Posts Tagged ‘Guide’

A Wine Lover’s Weekly Guide To $10 Wines – An Organic Riesling From Canada

May 10th, 2010

I am getting in the habit of tasting organic wines. But there won’t be many of them in this column for one very excellent (really very terrible) reason. Organic wines usually cost more then our $10 limit. So when I saw this bottle I grabbed it. Really, I’m sort of cheating. The bottle cost under $10 but it’s only 500 milliliters, 2/3 the size of a regular wine bottle. So I took smaller sips.

FrogPond Farm is Ontario, Canada’s only certified organic winery. They don’t use insecticides, herbicides, synthetic fungicides or chemical fertilizers and even their electricity is green. So I thought that it was only honest to give them a opportunity. And I’m usually pleased to taste Rieslings.

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are bought at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed Frogpond Farm Organic Riesling, 2006 12.2% alcohol about $9.50

Let’s start with the marketing materials. Description: Our Quality Assurance Laboratory has determined that this wine contains 6 mg/L of free sulphur. Tasting Note: Made in an nearly Alsatian style, this is a racy/fresh version of Riesling. Nose is of orange marmalade, green apple, sandstone and lime. Dry, very clean and fresh, with excellent fruit/sandstone replays on the mid-palate. Needs 2-4+ years, or try it tonight with a Cajun catfish, or, if you eschew spice, grilled salmon steaks. (VINTAGES panel, Feb. 2009). And now for my review.

The cork crumbled as I was opening the bottle. I wasn’t impressed, I can’t remember the last time that happened. I ongoing by sipping this wine alone. The first sips were long, moderately sweet with balanced acidity. I ongoing with schmalz herring (a stout herring) in oil. The wine was appley with excellent acidity. The meal itself was a hot-weather, don’t turn on the oven ensemble of reheated sweet and sour barbecued chicken wings, potatoes, and a excellent helping of salsa. The wine picked up strength with the wings. It had a lot of body for a white wine. But it couldn’t quite keep up with a spicy tomato, garlic, pepper, and lime salsa. It weakly, or semi-weakly able to place out the moderate fire. And there was no lime in the Riesling to accompany the salsa’s lime.

The second meal was fried liver and onions. This time I tasted lime in the wine and there were apple notes as well. The wine managed to remove some of the livery taste of the liver. It was more forceful with green beans in tomato sauce.

The final meal consisted of a roasted Atlantic salmon steak in soy and maple sauce along with rice. The Riesling managed to show bright acidity but was somewhat thin and not a lot of fruit came through. Dessert was better. When paired with a high-quality vanilla ice cream bar covered in dark chocolate the wine showed nice acidity and sweetness with some fruit.

I finished the tasting with two cheeses. With a Havarti the wine was too acidic. With an Emmenthaler (Swiss) the wine’s acidity was balanced and the nuttiness of the cheese came through.

Final verdict. I’m just not sure. I usually liked this wine but given the small bottle, it doesn’t really be eligible as a bargain wine. Honestly, I by no means would have guessed that it’s organic but I reckon that’s the way organic wines are supposed to be.

Levi Reiss authored or co-authored ten books on computers and the Internet, but really prefers drink fine German, Italian, or other wine. He teaches innumerable computer lessons at an Ontario French-language community institution. His global wine website www.theworldwidewine.com features a weekly review of $10 wines and new sections writing about and tasting organic and kosher wines. Visit his wine, nutrition, and shape website www.wineinyourdiet.com .


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A Guide To Australian Wine

May 10th, 2010

In the last 20 years, Australia has really made its mark in the wine world. The country produces a variety of wines from a number of wine on the rise regions and has revolutionised winemaking processes, making it a real force to be reckoned with in the wine-on the rise world.

The vast majority of Australian wine comes from South Australia, although Victoria and New South Wales are both key players in the country’s wine output. Western Australia produces a smaller volume and has earned itself the reputation of producing more expensive, boutique quality wines. Look to Tasmania if you fancy a touch sparkling or a small sweeter.

The most widely planted grapes in Australia are international varieties. Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are all huge on the red front, while Chardonnay, Semillon and Riesling are all well loved whites. Alongside these, Australian winemakers are increasingly experimenting with some of the remaining 80 or so grape varieties that are planted in Australia, meaning that you can expect some fascinating Australian wines to come out of the country in the coming years.

Australia has made its name for producing most of the huge branded wines that are available in the UK. This is fundamentally because land in Australia is plentiful and winemakers don’t have the restrictions of space that European wine-makers do. In addition, as the climate doesn’t vary much from year to year, there is small difference between vintages, giving Australian wines a degree of reliability that is impossible to guarantee from Ancient World countries. But, in an effort to ensure that every bottle tastes identical, many of the mass-produced Australian wines will have had other ingredients, such as additives, added to them. While you can be sure that the wine will have been made according to rigorous quality standards, all elements of their uniqueness and soul will have been removed. If you fancy a touch a small more authentic, you’ll just need to hunt a small deeper. There are plenty of small, independent, wineries producing Australian wine for like and not money.

Australia is at the forefront of innovation and Australian wine-makers have invested huge amounts in developing some of the most modern wineries and in re-evaluating their wine producing techniques. Combined, these have allowable Australian wine-makers to experiment with different grapes and styles. Not only this but Australian wine-makers have become champions of producing simpler marks (which include simply grapes and regions), making it simple for even the beginner wine enthusiast to know.

Louise Truswell works in and writes about the Australian wine diligence. If you are interested in result out more, or want to choose from a range of Australian wines, visit virginwines.com/wine-zone/australian-wine


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Is there an online vintage wine guide?

May 10th, 2010

I have a couple bottles of different styles of wine (mostly reds) from France, Italy, and Napa Valley which are at least 20-30 years ancient and have been kept in fantastic condition, but I don’t want to have to take them somewhere to get a estimated worth. Does anyone know of a website where I could get a estimate or even a excellent book of wine listings?

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