https://www.scmp.com/rss/65758/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Whisky is the barrel-aged distilled spirit made of grains produced in Scotland; in Ireland and the United States, they add an “e” to produce “whiskey”. Spirits connoisseurs may be familiar with American whiskey, bourbon, made primarily from corn. But bourbon hasn’t always been the whiskey of choice for Americans. Rye was widely grown in colonial Maryland and Pennsylvania in the mid-1700s and used to make whiskey known, naturally, as rye. Pennsylvania whiskey was made entirely from rye and called... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3092295/there-more-american-whiskey-bourbon-historic-rye?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3092295/there-more-american-whiskey-bourbon-historic-rye?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Jul 2020 17:00:08 +0000 Whisky has been part of Scottish culture for centuries. According to online retailer The Whisky Exchange, the Highland region, Scotland’s largest, produces 23 per cent of the country’s whiskies (Speyside produces 65 per cent, Islay 6 per cent, Lowland 5 per cent and Campbeltown 1 per cent). The Highlands is a vast area and its distilleries are flung far and wide. The diverse geography, water sources, weather and landscapes means Highland whiskies are varied in style but they all share a nutty,... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3090863/slainte-finest-whiskies-scottish-highlands?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3090863/slainte-finest-whiskies-scottish-highlands?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Jun 2020 18:00:13 +0000 Scottish single malt whiskies are grouped by region, each of which has its own character. The most distinc­tive are the single malts of Islay island, known for their salty maritime flavours: earthy, peaty, smoky and robust with a medicinal tinge of iodine. Today, they are in short supply due to high demand and scant production in previous decades, having fallen out of fashion in the 1980s as drinkers’ preferences shifted to white spirits. Ardbeg Despite a history going back to 1794, Ardbeg... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3086088/eight-scottish-single-malts-isle-islay-are-high?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3086088/eight-scottish-single-malts-isle-islay-are-high?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 May 2020 18:00:06 +0000 Zinfandel has contributed much to California’s place in the wine world. The grape is part of the American state’s history, dating back to the gold rush in the late 1840s. It is tricky to determine exactly when a vine first arrived, but at the Original Grandpère Vineyard, in the Shenandoah Valley, Amador county, records from 1866 document that zinfandel vines had been planted there. For many years, zinfandel was thought to be an indigenous American grape, but with the advent of DNA testing in the... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3084325/how-zinfandel-helped-secure-californias-place?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3084325/how-zinfandel-helped-secure-californias-place?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 May 2020 12:00:12 +0000 We are living in unusual times, which will be long remembered for what we couldn’t get (masks, toilet rolls, hand sanitiser) and what we couldn’t do (work, travel, party). Among the things I have missed the most is catching up with friends over drinks. Many of us can rustle up a gin and tonic at home, but how about something more interesting? With time on our hands, take the opportunity to look through your drinks cabinet and make something different. If you want to connect with friends, pick a... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3082055/how-mix-quarantini-and-other-cocktails-drink?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3082055/how-mix-quarantini-and-other-cocktails-drink?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 May 2020 11:00:10 +0000 Vermouth has come a long way in recent years from being known as the “other” ingredient in a classic martini, a distant second to gin. Essentially wine flavoured with aromatics and fortified with addi­tional alcohol to keep it stable, vermouth gets its name from the German wermut, or wormwood. Depending on where it is made, it may also contain botanical herbs, roots, flowers, seeds and berries. Vermouth is an essential but discreet ingredient that adds flavour and aroma to many cocktails, not... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3080031/vermouth-makes-more-just-martinis-introducing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3080031/vermouth-makes-more-just-martinis-introducing?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Apr 2020 05:00:16 +0000 When it comes to wine, Portugal is usually associated with port and madeira. These days, however, the southern European country is producing many other wines, too. Yes, Portugal is sunny and warm, but up in the northwest, along the windy Atlantic coast, there is a cool hilly refuge for wine grapes. Vinho verde (“green wine”), which refers to young wines, is a refreshing style of white wine that is low in alcohol (about 11 per cent) with a vibrantly fresh acidity. Some vinhos verdes have a gentle... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3049131/there-lot-more-portuguese-wine-port-and-madeira?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3049131/there-lot-more-portuguese-wine-port-and-madeira?