No loaves, no fishes, just wine.
Dear <<What can I call you?>>
Hello faithful reader. We (me, the cats and my lovely wife) have all benefited from a nice post Christmas break. Now we are all refreshed and reinvigorated for another year of wine related frivolity. This month there is a decidely Italian bent with the offers and plenty of my favourite wines mixed in there too. But I want to be offering you guys what you want. So I am asking for your feedback. Do you like what you've seen over the past few months? What do you want to see coming up? How can I make this a mutually beneficial experience? Reply to this email, post it on my facebook wall or tweet to me. All feedback is more than welcome and greatly appreciated.
The other little request I have for this month is simply, if you like what you've been reading tell your friends. On facebook we've added a little incentive, each month all new email subscribers are in the running to win a $50 TWD gift voucher. And the best referrer of subscribers is eligible for a special prize of my choosing. Awesomeness is guaranteed.
Regards,
Phil Smith, Tempier The Junior Vice President, and Charlie Editor in Chief.
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Regulars
Great wine is not at a shortage. In fact, it is pretty hard to keep up with all the current wines that are awesome. However, over the 'off season' (read 'time when there aren't many industry tastings'), I've strived to keep my tastebuds in. This month's Wines To Drink Now is a list of some of my most favourite wines, along with some of the more exciting wines I have seen recently.
This month's Cellar Dozen has a distinctive Italian flavour, being that they are all Italian wine.
And this month's Special Bottle Club are all the 'big brother' wines of the Cellar Dozen. So if you want to do an interesting compare and contrast exercise this is a great option. There are some seriously great wines on offer this month. |
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Blog Watch
In my time off I did get a bit slack with updating. But I am back on track with new stories of my wine adventures and a few more to go up shortly. Check Out TWD's Blog here.
One of the recent experiences was:
"Adventures with Olde Wines.
A little while ago I purchased a couple of crates of old wines from Australia. They were cheap and came with no guarantees where they had been kept or what shape they were in. I've had a few wines that were good enough to warrant the price of the whole purchase and I have slowly gone through the wines when I am in the mood to freely pour wine down the sink because it is terrible." Read more here
You can also check out what has been happening on Facebook and Twitter |
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Glassware, when, what?
To continue our study on glassware, this month we will focus on shapes and styles. First up, everyone really needs the classic Riesling/Sangiovese shape as modelled above (Riedel Vinum Riesling Grand Cru glass). It is a great shape for most varieties and most occasions. It is especially good for aromatic whites (Riesling, Pinot Gris) and lighter reds (Sangiovese, Gamay). For aromatic reds (Pinot, Grenache etc) and fuller whites (big Chardonnay, Viognier), I'd lean towards large bowled glasses that are akin to brandy balloons to allow the aromatics to flourish. For more structured reds (Cabernet, Shiraz), taller glasses with a smaller opening do the trick, putting the focus on the structure. For Champagne, flutes are great for traditional styles. But when I am drinking Grower Champagne it has to be in a proper wine glass like the Riesling style.
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