Simple wines, simple pleasure
What do you look for when buying wines? An affordable price tag, dependent brand or familiar taste? Regardless of the criterion, we can agree the main purpose for wine is to please the palate, the mind, and for some people, their ego. While my training has made me choosy, there are wines that I liked […]
Finding underdog wines
For weeks, my mind had been revolving around this topic and trying hard to find a wine that fits the bill. Just when I was about to throw the towel in and admit this was not going to work, a bottle proved my search was worth the time. Find a sub-$100 wines from less heard […]
The Old, New and the Reluctant wine drinkers
Like anyone who gets questions about wines, the most commonly asked was “What’s Old World and New World”. Generally accepted, notion of Old World points to wine-producing regions within Europe, and New World being everywhere else. But wine making has been the livelihood for people outside Europe for centuries, the Australians been at it for […]
BBR Singapore Portfolio Tasting
A few years ago, I was just an ordinary wine enthusiast, getting excited with any and every chance to taste wines (any wine!). Since returning to Singapore 2.5 years ago, I’ve had the chance to meet many people in the trade, who went on to introduce me to more… and one of the more recent […]
Pinot noir – A taste of its worldly flavour
“God made Cabernet Sauvignon, whereas the devil made Pinot noir.” As famously declared by André Tchelistcheff, America’s most influential wine maker in the post prohibitions period (post-1930s). The Pinot Noir demands undivided attention from growers and wine makers, seduces drinkers with subtle nuances and excites those who adore it. If I am to draw literature reference […]
Impromptu #SgWine Team night with Misha's Starlet and Dress Circle in Limelight
If you have not used or even heard of Twitter, you really should check it out. We are the #SgWine folks. Search #SgWine, #sgwine or any variant of the hashtag and you are likely to find shout outs by us. With Tai-Ran’s appearance (based in the States) and generous Misha’s Vineyard wine samples from Crystal […]
Sweltering days: a Pinot Grigio and a Rosé to cool off with
Ah, Summer. The season of dressing light, ditching the covered shoes and bringing out the flip-flops. Hit the beach and bake the skin to a crisp brown. This may sound great for most people in the world but when you’re actually here in the midst of drowning humidity between 80 to 90 per cent and […]
Italian wines Master Class with Antonio Boco
Italy, the leg shaped peninsula between Adriatic and Tyrrhenian seas. While dribbling the island of Sicily, is also the biggest wine-producing country in the world (based on 2010 Wikipedia figures). Wine making is found in all 20 regions, with recognitions for 73 D.O.C.G (highest grade) and over 300 D.O.C (high-grade) classifications. Ancient Greeks called this land, Oenotria, land of vines.
Is fine wine for all?
When I first started in wine drinking, some friends jokingly called me Atas (read: ah-tas). A Malay word referring to one being upper class, but usually used in a negative or sarcastic context. The reasons often revolved around wine being an upper society beverage and more expensive than beer. Ironically they are (usually) the same people who splurged […]
Market Palate – Is there too much alcohol in wine today?
In life, nothing can be better than having things for free. This blessed kid (i.e. me) has a pair of friends (Mr. C & Mr. R) who are very generous with their regular uncorking of wines such as Pian Delle Vigne and Léoville Poyferré. Needless to say, I shamelessly turned up for their drinking invites when I […]