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Feb 2020 11:00:19 +0000 When it comes to Spanish grape varieties, many wine lovers know albariño and verdejo for whites, and the cava trio of xarel-lo, parellada and macabeo, and tempranillo and garnacha for reds. But the country grows more than 400 varieties, many of which are indigenous to Spain. Here are a few to look out for. White grapes Airén The most widely planted white-wine grape in Spain, Airén is a work­horse, found mostly in the Valdepeñas and La Mancha regions where it is drunk as a table wine and used as... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3046939/vino-variety-five-spains-lesser-known-grapes-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3046939/vino-variety-five-spains-lesser-known-grapes-and?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Jan 2020 17:00:06 +0000 Choosing a wine to pair with spicy food can be challenging. In Asia, Sichuan cuisine, with its tongue-numbing, fiery bite, is probably the most challenging to pair with wine, as there are so many aromas, flavours and textures to contend with, ranging from fragrant seafood dishes to the spicy, rich mapo tofu. Many drinkers would pick a young fruity rosé, with minimal tannins, or a ripe Bordeaux from the Right Bank – usually merlot and, again, with soft tannins. A better pairing, however, would be... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3037548/how-pair-wines-spicy-food-fiery-sichuan-cuisine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3037548/how-pair-wines-spicy-food-fiery-sichuan-cuisine?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Nov 2019 12:00:12 +0000 Soju is South Korea’s most popular tipple. It is also widely drunk in Japan and China. The origins of soju go back to the Chinese pinyin rendering of shaojiu, or burned spirit/liqueur. In the 13th century, the Mongols introduced the distillation process to Korea. Because soju is distilled, it has been described as being similar to vodka. It is not, because soju is much lower in alcohol. Compared with wine and beer, it packs a good punch, coming in at 20 to 24 per cent alcohol, but that is still... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3035475/soju-secret-drinking-south-koreas-favourite?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3035475/soju-secret-drinking-south-koreas-favourite?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 31 Oct 2019 04:15:06 +0000 American whiskeys are not created equal. There are distinct differences between them, depending on how and where they are made. Bourbon whiskey can be produced anywhere in the United States. It is made with a mixture of grains, predominantly corn (a minimum of 51 per cent) plus barley, rye and wheat, the combination of which depends on the producer. After distilla­tion to no more than 80 per cent alco­hol by volume (ABV), or 160 proof, bourbon is aged for at least two years in newly charred... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3027786/bourbon-and-tennessee-whiskeys-united-states?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3027786/bourbon-and-tennessee-whiskeys-united-states?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Sep 2019 12:00:13 +0000 Although gin seems like a modern-day hipster tipple, it was supped back in 16th century Holland, when the Dutch began producing a medicinal liquid called genever. The rough-tasting drink was based on malt wine, and juniper berries were included to mask the harsh flavour. By the 1700s, it had become known as gin. Its first recorded appearance was in a 1714 book called The Fable of the Bees: or, Private Vices, Publick Benefits, by Bernard Mandeville, who pithily wrote: “The infamous liquor, the... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3021791/brief-history-gin-herbal-medicine-spirited?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3021791/brief-history-gin-herbal-medicine-spirited?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Aug 2019 18:00:09 +0000 With the planet getting warmer, the wines we enjoy now may not be the ones we will drink in the future. Climate change is having a major effect on grapes. As sea levels rise, the salinity of soils in coastal wine-growing regions increases, which stresses the vines and raises the risk of a proliferation of pests and diseases. Warmer temperatures are also a problem in regions that rely on winterfrosts to kill insect larvae in the soil and reduce the pest population in warmer weather. In the short... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3019850/wine-vs-climate-change-how-global-warming?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3019850/wine-vs-climate-change-how-global-warming?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Jul 2019 14:00:11 +0000 The “contains sulphites” warning on wine labels can cause alarm among consumers. But those sensitive to the chemical compound – such as asthma sufferers – might be surprised to learn that wines contain much lower levels of sulphites than processed foods such as jams, dried fruits, cured deli meats, canned soups and French fries. Sulphites are used to prolong shelf life and preserve colour. As a by-productof the fermentation process, they are naturally present in wines but in low levels. More... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3016169/sulphites-wine-are-they-really-bad-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3016169/sulphites-wine-are-they-really-bad-us?