Did you know that acidity is the quality of wine that gives it its crispiness and vitality? A proper balance of acidity must be struck with the other elements of a wine, otherwise the wine may be said to be too sharp - having disproportionately high levels of acidity - or too flat - having disproportionately low levels of acidity. The three main acids found in wine are tartaric acid, malic acid and lactic acid. The first two come from the grapes and the third from malolactic fermentation which often occurs in the winemaking process.
The KBR School of Wine is the first wine school in the country to be associated and affiliated with the Wine & Spirit Education Trust of UK. WSET offers the most comprehensive and contemporary wine courses worldwide. This is a certificate course, where you will be required to sit for an examination after the completion of the course. The next training is on Oct 25th.
It's a question which crops up in discussions among Indian wine aficionados regularly, says Ruma Singh. A select group of invitees were happy to discover some very interesting options at a wine tasting of Domaines Schlumberger Grand Cru Riesling and Gewurztraminer wines held at Ista's Indian fine dining restuarant, Zaman, in Bangalore.
Guests at the dinner, including Vishwapreet Cheema, Michelle Sebastian of Ista, Rishad Minocher and Ruma Singh at the far end.Read more...
Bringing together the country’s community of wine importers, distributors, wholesalers and retailers, along with noteworthy large-scale buyers including hotels, airlines and restaurants, the India International Wine Fair is an important forum for international and Indian wine producers, exporters and marketers.
IIWF 2008 will take place in Mumbai between 11th – 13th December 2008. Sommelier India is a media partner of IIWF.
As testament to Sommelier India's growing popularity in Southern India, The Hindu and Deccan Herald both featured the magazine in their papers recently. The Hindu highlighted Sommelier India Fun Facts while the Deccan Herald interviewed the publisher for "Bottled Poetry" on the wine culture down south.
We recently tasted five special blanc de blancs Champagnes with Daniel Lorson. Blanc de blancs is made entirely from Chardonnay grapes and is among the lightest and most refreshing of Champagnes, says Reva Singh. Champagne is not the only bubbly in the world, but it's the best known and most highly priced. It is also the standard by which other sparkling wines are judged.
Robert Goldstein, after declaring that he won an award for excellence from the Wine Spectator magazine by conning them with fictitious details, has set a war of words in the dispute-hungry blogosphere and wine circles. Vir Sangvi got us Indians also onboard last Sunday. But more on that a little later… Kulpreet Yadav reflects on the controversy that's gotten the wine world buzzing.
Bangalore has a thriving wine culture, but enthusiastic wine consumers like Stanley Pinto are none too happy. Here’s why.
I bought two cases of Indian wines made outside Karnataka yesterday. If you live in Bangalore, I strongly recommend that you do so as well because starting some time soon you could be paying 80-110% more per bottle. That’s absolutely true. Here’s what it’s all about:
Which are the best wine shops in town? The irrepressible Avininder Singh was commissioned to write an article. Here's his unedited report. The other day the Ed had this brainwave. “Go forth,” she said (she does get these Biblical moments). “And find me Private Liquor Shops in Delhi and compare them with those in Gurgaon”.
Tannins in wine have been described, particularly by novice drinkers, as having the effect of making wine difficult to drink compared to a wine with a lower level of tannins. Tannins can be described as leaving a dry and puckered feeling with a "furriness" in the mouth that can be compared to a stewed tea, which is also very tannic. This effect is particularly profound when drinking tannic wines without the benefit of food.
Tannins come primarily from the grape skins and the seeds and in biological terms are plant polyphenols that either bind and precipitate or shrink proteins.
Did you know that a red wine grape can be used to make white wine but a white wine grape cannot make red wine? The juice of red, white and pink wine grapes is clear in color. Red wine is red because the juice is left in contact with the red or black grape skin until it achieves the degree of color that pleases the winemaker.
The global wine map could look very different in 2058, according to Berry Bros & Rudd. The amount of vineyard land in England could potentially rival that of France by 2058. What’s more, if English sparkling wine becomes popular with drinkers and has sufficient demand to bring prices down, it might one day rival Champagne. Pictured to the right is an English Vineyard.
Once again, there's hyperbole about the potential of the Asian wine market and specifically the opportunities in China, Russia and India. Officials in Hong Kong expect wine imports into Asia to touch $1.5 billion by 2017. Yes, we do have over a billion people here in India but that doesn't mean everybody is going to become a wine drinker.
Bottle Shock, the new “wine film” based on the actual “Judgment of Paris” 1976 Tasting, has hit movie theaters across America. The New York Times gives it a mixed review explaining that it's a fascinating story that the filmmakers try to force into a specific screen genre. As a result, the movie flops around between madcap comedy and rousing drama. Using wine parlance, one could say it lacks structure. Read what Steven Spurrier told us about it.
As a testament to how much of a wine geek I am, my dinning room has the popular De Long's Grape Varietal Table framed on one wall. 184 of the world's favourite grapes organised by body and acidity. It looks a lot like the Periodic Table of Elements that you may remember from Chemistry class in school. But there are just 13 grapes that you really need to know.
