Arrogant Frog Shiraz seduces consumers down under, across the U.S. and now Ontario, Quebec and B.C!
Arrogant Frog Shiraz seduces consumers down under, across the U.S. and now Ontario, Quebec and B.C!
The Great Grange reigns! Stunning, seductive and aging with grace!
The Great Grange reigns! Stunning, seductive and aging with grace!
Those Penfolds luxury wines did not disappoint. Tuesday, September 9th, 2008 will be a day to remember. Seated at Reds Bistro for a unique tasting lead by award winning Chief Winemaker Peter Gago. Peter, bravely fought off the sniffles, not a good thing when you’re the chief leading the tasting. We were treated to an experience, with the wines showing brilliantly and the wine writers and personalities around the table sipping, slurping, commenting and busily scratching down tasting notes, prices and most importantly, availability!
In 2001, the National Trust of South Australia listed Penfolds Grange as a Heritage Icon.
Gathered together to experience this tasting, with each wine being presented with another of a previous vintage, we were all exposed to how these wines develop over a certain time period of cellaring. Anyone who thinks all Australian wines are meant for earlier consumption, you might want to reconsider! Of course these are not just ANY wines from down under. Penfolds has legs! long beautiful legs! excuse the pun.
It is the confidence of Penfolds that allows them to subject their range of wines to an independent assessment, an assessment of wine critics and writers the world over who pen their measure of and opine on the various wines and vintages of Penfolds all to appear, non edited every 5 years in “The Rewards of Patience” a book long anticipated by wine critics and lovers from around the globe. This 6th edition, launched on September 9th here in Toronto, on the 18th in Melbourne and in New York and London not until October, is a wine lovers superb reference for Penfolds; independent and honest.
The Wine Ladies With celebrity winemaker Peter Gago, Penfolds
Enjoy and experience the latter vintages of the wines we were honored to sample, here then is a list of wines to be released with dates and prices;
2005 Yattarna Chardonnay release date: November 8th, 2008 $100.00/bottle
2005 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz release date: November 8th, 2008 $ 37.95/bottle
2004 St. Henri Shiraz release date: November 8th, 2008 $ 64.00/bottle
2005 RWT Shiraz release date: November 8th, 2008 $135.00/bottle
2005 Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon release date: $120.00/bottle
2003 Grange Shiraz release date: September 10th $370.00/bottle
For precise tasting notes on all of the above please visit www.penfolds.com or treat yourself to a copy of “The Rewards of Patience” for an overview of almost every single wine Penfolds has ever produced!
Penfolds Grange…The crescendo of our “Ultimate Penfolds Experience”
Introducing Girls’ Night Out Wines. Best enjoyed with friends!
Introducing Girls’ Night Out Wines. Best enjoyed with friends! Enter to win a Girls’ Night Out with your best friends!
Kenny Cabernet’s Expert Tips: Drought or Drown—Which Threatens Vineyards Most? Ask Oenologist Kenny!
World renown lecturer, viticulturist and oenologist Kenny Cabernet just back from Australia explains how the drought down under is affecting their grapes, and how our record breaking rain is affecting ours! it ain’t grape! I mean great!!!
Last week we learned how the two extreme weather patterns impact the wine business.
How about all this rain? “Not good” says Kenny Cabernet. Too much rain will make the grape swell. The must is diluted and the all important ratio of skin to must is too great for red wines. The sugars and flavours can become compromised, less concentrated. Without the bathing of the sun on the grapes, they have little chance to become sweeter, to concentrate the extract. And we can’t forget about the possibility of various strains of mould affecting the grapes, having them rot from too much moisture. In heavy rains the skin can break leaving it prone to mould and infection. “If we don’t get a lot of warmth and sunshine for the balance of August and September the 08 vintage will be a tough one. The winemakers will have to focus on harvesting the best fruit.
Australia’s wine regions threatened by drought.
What about on the other side of the world? What’s going on?
Australia is suffering badly from a string of very dry years, the river beds are cracking from the continuous drought with little or no water in some cases available to irrigate. The reservoirs of water are depleted and where to go for moisture when there is no rainfall and no reserve? The concentration of the sugars are out of whack compared to the levels of acidity. You need both to produce well balanced wines. Too much sugar can translate into very high alcohol levels; this coupled with a lack of acidity can lead to flabby wines.
“There are some regions though,” Kenny says “that are blessed at higher altitudes that experience less water problems”. Lets hope for a dry spell here and a long awaited and much needed massive rainfall for our friends, the Aussies!
World renown lecturer, viticulturist and oenologist Kenny Cabernet
Veuve Clicquot and Porsche Team Up to Make the Fridge of Your Dreams
Vertical Limit, Porsche Design Studio.
A “Vertical event” rocks the Richmond Club in Toronto with Veuve Clicquot Champagne and Porsche design coming together!
Hello Canada captures the excitement and snaps The Wine Ladies taking it all in.
Picture this; Vertical Limit, designed by Porche Design Studio, the sleek stainless steel “slim” fridge, a work of art really is engineered to house twelve of the most coveted vintages of Veuve Clicquot Champagne. Only fifteen manufactured for world ownership and one is auctioned off to benefit the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine. An infinite stream of fashionable guests are there to help celebrate the successful bid of $100,000 courtesy of Dr. John Li hailing from Vancouver. When asked where we might place this object d’art if our bid took the prize, the kitchen was absolutely out of the question! Why only the grand entrance of a magnificent home or villa with a spotlight would make any sense! it’s a good thing Dr. Li made another bid! Phew!that was a close call!
Vertical Limit
Photos: A great cause with “les boules” extraordinaire, Courtesy of Veuve Clicquot Champagne.
Georgia and Susanne at the Richmond Club join the celebration of the successful bid for “Vertical Limit” at $100,000, July 2008.