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Jun 2019 13:30:14 +0000 Vin jaune (“yellow wine”) is the durian of the wine world. It has a strong, distinctive smell and taste that you either love or hate. The wine is made from a quirky grape, called savagnin, that isn’t widely grown anywhere in France but the Jura, a region situated east of Burgundy, towards Switzerland (a small amount is grown in that country, where it is known as haiden or heida). At only 1,600 hectares, the Jura is the smallest of all AOC (appellation d’origine contrôlée) regions, with... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3003666/vin-jaune-eastern-france-durian-wine-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3003666/vin-jaune-eastern-france-durian-wine-world?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 29 Mar 2019 09:30:13 +0000 Calvados, the tipsier version of apple cider, is reputed to have roots in 8th-century Normandy, France. It is a type of brandy, but differs from those made in Cognac and Armagnac, because calvados is distilled from cider, not grapes. More than 200 varieties of applecan be used in the distillation of calvados, which requires a balance of tart, sweet and bitter fruit. To make the cider, apples are picked when ripe, washed, pressed and fermented – a process that takes six to 12 weeks. Fermenta­tion... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2189205/calvados-french-apple-brandy-kick-perfect-palate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2189205/calvados-french-apple-brandy-kick-perfect-palate?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Mar 2019 09:30:28 +0000 Decanting wine is a simple process – a bottle is opened and its contents are poured into a glass container to allow the wine to “breathe”. What makes it complicated is deciding which wines need it, and for how long. (Your average supermarket plonk does not need to be decanted). Decanting is recommended for young wine – anything under five years old. Decanting a young red for at least 20 minutes will help dissipate the alcohol and balance the fruit and tannins. For a young white, such as a... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2187311/decant-or-not-decant-question-when-it-comes-wine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2187311/decant-or-not-decant-question-when-it-comes-wine?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Feb 2019 09:49:12 +0000 Wines from California’s Napa Valley have a distinct style when made from grapes also used in Bordeaux, France – cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc and petit verdot – especially if they are produced in the moun­tains, specifically the peaks between the Mayacamas and Vaca ranges. Vines on moun­tains grow slowly, pro­ducing small grapes with a wild earthiness that shows forest and rock, concentrated black and red fruits, and tight tannins. As the vine­yards are too small and steep for... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2184450/top-drops-napa-valleys-mountain-wineries?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2184450/top-drops-napa-valleys-mountain-wineries?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 Feb 2019 09:00:30 +0000 Canada isn’t a country that springs to mind when you think of wines. It is, however, famous for one type – ice wine. Made from grapes that are frozen naturally at minus 8 degrees Celsius or less for a minimum of 10 days before harvest, ice wines can test a vintner’s patience. The winemaker hopes that the grapes stay on the vine long enough to freeze, and aren’t eaten by birds heading south to warmer climates, or by bears before they go into hibernation. Looking beyond Canada’s famous ice... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2182714/canada-produces-more-just-ice-wine-unusual-grapes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2182714/canada-produces-more-just-ice-wine-unusual-grapes?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Jan 2019 05:00:30 +0000 In my work as a sommelier, I’m often asked to name my favourite wines. Well, I’m forever looking for that elusive sip that hits the spot and is just right for the moment. Bubbles, especially champagne, rarely disappoint. That distinctive “pop” of the cork never fails to get my attention. To me, it heralds a happy occasion. And it’s often the first drink served at wine events. Four simple rules experts follow to pick a winning wine every time If I’m in a healthy mood, I’ll look for a wine that’s... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2180528/sommeliers-favourite-wines-and-how-perfect-pour?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2180528/sommeliers-favourite-wines-and-how-perfect-pour?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Jan 2019 13:00:45 +0000 Most champagnes are a blend of chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier grapes but blanc de blancs (“white of whites”) is 100 per cent chardonnay. The best sites for this style of champagne are in the Côte des Blancs and Côte de Sézanne, subregions of Champagne, where chardonnay grows best. Here, the soil is “white” – the ancient terroir, which was once under the sea, consists of millions of fossils that give the chalk-based soil its hue, as well as minerality and salti­ness. The villages in... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2177984/make-it-white-christmas-five-best-blanc-de-blancs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2177984/make-it-white-christmas-five-best-blanc-de-blancs?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 Dec 2018 09:00:45 +0000 Often, the best gifts we buy for others are the ones we’d be happy to receive ourselves. So here are a few ideas for the wine lovers on your shopping list – and I hope everyone keeps in mind that sharing is caring. 