First is an important position. You never forget the first time. First impressions are definitely lasting, if not the last. The first cut is the deepest. So, on that thought, the first drink is perhaps the most important of the evening.

 

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The Old World encompasses more than just France, Italy, Germany and Spain. Portugal is often overlooked, but has recently become much more visible due to its increasing quality standards and continued modest pricing.

The Wine Society of India's Spring Selection will be a focus on Spain and Portugal, hence this blog's focus on Portugal.

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Magandeep Singh blogs for the Wine Society of India about his adventures in the world of wine:

 

Wine sense is, personally speaking, a very important wine term. It symbolises all that is really needed for enjoyment: the wine, and the sense. While a million people write about wine, dissecting it, turning it over and around, very few people actually take the time to enjoy it.

This is exactly why wine

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Most people tend to read the words on a wine label about as much as they read the articles in Playboy. This is not a good thing if you are, let’s say, not absolutely versed with human anatomy, or the insides of a wine bottle! It always helps to know your way around, so to say.

A wine label is like a synopsis of the wine, attached to the bottle. It is part ID card, part storyteller for the wine it represents. You can acquire data and much more from it. Here is how it goes.

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1. Cognac is pronounced ‘Con-yak’…don’t ask why.

2. All brandy ain’t Cognac, just like all Indians aren’t Punjabis! You have to be made in the region of Cognac to enjoy the classification. But it is fruit-based (grapes!) and hence for those who are scared of mixing their spirits, you could transfer between this and wine without a ‘souci’ in the world!

3. Cognac is not expensive just because it is old or because it is blended from 100 different ‘eaux-de-vie’. A good Cognac is a blend of some (as few as 2-3 will also do) rare and exceptional eaux-de-vie.



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During the past month I have attended three in-depth tastings at Decanter magazine, covering wines and vintages that are just now coming onto the market. These tastings are of course blind, but the vintage and appellations are known, so comparisons are fairly tight. The tasters are drawn from specialists in each region, always a smattering of Masters of Wine (MWs), and wines that have received ..Read More >>

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Blog: Steven Spurrier

"Our vineyards cover only 4% of the whole region, but represent 34% of wines sales and 95% of the estates are family-owned".  This statement made at a morning conference at Vinexpo (the world's largest wine trade fair) in Bordeaux last June did not refer to the Haut-Medoc, but to the Napa Valley.  Family ownership seemed the over-riding theme to this bi-annual jamboree,

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There is always a hedonistic downside to recession and I don't mean people losing jobs; work is by no means a luxury and no one should ever stoop down so low to afford some. I mean the replacement of the French hand-churned unsalted butter with an industrial spread. I am talking about the Bresse Poulet and the Australian lamb being substituted with local birds and sheep that are too skinny to be kept alive. Recession hits all areas but it leaves the most foul of tastes in the one industry which matters the least to financial people, but where taste itself matters the most - the field of food and beverage.

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Blog: Magandeep Singh

If I had a penny for:

1. Every vineyard manager who tells me his terroir is unique
2. Every wine consumer who told me screw caps are not good for wine
3. Every sommelier who told me he suggests red wine with red meat
4. Every third person with an accent who claims to be a Sommelier
5. Every second person with a laptop and an internet connection who claims to be a wine writer

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There are two types of travel: the one that enriches you, teaches you about different cultures and customs and broadens your mind. Then there is the other type: the one where the only thing you rack up is frequent flyer miles. Luckily for me, none of my trips are so devoid of joy. Ironically, none of my trips are devoid of rich food and lavish drink either and I always return a man with a

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