta Greppo from Biondi-Santi. Now that is something special.

Muscadine wine

The grapes from which this wine is made are simply like no others that wine drinkers commonly encounter. Firstly, all the various grapes we commonly encounter are members of the Vitis genus, even the American vine Vitis labrusca. This however belongs to a separate subgenus (of Vitis) - Muscadinia, which is a grapevine native to what is now south-eastern United States.

I met this grape and its wines at last year's Wine Fair. There was a booth and we tasted a number of these wines. All have a special aroma, which seems to characterise the muscadine grapes. It's a little bit strange, but I dare say it could become an acquired taste. On the other hand, the barnyardy odour of Burgundy can also be thought of as an acquired taste. All the wines tasted are semi-sweet. An interesting experience overall, though some friends are less complimentary.