1 At the top of the list is, of course, cham­pagne, and one that is bound to make the recipient smile is Bouzy, from Duval-Leroy’s Précieuse Parcelles series. This vintage champagne – 2007 – is pure pinot noir and goes well with roast turkey or duck. Only 3,960 bottles were produced... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2176463/six-christmas-gifts-wine-lovers-you-will-want?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2176463/six-christmas-gifts-wine-lovers-you-will-want?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Dec 2018 03:47:36 +0000 The wines of Bordeaux have long been considered as being out of reach for many drinkers. First-growths sell for thousands of dollars and even fifth-growth wines can cost a pretty penny. But winemakers in the French region also make excellent-value everyday wines that the average Bordelais drink at home. Here are some bottles that won’t break the bank. 1 Crémant de Bordeaux, an AOC (appellation d’origine contrôlée) since 1990, is a lovely sparkling wine that consists of sauvignon blanc, sémillon... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2173536/seven-bordeaux-bargains-excellent-value-everyday?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2173536/seven-bordeaux-bargains-excellent-value-everyday?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 Nov 2018 06:00:00 +0000 There exist, in a few rare pockets in unexpected places, grape vines that survived the “great wine blight” of the late 1800s, which decimated the vineyards of France before moving on to the rest of Europe. The blight was caused by a microscopic aphid called Phylloxera vastatrix. It was unknowingly introduced to France by one Monsieur Borty, a wine merchant living in the Rhône Valley, who imported American vine cuttings and planted them in 1862, giving the aphid, which hid in the roots of the... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2171013/vines-survived-europes-phylloxera-epidemic-1800s?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2171013/vines-survived-europes-phylloxera-epidemic-1800s?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Nov 2018 04:00:15 +0000 Over the years, countless studies have been published espousing the health benefits of wine. The so-called French Paradox, a term coined in the 1980s, refers to the fact that the French have low levels of heart disease despite their high consumption of saturated fats, such as butter, cream, cheese and duck fat. This was attributed to the consumption of wine with meals, especially reds, which were found to contain bene­ficial compounds. Resveratrol, research suggests, helps to keep blood vessels... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2169263/wine-good-our-health-and-what-resveratrol?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2169263/wine-good-our-health-and-what-resveratrol?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Oct 2018 10:00:30 +0000 Unfettered by the traditional rules of wine, Asian vineyards are bound only by the whims of weather, their winemaker’s ambition and the limits of the location. Vines in the region typically do not go through a dormant stage as they would in temperate climates; in a tropical climate, they grow vigorously year round. Asian winemakers have adapted to this with a green harvest (two seasons, one crop), early grapes being picked green, before they are ripe, which tricks the vines into putting out new... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2167163/wines-thailand-and-india-where-vineyards-thrive?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2167163/wines-thailand-and-india-where-vineyards-thrive?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Oct 2018 09:00:45 +0000 It takes a great deal of work to make a bottle of wine. Those involved include not just the winemaker and vigneron (who cultivates the grapes), but also the workers in the fields and cellar. When a wine is entered into a competition, judges are aware of the work that has gone into it. Judging panels usually include masters of wine, winemakers, dealers (who are excluded from judging the wines they sell), wine writers and sommeliers (like me). A wine is scored on several factors: its appearance in... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2165128/how-pick-winning-wine-every-time-four-simple?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2165128/how-pick-winning-wine-every-time-four-simple?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Sep 2018 05:15:15 +0000 Buying wine from almost anywhere in the world is easy – it’s just a click away, of course. But many of us in Hong Kong forget that wines are being made on our doorstep: while China is fast becoming the world’s largest consumer of the grape, an increasing number of tipples are made there, produced by winemakers who learned their trade elsewhere. Some such winemakers have been at it for decades, and many have links with French producers. Made-in-China wines are no longer something that you try... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2163044/chinas-domestic-wine-market-benefits-foreign-know?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2163044/chinas-domestic-wine-market-benefits-foreign-know?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Sep 2018 09:00:45 +0000 Submerging bottles of wine in the ocean to age them may seem unusualbut, given that it has proved to be an effective technique, one might wonder why it isn’t used more often. Away from the shore and shallow water, the ocean is quite temperate, even in tropical seas. Shipwrecks – most famously the Titanic – are often found to contain bottles of wine that sur­vived the sinking. In 2010, a wreck discovered at a depth of 50 metres in the Baltic Sea, just off the Åland Islands, in Finland, yielded... