Curious about Qvevri

Understanding Georgian wine

By Taste Georgia’s Sarah May Grunwald 

In the very heart of the Caucasus, the Republic of Georgia is a distinctively special country with deep and warranted claims as the actual birthplace of wine. Both archeological and biological evidence confirm this claim. Georgia has the oldest known grape pips ever found and Neolithic pottery, dating back over 9,000 years, that have residue from wine. While the entire Trans-Caucasus area is well established as the most ancient center of wine production, Georgia can declare the longest unbroken tradition of viticulture in the world.

Wine is written literally in the genetic code that distinguishes one as a Georgian.

Even more unique than the Kartvelian language and alphabet – with letters written in the fashion of grape vines – wine is Georgia’s identity. Georgia’s wine and ancient wine vessel known as the qvevri are the direct links that we, as modern wine lovers, have to our Neolithic ancestors. Read More

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“Prenatal Bourgogne” 2016: reds seem better than whites

By Panos Kakaviatos for Wine-Chronicles.Com

23 November 2016

Now the that the Hospices de Beaune auction is behind us (you can read my report on that here) – with a very good result overall for important charities – we can talk about some very, very early assessments of the quality of the vintage.

Having visited the domain back in late September, and now having tasted many of the 45 cuvées red and white from barrel, on location at the Hospices de Beaune (with some reassuring comments and opinions from fellow wine loving writers Amanda Regan and Michael Apstein), I suppose it could be safe to say that the reds from this vintage will turn out better overall than the whites.

And you know what? I’ll leave it at that …

Indeed, for some people, tasting 2016 at such an absurdly early stage is “simply useless”. That’s how one prominent wine author put it over lunch in Burgundy, but then again, that person recently wrote an article on … the quality of the wines. LOL!  Read More

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2015 Gevrey-Chambertins

Solar vintage sumptuousness – and “sumptuous” pricing

By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com 

20 November 2016

2015 Burgundy is going to be a big winner for lovers of rich and riper styles.

While not exactly like 2009, the wines I tasted at this event often seemed to approach that vintage’s characteristics – and for many readers there is much to cheer about.

The tasting of all kinds of Gevreys (villages, premiers and grands crus) was held on 17 November at Roi Chambertin.

And I agree with the general positive tone! 2015 will be a (very) successful vintage. However, I do worry about some excessively overripe characteristics that I encountered – and not just from the village level, but all the way to the grand cru level. Several tasters felt the same way about it, from Sweden to Croatia, by way of the US. I met wine writer Elke Jung from Sweden, for example, who very much liked the 2015s but also remarked, the next day “It seems that I am in the minority to think in terms of excess ripeness.” No, she was not. But consumer demand will depend on taste, and what one wants from Burgundy.

Although such observations/critiques may amount to more than just a hill of beans, they do not really constitute a mountain, either. Thank goodness for vintages! Read More

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Burgundy 2016

Hospices de Beaune preview and harvest news

By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com

25 October 2016

In late September this year, I had the good fortune to visit the Hospices de Beaune to preview next month’s famous wine charity auction that has been held there annually since 1859, taking place on the third Sunday in November amid a three-day festival devoted to the food and wines of Burgundy called Les Trois Glorieuses.

The charity is preceded by a black tie dinner at the Clos de Vougeot on day one, followed by the famous all-day and into the evening lunch La Paulée de Meursault on day three. I was invited to that lunch back in November 2013, and it is one of the most enjoyable wine events I have ever experienced, with plenty of singing, speeches and great wines with food.

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Hong Kong’s culinary delights on Lamma Island

Fish and Châteauneuf. Say what?

By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com

11 September 2015

Before I went to Hong Kong for the first time in May 2016, several connoisseurs told me how good the food is. Friends like Mike Lux, who travels there regularly.

Indeed, you can find many Michelin chefs working in this city of seven million people. I enjoyed a superlative lunch at Hong Kong’s top Italian restaurant with none other than Matteo Bruno Lunelli, CEO of top sparking wine producer Ferrari. And thanks to Wilson Kwok, for great bistro style food at his excellent W’s Entrecôte restaurant, with various winemakers from around the world. Wilson loves wine and food, and he and his sister manage the restaurant with style.

One of the most eye-opening meals I enjoyed during my Hong Kong séjour was at the Genuine Lamma Hilton Fishing Village Restaurant on Lamma Island, about 20 minutes from Hong Kong by boat. It was in late May, on the festival for Tin Hau, the goddess who protects fishermen. The restaurant was busy all day, having served some 600 customers, so the staff seemed a bit tired by the time we got there for an exclusive dinner, organized by wine enthusiast and friend Ronny Lau. Read More

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