A few months ago while lunching at Le Bernardin in New York, I had a brief but illuminating conversation with the Sommelier, a certain Aldo Sohm. Little did I know that a few months later he'd win the title of Best Sommelier in the World in a competition organized by the Italian World Sommelier Association.

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Robert Mondavi was a household name and news of his death around the world was met with sadness by all who knew him even remotely. That includes us here at SommelierIndia. Less than a week ago we posted a note describing his new wine Continuum (see the blog for the piece). Looking back, however, there is much to celebrate. He was a legendary figure who helped put Napa Valley on the world wine map and raised the bar for California wines.

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Robert Parker has finally released his scores for the Bordeaux 2007 vintage. And his scores aren't going to bring much joy to the Bordeaux En Primeur community. He awarded only three wines 100 points, all of them white wines and among the reds only four got 95 points. With the whites Chateaux Pape Clement Blanc and Haut-Brion Blanc received 96-100 points while Climens was awarded 98-100 points.

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A brave shopkeeper picked up a £4.99 bottle of Blossom Hill red wine by the neck and chased an attacker out of his store in Suffolk, UK according to the Daily Mirror. The thug was left empty handed as he fled while Jasvinder Bains sprinted after him waving the bottle above his head. Bains has owned Bains Store in Pakefield, Suffolk, since he came to Britain from Punjab, India, 17 years ago. He certainly made good use of his wine! The thug's seven inch blade obviously could not deter the brave shopkeeper.

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We were first to bring you the results of the India Wine Challenge and we're the first to bring you highlights of Bordeaux En Primeur 2007. Your Sommelier India Team was invited to Bordeaux for the second year running to participate in these exclusive tastings. Bordeaux En Primeur 2007 was officially kicked off on March 31st with a welcome dinner with representatives from the Chateaux of the Union de Grands Crus (UGC).

In what has become a tradition, many Chateaux owners personally attended the dinner so that they could mix with the journalists and talk about their wines and the vintage. Earlier in the day, tastings of the Sauternes and Barsac wines were held at Chateau Doisy Verines. Those tastings were followed by a special one at Chateau d'Yquem which is an honorary member of the UGC. Continue reading.

For more on En Primeur click here and watch the blog for updates on each appellation.

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The word on the street about the 2007 harvest. The white wines were a pleasant surprise. Each year they get stronger and stronger. The weather was perfect for harvesting them. And they did well. Among the reds, the Cabernet Sauvignon was the strongest with difficulty encompassing the Merlot. Knowing when to harvest the red grapes was a difficult decision as August was a terrible month for the weather. More on the weather.

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With the Bordeaux En Primeurs just round the corner, the wine world is wondering what the wine will be like this year. Some UK En Primeur merchants believe that the 2007 Bordeaux vintage will confound expectations. But with the difficult weather conditions during the harvest, nobody is really sure how the wines will taste. The 2006 vintage was contentious. 2005 was brilliant. What will 2007 be like?

Pictured above is Château Margaux which is one of four wines to achieve First Growth status in the 1855 Bordeaux Classification because of its high price. Château Margaux wine usually consists of approximately 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 5% Petit verdot and Cabernet Franc grapes.

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Investors in wine would have enjoyed a better return than those investing in Western stock markets over the last seven years, a study from London-based specialist Wine Asset Managers has shown. Data from the London-based company shows that the average annualised return on an investment in fine wines would have stood at 16 per cent.

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Maybe the best place to drink wine is going to be Hong Kong. With wine duties across India still extremely high, it might be better to drink your wine while holidaying in Hong Kong. In an imaginative move, the Hong Kong government abolished duties on wine and beer. This makes Hong Kong one of the few places in the world in which wine is not taxed at all. Last year taxes on wine were as high as 80%.

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France's wine and spirit industry had a record 2007 with triple digit surges in the Chinese market and extraordinary sales from the Champagne region. Nearly $13.8 billion worth of wine and spirits was exported in 2007 marking a 7 percent increase over the previous year. Sales into China more than doubled to nearly $365 million largely because French wines are considered the most prestigious by the Chinese. Pictured is a map of France with the Champagne region coloured in red.

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The New York Times is reporting that a large number of Russian and Indian buyers are scouting around for small Bordeaux vineyards. With wine consumption in France dropping, midrange wines are hurt the most. The Bordeaux region of Entre-Deux-Mers is particularly affected by this. A 150 acre tract of land along with a 6,500 square foot chateau can be purchased for as little as $3 million.

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