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2160996/underwater-winery-champagne-house-hits-spot-ocean?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2160996/underwater-winery-champagne-house-hits-spot-ocean?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Aug 2018 04:45:00 +0000 Pinotage is a unique and relatively new grape varietal that exists purely by chance. It had its beginnings in the 1920s, at South Africa’s Stellenbosch University. Abraham Izak Perold, the college’s first professor of viticulture, wanted to combine the robust qualities of the hermitage grape (actually cinsault), which grew well in South Africa, with the elegance of pinot noir, which he loved, and so he grafted the two. After much trial and error, Perold was rewarded with four viable seeds, which... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2158914/south-african-pinotage-grape-born-cinsault-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2158914/south-african-pinotage-grape-born-cinsault-and?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Aug 2018 09:02:39 +0000 One grape that is off the wine world’s beaten track is chenin blanc. The variety’s natural home is the vineyards of the Loire Valley, in France, and of South Africa, where it’sknown as steen. Of the two, South Africa has more chenin blanc vines; the variety accounts for18.5 per cent of all white grape plantings in the country. Three must-try wines from South Africa’s Mr Chenin Blanc Chenin blanc makes an incredibly diverse array of wines. It’s made into a sparkling wine à la méthode... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2156821/three-styles-chenin-blanc-diverse-white-wine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2156821/three-styles-chenin-blanc-diverse-white-wine?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 Jul 2018 05:00:15 +0000 The opportunity to spend an afternoon tasting wine with the maître de chai (cellar master) of a Bordeaux first-growth – namely, Francis Perez, of Château Lafite Rothschild – is not to be missed. It started with an event celebrating the Hong Kong university teams that had participated in the Left Bank Bordeaux Cup regional competition, and to bid this year’s winners luck before they headed to France for the world final (the Hong Kong team finished fifth out of nine and performed exceptionally... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2153862/wine-tasting-chateau-lafites-cellar-master-what?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2153862/wine-tasting-chateau-lafites-cellar-master-what?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Jul 2018 09:15:45 +0000 Any viticulturist will tell you that the older the vine, the more character the wine produced from it will have. Older vines imbue more depth and complexity to wine. The downside is that the quantity of grapes produced by a vine diminishes with age. Discovering a grape variety that was thought to have been extinct is, for viti­culturists, like finding the holy grail. If such a vine can be resurrected and sustained, it can make a contribution to current wine production. A leading force in this... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2151933/new-wines-forgotten-vines-europe-viticulturists?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2151933/new-wines-forgotten-vines-europe-viticulturists?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Jun 2018 09:04:43 +0000 What I love best about the wine world is that everyone I meet – from the vineyard worker to the owner of a chateau or estate – is generous with their time and wines, opening and sharing a bottle without a second thought. This generosity extends to helping those in need. One of the world’s oldest charities – the Hospices de Beaune of Burgundy – is wine-related. Also known as the Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune, it was founded in 1443 as a hospital and refuge for the poor as the Hundred Years’ War was ending... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2147607/benefits-wine-one-worlds-oldest-charities-began?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2147607/benefits-wine-one-worlds-oldest-charities-began?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 May 2018 09:00:00 +0000 The nose is integral to appreciating wine and food, as a sense of smell is essential to our ability to taste. Wine tasters need to train and develop their olfactory senses and also learn the extensive lingo. The vocabulary used to describe wines is complex. However, if you read tasting notes, you’ll notice that many terms are used over and over again, helping to create a consistent lexicon. Tasting and judging wine is more difficult than it might appear A helpful tool for expanding one’s sense... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2145455/how-train-your-nose-wine-kit-helps-you-become?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2145455/how-train-your-nose-wine-kit-helps-you-become?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 May 2018 05:00:15 +0000 At the Left Bank Bordeaux Cup’s Asia competition, which was held at the Grand Hyatt, in Wan Chai, in February, the coach of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) team asked me to give his group a pep talk ahead of the blind tasting. The team went on to win the contest and will be heading to Bordeaux, France, in June for the world final to compete against teams from Yale, Cornell, Harvard, Cambridge and other illustrious universities. Leading the blind: the pros and cons of... