Category: Wine Words


Wine Quotes Part V

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April 25, 2010

Wine quotes Part V…

“Good wine ruins the purse; bad wine ruins the stomach.” Spanish saying

“In water one sees one’s own face; But in wine, one beholds the heart of another.” An Old French proverb

“I love everything that’s old: old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wines.”
Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774)

“The best use of bad wine is to drive away poor relations.” French proverb

“Wine is bottled poetry.” Robert Louis Stevenson

“Poetry is devil’s wine.” St. Augustine

“Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.” The Proverbs, 31:6 – 7

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Conception of Wine Infographic

Filed under: Wine, Wine Info, Wine Words — 3 Comments
April 11, 2010
The following is a link someone just sent to me on the basics of how wine is made – I found it quite clear and informative for anyone who’s interested :)

http://vimeo.com/10603861

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Wine Quotes Part IV

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March 30, 2010

Few more wine words… (picture above has Bacchus, God of Wine)

“Drink wine, and you will sleep well. Sleep, and you will not sin. Avoid sin, and you will be saved. Ergo, drink wine and be saved.”

Medieval German saying
“Making good wine is a skill. Fine wine is an art.”
Robert Mondavi, “Harvests Of Joy,” Autobiography

“Pour out the wine without restraint or stay,

Pour not by cups, but by the bellyful,
Pour out to all that wull.”
Edmund Spenser (1552?-1599), Epithalamion, 250
“Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.”
1 Timothy, 5:23
“Wine gives us liberty, love takes it away.
Wine makes us princes, love makes us beggars.”
Wycherly, The Country Life
“Bacchus we thank who gave us wine
Which warms the blood within our veins;
That nectar is itself divine.
The man who drinks not, yet attains
By godly grace to human rank
Would be an angel if he drank.”
Pierre Motin, French drinking song
Cheers…
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Hermitage…

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March 22, 2010

What exactly is Hermitage? French Hermitage? Aussie Penfolds Hermitage? Some find this confusing. First of all, literally it means a hermit in seclusion, and the “H” of Hermitage is silent.

Hermitage is the most famous of all Rhone Valley, French appellations/qualifications, although only a small area (311 acres to be exact). Red Hermitage wine is made solely from the Syrah grape, and has been famous in France for centuries, producing a very Elegant Style Shiraz/Syrah. Hermitage wines are known for their long life and robust flavor, cellaring over 10 years, up to around 20 years. The literal meaning of Hermit comes from the man who lived in a lonesome chapel in the area where these exceptional wines flourished.

These Hermitage wines are Dark, inky black to deep garnet color, and the aroma is very much of black fruits and spice. The flavor has smoke and pepper, sometimes raspberry or blackberry, as well as mellow tannins. They are not as big/blousy as a typical good Aussie Shiraz, but instead produce a more refined structure, still with all the flavour.

“Hermitage” was informally used in Australia to describe Shiraz. So, this is similar to the informal use of “Champagne” in Australian sparkling wines which only comes from the Champagne area of France, so technically “Champagne” from Australia is Wrong! I’ve come across many who don’t know this, nothing wrong with that, but it’s funny when they say “Champagne” with arrogance – as if they’re in such fine class to enjoy “Champagne” from Australia. Penfold’s Grange, considered basically Australia’s top wine (Henschke’s Hill of Grace is also an Aus top wine – Penfold’s Grange’s Rival I reckon) first used the Hermitage label in 1989 – this wine was considered Australia’s first exceptional quality, collectible wine. The European Union then quickly objected to this, and the Hermitage label was dropped. So it is now (and before 1989) Penfolds Grange. Anyway, after googling “Hermitage” I found there was not much clear info, so thought I’d just note it down. Hermitage wines of France are indeed lovely and unique, and so are Australia’s Top wines… Mmm mm!

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Pinot Grigio or Pinot Gris?

Filed under: White Wine, Wine, Wine Reviews, Wine Words — 2 Comments
March 20, 2010

Okay, so Pinot Grigio are what the Italians call it, and to the French, Pinot Gris – both mean “Grey Pinot”. The grape can vary in colour, darker or lighter (Darker Pinot Grigio grape shown in picture to left). These are different resulting wines, from the same grape. Generally, P. Grigio is more fragrant, fruit driven, lighter-dry style, and P.Gris is slightly more heavy, oily-dry, also can be fruity but sometimes more acidic (lemon, lime) than P. Grigio.

Both wine styles can be grown well in Australia. Pinot Gris/Grigio have so far grown really well in areas such as Mornington Peninsula (Vic), Geelong (Vic), and Adelaide Hills (SA), as well as Tasmania – these all produce white wines well due to the cooler climate terroir. These wines are increasing in popularity, catching up to the Sauvignon Blancs (Oyster Bay NZ ring a bell?) and SSB (Semillon Sauvignon Blanc) wines that are most popular of white wines in Australia. Personally, I prefer trying more Pinot Gris/Grigios to Sauv Blanc, as the varying delicate, aromatic, dry and refreshing palate, to full bodied, oily, almost overwhelming complexities are very interesting, and each Pinot G can be made to turn out so differently. I think it’s rather exciting!

Now I tried a really enjoyable, and so far favourite (although I have many more to try) Pinot Grigio from Mornington Peninsula:

From Miceli – their Iolanda Pinot Grigio @ $20 a bottle.

I loved the fresh, slightly crisp fruit, like a nashi pear, and luscious grapes on the palate up front, with the aroma and freshness of hay and green grass, and a long, lingering palate with underlying creaminess. For $20 a bot I found this was great value!

