Wednesday Whine
Ugni blanc
The wine today is no longer in my rack…
I drank it on Saturday to celebrate the Argentine game against Iran in the FIFA World Cup…
Ugni Blanc Chardonnay 2013 from Viñas de Balbo, Mendoza, Argentina.
“This generic wine is obtained from the harmonic combination of Ugni Blanc and Chardonnay varieties which gives this wine a delicate yellow color with hints of green, a subtle and persistent aroma and a particular soft and fruity flavor. It goes well with white meats, soft cheese, fish and seafood.” – Don Cano Wines
Although I drank it with weinerschnitzel, boiled minted potatoes and cauliflower with cheese sauce…
Good price, went down a treat, looking for more.
The Mendoza region in northwest Argentina produces many great wines. Here’s a good guide to northwest wines: Grape Travel
My rating: Definitely not plonk.
Wednesday Whine
Welcome to the second installment of Wednesday Whine.
Another part of my wine rack, very rustic; complete with dusty bottles and a spider’s web.
I use anything that will store bottles horizontally
Even resorting to fruit boxes where necessary.
It’s a sad story, today’s wine is like last weeks, no longer in the wine rack. I drank it yesterday with a fish casserole for lunch.
Based on a part post from yesterday on Life is but a Labyrinth. It is a mere coincidence that this is also an Argentine wine; I do drink others.
Candela Legend Sauvignon Blanc/Semillion 2003
The wine that found its way into the freezer before lunch.
The legend – “The legend speaks of a shadow of light, dancing through the vineyards in the heart of the night. Everyone knew her name and many were captivated by her splendor. Candela, a magical enigma, igniting passion and inspiration with the light of her dance”.
There is very little on the net about Candela Legend wines from Argentina, some info about reds, but no whites.
Produced by Bodegas Escrihuela Gasgcón, which returns no results, although I have managed to track the bodega to the Cuyo area of Mendoza.
I was again confronted with a black zit, that black rubber ‘cork’. Which despite the hype on the bottle dampened my ardour somewhat.
The wine itself was a reddy-brown which took me by surprise; I was expecting a white; and as per the blurb with greeny tinges. This looked more like iced tea.
The taste, musky, palatable, but definitely musky. It’s not a tip-it-down-the-sink wine by any means. I will persevere and over the course of the afternoon the bottle will empty.
I wouldn’t rush to buy it again.
To sum up my experience in one word, disappointing; although I will say their reds get good write ups.
Wednesday Whine
Welcome to the first Wednesday Whine.
My wine rack is indeed modest.
But it is, nevertheless, a rack complete with dusty bottles.
While my rack is limited to twelve bottles, it is supplemented by a bookcase and several artfully redesigned fruit boxes.
Today’s wine is, actually, no longer in the rack… I drank it.
Maipe Cabernet Sauvignon (Andean Culture), Mendoza, Argentina, 2010
There’s a good review on Spirit of Wine I agree with everything they say.
I must add that it was a heady wine… I mean it went straight to the head tasting wonderful all the way.
There was one detracting feature, upon opening the bottle I was confronted with a black rubber ‘cork’ which looked more like a giant zit. Seeing this black thing, instead of a pristine cork initially made me wonder if the wine was off.
I enjoyed half the bottle with lunch, a homemade Shepherd’s Pie.
After my after-lunch-nap I experimented with an iced wine-fizzy, half ‘n half with sparkling mineral water, very good.
Yes, I know, I hear you all clamouring… “OMG, he put ice and water with it!” I’m a peasant, I know. Try it, you just may discover something new.
Red Kerosene
Cab Sav
It’s not often that I am overly critical of wine. I may make the odd disparaging comment, but nothing to compare with my opinion on this one.
I opened a bottle of Finca Flichman Cabernet Sauvignon Roble 2007 to enjoy while laying comfortably on my sofa on a wet miserable Sunday afternoon and the watch football game yesterday afternoon and nibble on a selection of cheese giving me some 90 minutes of transient bliss to combat the weather.
Honestly, I struggled to finish the first glass. I persevered in the hope that I might find a redeeming quality that I had missed, but in vain, it just wasn’t there.
Red kerosene would have been preferable, it was harsh and unpleasant on the palate. Certainly not my cup of tea, ah wine.
The bottle was recommended to me by the owner of my local supermarket. It was moderately priced, not cheap, but well within my normal drinking range; a range I might add that I have never been critical of before. Not like some of the ‘plonk’ I have tasted in cheaper ranges.
I was extremely disappointed; and will be reporting that to the owner, as he did recommend it.
It is the first time I have been so let down by a wine from Mendoza in Argentina. For me Argentinian wines from Mendoza are synonymous with very good to excellent.
Make wine not war!
As tensions heighten in the Falklands, Argentinian vineyard sends grapes to English winemakers to produce unique cross-border vintage.
Amid the diplomatic sabre-rattling overshadowing the anniversary of the Falkland’s war, there is one area of Anglo-Argentinian relations we can all raise a glass to.
British and Argentinean vineyards have responded to the crisis by forming a unique collaboration to ‘make wine not war.’
In what even the producers admitted was a ‘madcap’ idea, two tonnes of grapes were transported 7,000 miles from a red wine vineyard on the foothills of the Argentinian Andes to a sparkling white wine producer in the Home Counties.
United by wine: Two tonnes of grapes were transported 7,000 miles from a red wine vineyard on the foothills of the Argentinian Andes to Chapel Down winery in Kent
Chapel Down winery in Tenterden, Kent has now created 1,300 bottles the world’s first cross-border wine created from foreign grapes imported to the UK which will be available later this month.
Andrew Maidment, European head of wines of Argentina, said: ‘The wine industry is all about collaboration but nothing like this has ever been done before.
‘When I approached the British wine makers, they said ‘It sounds completely crazy but we’ll give it a go.’
Madcap: The grapes were flown over from a vineyard in Mendoza, Argentina
It’s something unique which makes it very exciting.
‘It was also a big risk though – we didn’t know what was going to happen with it whether it would be a fantastic bottle or whether it would be undrinkable.’
Celebration: The final product symbolises unity between Argentine and British industries
Staff from Chapel Down visited the vineyard in Mendoza, which lies 3,500 ft above sea level, last April and chose the grapes they wanted harvested which had to be flown to the UK within five days to keep them fresh.
Mr Maidment said: ‘It was very important was that, while the grapes came from Argentina, this wine wasn’t made by Argentina.
‘It was produced completely by the British vineyard, with no one telling them what to do.
It’s a bit of a madcap idea, but it worked as a celebration of the two industries working together.
‘It wasn’t conceived with anything political in mind, but in the current climate I think everyone would be happier to have people making wine than making war.’
After a year of production, the Chapel Down Malbec red is now complete and Mr Maidment described it ‘elegant and not too in your face.’
‘It’s got an Argentinian influence but is unmistakably restrained English style. I’m really happy with it.
‘It’s a fusion of the two countries but is truly English, very elegant, young and fresh.
Source: MailOnline Read more about timings and distribution
argentumvulgaris
Things that Fizz & Stuff 