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2143503/hong-kong-universitys-wine-club-heads-bordeaux?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2143503/hong-kong-universitys-wine-club-heads-bordeaux?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Apr 2018 09:01:46 +0000 To the average drinker, a barrel is a container that holds wine before it is bottled. But there’s much more to them than that.  Barrels come in all sizes and are named according to the region in which they are used. In Bordeaux, France, barrels go by the names barrique (225 litres) or tonneau (900 litres); the latter is usually used for long-term ageing, or vinification.  What goes into making a great wine In Burgundy, they are called a pièce (208 litres for pinot noir) while Chablis... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/2141604/wine-french-oak-or-american-oak-what-difference-barrel-can?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/2141604/wine-french-oak-or-american-oak-what-difference-barrel-can?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Apr 2018 09:02:44 +0000 It has been a few years since I got excited about syrah (as it tends to be known in the old world), or shiraz (as it’s called in many other countries), but, on my recent travels to Australia, I was inspired by what winemakers are doing with this storied grape. In France, syrah is the most widely planted red wine grape, with more than 70,000 hec­tares under vine. That might surprise some, considering the fame of other red grape varieties, such as cabernet sauvignon and merlot in Bordeaux, and... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2139490/syrah-unsung-hero-grape-frances-rhone-valley?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2139490/syrah-unsung-hero-grape-frances-rhone-valley?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Mar 2018 11:15:00 +0000 The newest “pet” in the wine world is pétillant naturel, known in geek speak as “pét-nat”. It’s a cute term for a natural wine with a bit of fizz that can be quite foamy when opened, and ranges from bone dry to a little on the sweet side. But, although it is trendy, pét-nat is not new. One could call it retro because the tech­niques involved in this style of wine are very old: méthode ancestrale is said to be the earliest traditional way of making sparkling wine. Most likely, this was hit upon... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2137337/praise-pet-nat-hip-new-wine-craze-adds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2137337/praise-pet-nat-hip-new-wine-craze-adds?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Mar 2018 12:30:00 +0000 Raising a toast at a dinner, special occasion or event has long been a way to honour an individual. It is difficult to trace the origins of this custom but many believe it began with the ancient Greeks making offerings to their gods. Later, senators in Rome issued a decree that all citizens must toast the health of Emperor Augustus at each meal. The dos and don’ts that can make or break a wine event Shakespeare immortalised the custom of toasting in his Merry Wives of Windsor, with the character... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2135246/raising-toast-dos-and-donts-and-how-sabre?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2135246/raising-toast-dos-and-donts-and-how-sabre?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 01 Mar 2018 22:00:30 +0000 Tasting wine before it is bottled is an experi­ence that isn’t open to everyone; wineries usually grant only wine professionals, writers and special clients this privilege. Tasters have to look past the burly roughness that is in the glass and predict how it will evolve, because the fruit at this stage can be very intense and quite tart. If it’s a red, the tannins will be on the bitter side, almost as if you’ve licked an aspirin tablet. The colour will be purple – if you taste a few of these new... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2131557/evolution-wine-rough-smooth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2131557/evolution-wine-rough-smooth?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 03 Feb 2018 09:32:41 +0000 Grapes go through many stages before they become the magical, delicious liquid we know as wine, and decisions made at every step of the winemaking process, including while the fruit is still on the vine, can affect the final outcome. The weather before the grapes are picked and their ripeness are important; ripeness determines the sugar levels, which in turn affect the final potential alcohol content of the wine. Sun is good – it reduces the amount of moisture inside the grape, thus... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2129488/what-goes-making-great-wine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2129488/what-goes-making-great-wine?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Jan 2018 09:00:15 +0000 Sémillon is a greatly underrated grape. Wine people usually think of it as a supporting cast member, rarely as the star. So it’s perhaps surprising to learn that there are more than 11,000 hectares of sémillon in France alone – mostly in Bordeaux and Bergerac – making it the third most planted white grape, behind sauvignon blanc and char­donnay. It is an early ripening grape that is fairly high yielding (14-20 tonnes per hectare) and quite hardy, but prone to rot (botrytis) because it has thin... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2126780/thanks-semillon-underestimated-grape-thats?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2126780/thanks-semillon-underestimated-grape-thats?