Cheers.
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Wine Quotes Part III

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March 19, 2010

Wine Quotes I like, Part III:
<– This is Bacchus

“In Europe we thought of Wine as something as Healthy and Normal as Food, and also a great Giver of Happiness and Well being and Delight. Drinking Wine was Not a Snobbism Nor a Sign of Sophistication Nor a Cult; it was as Natural as Eating and to me as Necessary.”
Ernest Hemingway

“Wine is the most civilized thing in the world.”
Ernest Hemingway

“One not only drinks the wine, one smells it, observes it, tastes it, sips it and–one talks about it.” King Edward VII

“There are two reasons for drinking wine…when you are thirsty, to cure it; the other, when you are not thirsty, to prevent it… prevention is better than cure.” Thomas Love Peacock

“Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried, with fewer tensions and more tolerance.” Benjamin Franklin

“He who loves not wine, women and song remains a fool his whole life long.” Johann Heinrich Voss

“Wine makes every meal an occasion, every table more elegant, every day more civilized.” Andre Simon, Commonsense of Wine

Wine is my blood, and my blood is healthy – moi :)

Cheers!

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UMAMI !

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March 17, 2010

New Age Wine Term – UMAMI

I only came across “Umami” a few years ago at a tasting/course by my boss. In case you haven’t heard, it is a relatively new wine term, to describe the “5th Sense” in taste (or some say 6th). So you have Sweet, Sour, Salty, and Bitter. Asian tradition also adds the 5th taste sensation of Hot (as in pepper or spices), and this is where Umami is slotted in instead of Hot – Sweet, Sour, Salty, Bitter, and Umami.

A Japanese man first identified “Umami” in the unique and distinct taste in Seaweed, and finally discovered it was from the amino acid (protein molecule) Glutamate/Glutamic Acid.

Now, in the context of wine, Umami refers to the extra sense of everything being in perfect balance. So, the Tannin, Oak, Acid, Alcohol and Fruit characters of the wine are all present at the same intensity when you taste the wine, creating a “6th sense” (or 5th sense, depending on where you’re coming from) of taste perception, because that in itself is a unique taste – to have all components come forward at once. This Umami of the wine world was first recognised by MW (Master of Wine) Tim Hanni from America.

Umami in wine doesn’t really come in cheap made table wine, or wine that you need to drink at a young age because it doesn’t have the complexities to age gracefully. Umami is more common in very good quality wines, in a perfectly matured wine. It is Perfect Quality in Taste… Very few wines actually have this Umami effect – although there are so many great world wines, they don’t work like an umami wine – it’s not a good or bad thing, just another aspect of wine. Umami usually needs proper barrel fermentation, malo-lactic fermentation (takes away sourness to wine (malic acid), and gives more softness (to lactic acid) to the wine), ageing in optimum temperature and humidity etc…

but as far as I know, there are a few good umami wines in Aus from a $50 bottle and upward in price/quality. For example, often an aged BIN 389 from Penfolds actually does this Umami pretty well. I personally think Metala Black Label works in the same way. It’s when everything comes forward at once and it takes me a little longer to really see what’s coming out from the wine, but all I know immediately, is that it’s Delicious! Umami Me!

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Wine Quotes Part II

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March 13, 2010

My favourite Wine Quotes Part II…
<– This is Bacchus, growing older.

“Burgundy makes you think of silly things, Bordeaux makes you talk of them and Champagne makes you do them.” Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

“Wine has been a part of Civilized Life for some seven thousand Years. It is the Only beverage that Feeds the Body, Soul and Spirit of man and at the Same Time Stimulates the Mind.” Robert Mondavi, “Harvests Of Joy,” Autobiography

“Wine can be considered with good reason as the most healthful and the most hygienic of all beverages.” Louis Pasteur

“The flavour of wine is like delicate poetry.” Louis Pasteur

“A hard drinker, being at the table, was offered grapes for dessert. ‘Thank you,’ said he, pushing the dish away from him, ‘but I am not in the habit of taking my wine in pills.’” Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, “The Physiology of Taste”

Cheers!

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Wine Quotes

Filed under: Wine, Wine Words — 2 Comments
March 12, 2010

Some of my favourite wine quotes:

<– Picture to left is of Bacchus (to Romans) or aka Dionysus, Greek God of Wine, Intoxication, and Ecstacy. He was the liberator to free oneself by ritual of ecstacy or wine, and seen as a "womanish" man. He had an entourage of many, and festivals held in honour of him were famous for being so fun, exciting, and wild. He travelled, teaching men the culture of the vine and also about the mysteries of his cult of attempting to merge his identity with nature. Bacchus is also a grape variety grown in Germany and England.

“In Victory, You Deserve Champagne, In Defeat, You Need It.” – Napoleon

“If Your Heart is Warm with Happiness, You’ll need a glass – if Sorrow Chills Your Heart, Have Two!

When Lily Bollinger was asked “When do you drink champagne?”, she replied:
“I only drink champagne when I’m happy, and when I’m sad.
Sometimes I drink it when I’m alone. When I have company, I consider it obligatory.
I trifle with it if I am not hungry and drink it when I am.
Otherwise I never touch it – unless I’m thirsty.”

“Remember Gentlemen, it’s Not Just France We Are Fighting For, it’s Champagne!”
Winston S. Churchill, 1918

“Age Appears to be best in Four things – old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read.”
L. Bacon

“Good wine is a good familiar creature if it be well used.”
William Shakespeare (Othello)

“Good wine needs no bush.”
William Shakespeare (As You Like It, Epilogue)

“Give me a bowl of wine,
In this I bury all unkindness.”
William Shakespeare (Julius Caesar)

“Give me a bowl of wine:
have not that alacrity of spirit,
Nor cheer of mind, that I was wont to have.”
William Shakespeare (Richard III).

“Wine is a good familiar creature if it be will used, exclaim no more against it.”
William Shakespeare (Othello)

Cheers!

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