What might look a bit like a haunted mansion within the high rise buildings of Shanghai, actually is a very charming old Tudor house and represents a beautiful setting for wine and food.
For our last dinner in Shanghai I went online and made some research about what the Shanghai fine dining scene has to offer. There are a few branches of international 3 star chefs (The Pourcel twins and Boulud) which I suspected might only be less good copies of the originals. Then there are those much talked about hip restaurants such as “Mr. and Mrs Bund”, which might actually be worth a shot, but also bear a big risk for disappointment. But we wanted none of these, and rather picked a restaurant with a wine theme that seemed to offer a reasonable package: Napa Wine Bar and Kitchen. Read the rest of this entry »
Christos Kokkalis doesn’t need to be introduced anymore. Well, at least not in Germany where the Greek once lived and worked as a pharmacist. When he started his ambitious wine venture in the Peloponese region of Greece. Germany most naturally became his primary market for selling his wines. For those who do not live in Germany: Kokkalis started his winery in the 1990′s with the goal of creating a high-end Cabernet-Sauvignon from Greece that could rival the best French growths. His wine named Trilogia first came out in 1997 and soon earned lots of praise from the press and the wine-scene. His second wine Movia is a cuvée of Cabernet and Agiorgitiko, a Greek varietal. As a third wine, Kokkalis now produces a 100% Syrah. Read the rest of this entry »
Pfälzer Winzer beschränken sich bekannterweise bei den Rotweinen seit einigen Jahren nicht mehr nur auf regionale Rebsorten sondern bauen auch immer mehr auf die bekannten internationalen Trauben. Der Erfolg gibt Ihnen recht, und meine bisherigen Eindrücke machen mich auch immer wieder neugierig. Read the rest of this entry »
The Pfalz region has in recent years become known for also producing some quite appreciated red wines besides its very well known Rieslings, Weißburgunder and Grauburgunder. Some estates are recognized for being precursors in reinventing German red wines by introducing “international” varieties such as Cabernet, Merlot and Syrah. Read the rest of this entry »
“Idus” is the name of the second wine of Celler Vall Lach which is located in Porrera within the Priorato region. It is a Cuvée of mainly Carinena and Garnacha grapes, but also includes varieties such as Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet. Colour is dark and brilliant with great intensity. Big tears on the inside of the glass instantly remind that the label announced 15,5 % alc. Intense nose of cherries and Vanilla, but also some herbs and tar; unfortunately also a slight alcoholic tone is puncturing. After 3 hours of decanting, tannins are feeling soft on the palate. Fruit is very intense and clear of cherries, reminding a little of cherry-jam, but on the other hand it is by far not as jammy as some other modern Spanish wines. On the mid-palate a little bitter-tone is also noticeable and on the back end of the palate the alcoholic afterburner is quite strong. All in all this is not something I love really, but not truly a bad wine either, I just don’t like that strong alcohol touch.(btw I already had wines with 16% which didn’t feel alcoholic at all). Then again this could be much better with the right food match 87-89
Alle 3 Flaschen sind unkomplizierte, aber trotzdem leckere Rotweine die perfekt einen netten Grillabend begleitet haben. Wobei die 2 Österreicher mir ein Tick mehr Spaß gemacht haben als der Südfranzose.
2006 Red, Weingut Heinrich, Burgenland Read the rest of this entry »