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Jan 2018 12:01:41 +0000 “Twelve wines (mostly) of Christmas” isn’t as hummable as the song of a similar name, but the drinks below are practical, affordable (have you seen the price of a partridge in a pear tree lately?), and tasty, too. 1 The first wine is champagne, of course, because it’s Christmas and time to celebrate. Plump for a bottle from the first lady of champagne, Madame Clicquot, who became the veuve (French for “widow”) of producer Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin when her husband, François Clicquot, passed away... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2124264/12-drinks-12-days-christmas-plus-recipe-mulled?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2124264/12-drinks-12-days-christmas-plus-recipe-mulled?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Dec 2017 12:02:22 +0000 Cabernet sauvignon is the red wine equivalent of the little black dress. It’s a grape that is in the repertoire of many winemakers around the world as its thick skin makes it sturdy enough to stand up to inclement weather and pesky bugs, and it has a distinctive aroma and flavour depending on the climate and soil it is grown in. Surprisingly, it is the happy result of two unlikely grapes – one white and one red – being combined in the early 1800s by an unknown breeder who pollinated sauvignon... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2122233/why-cabernet-sauvignon-popular-world-over?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2122233/why-cabernet-sauvignon-popular-world-over?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Nov 2017 11:30:45 +0000 Not as widely grown as cabernet sauvignon and merlot, cabernet franc is a grape from Bordeaux that’s frequently overlooked and often relegated to a supporting role. It is more commonly found on the Right Bank – in the wines of Saint-Émilion, Pomerol and Fronsac – and most acclaimed in the wines of Château Cheval Blanc, where it is blended with merlot. A little known fact is that cabernet franc is a “grandaddy” of both cabernet sauvignon and merlot, and even of carménère, and there is DNA... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2120054/overlooked-home-bordeaux-cabernet-franc-winning?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2120054/overlooked-home-bordeaux-cabernet-franc-winning?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Nov 2017 02:48:08 +0000 The wine that put Canada on the map – ice wine – is also made in Europe, primarily in Germany, where it known as eiswein. Rare and expensive, these wines are usually sold in small, slender bottles. The production of ice wine is different from that of other sweet wines, which get their concentration from botrytis, or “noble rot”, the result of leaving grapes on the vines to shrivel and acquire mouldiness. For ice wines, instead of being picked when ripe the grapes are left on the vines. Through... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2118083/what-goes-making-best-ice-wine-be-it-canada-or?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2118083/what-goes-making-best-ice-wine-be-it-canada-or?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Nov 2017 10:30:50 +0000 Becoming a sommelier takes years of tasting and studying, and I was lucky to have mentors who taught me a great deal. I try to do the same in turn, by helping younger wine lovers. The first student I took under my wing was Adam, who worked at the same Hong Kong restaurant as I did while he was taking a break from chilly Britain. One day, I was holding a tasting for staff, pairing wines with Thai and Spanish cuisine. For Adam it was a moment of revelation: wine, he realised, was not simply for... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/2115787/hong-kong-sommelier-wine-lovers-she-helped-and-her-pride?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/2115787/hong-kong-sommelier-wine-lovers-she-helped-and-her-pride?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Oct 2017 11:17:10 +0000 If you want to start a lively discussion among wine lovers, ask them what temperature their favourite tipple should be served at. A few will insist that reds be served at room temperature. That may be fine in a temperate climate but, in Hong Kong, natural room temperature would be about 30 degrees Celsius for much of the year. Most would recommend serving wines at about 13 to 15 degrees – because that’s the optimal temperature they are stored at in a winery, chateau or wine cellar. Getting the... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/2114072/what-best-temperature-serve-wine-and-what-if-you-get-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/2114072/what-best-temperature-serve-wine-and-what-if-you-get-it?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Oct 2017 10:01:08 +0000 It’s tempting to assume that the price of a wine is an indication of its quality. There are instances when this is true, of course, but it’s not always so. For the big brands, wine is like any other business; labour contributes greatly to the cost. In the vineyard, staff tend the vines and pick the grapes; at the winery or chateau, the winemaker and his employees look after the tanks, barrels and other equipment. Even before a wine is in the bottle the owners will ask the key question: “How much... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2112033/how-enjoy-fine-wines-bordeaux-without-breaking?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/2112033/how-enjoy-fine-wines-bordeaux-without-breaking?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 Sep 2017 09:00:30 +0000