Wine of the month club gives easy access to wines from South Africa where rich soil and perfect climate allow exquisite wines. The members enjoy carefully selected wines delivered at their doorsteps. The Africa Trading Company – Luzernerstrasse 214 – 6402 Luzern – www.africatrading.ch

Yes, I have imbibed before this video. I speak on personal happiness, and the fact that may never occur. I mention a convoluted plan of mine, my familiar structure, my surname on accident, and mounds of homosexuality. I could’ve edited, but it so much more fun to do without sometimes, eh? Ugly mess. (In case you’re wondering what the concotion is, it’s sparkling wine, red wine and white rum.)

The London Pub and Wine Bar is located near Manila in Mimosa Clark Philippines. This English bar serves up authentic British gastropub food, a good variety of English and other imported beers, an eclectic selection of wine by the glass and Cuban cigars. The London Pub is an authentic English styled pub, a cozy place for foreigners and locals to hang out, enjoy good beers, wines, liquor and cocktail and order up some authentic British pub food. Quality of food is second to none and the menu contains both familiar fares done to perfection and exquisite gourmet dishes involving ingredients flown in from all over the world. The London Pub is already a great venue for private and semi-private parties for groups from 30 to 130. It’s outdoor patio is an excellent venue for garden-styled parties also. Food and wine are all top quality and modestly priced. An eclectic selection of wine by the glass is available at the London Pub, something like this: RED WINE 2007 Merlot , High Tide Isla Negra, Central Valley Chile php280 2006/7 Cotes de Duras, Doamine des Combes php260 2002 Barbera d’Asti Dezzani La Vigna, Tuscany Italy php 320 WHITE WINE 2002 Chardonnay, Dezzani La Vigna Piedmont Italy php220 2005 Bianco di Pitigliano, Goracci Rossano & Danilo Italy php240 2006 Riesling – Villa Loosen, Mosel Germany php380 2002 Sauvignon Blanc – Konrad, Marlborough NZ php280 SPARKLING WINE Cava Artelatino Brut Metodo Tradicional php 390 All-day dining Menu at the London Pub Braised Duck & Potato …

The Magnificent Wine Co. “CAB” is a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Washington Stat’s Columbia Valley. The winemaker Charles Smith has been making noise in the last few years for making some really high quality wines at great prices. Magnificent Wine Co. has two lines of wines “The Standard” and The “Originals”. The “CAB” is part of the “Originals” category as well as a Pinot noir, Syrah, and Riesling. The famous a well-known “House Wines” are part of the “Standard” series. For more info. and tech data check them out here.

The bouquet of this wine displays a classic Washington state Cabernet Sauvignon aroma of blackberry, coco, licorice, and spicy hints of oak. As I let the wine open up the aromas continue to unfold and intensify.

On the palate the wine has a sleek texture that reminds me slightly of Bordeaux, meaning it’s not overly viscous or thick. Flavors of luscious blackberry, cassis, chocolate-raspberry sticks, a touch of oak/spice lead into a medium length finish that displays only the slightest note of tannin.

This wine is a fantastic buy if you can find it at the price I paid for it ($14.99). It was on closeout at my neighborhood grocery. However, for $24 retail I would suggest searching for something from Italy or Spain that can deliver equal and perhaps superior complexity. 88 points


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Ok, so I know that these wines are considered to be what love to refer to as “swill” but I thought I would give them a go. I’ve held down a part-time job at a local hotel for a few years, and I work a weekend here and there for the extra spending money and the great room-rate benefits. It just so happens that these two beauties are the wines they serve during their happy hour.

I’m pretty sure I’ve never tasted anything made by “Barefoot” even though I’ve seen huge stacks of the stuff blocking the way of my grocery cart when I’m doing my weekly food shopping. The wines are non-vintage and I think they are blended a bit, but the label doesn’t divulge that precious information!

Ok, lets start with the Merlot……

On the nose I get aromas of sweet mixed berry, boysenberry syrup, and perhaps a hint of bark and dark chocolate. The bouquet reminds me a lot of cheap Aussie fruit-bomb type wines….Kind of like Yellow Tail Shiraz!

On the palate the wine shows some nice fruity berry notes and a touch of wood/bark. It also has a pretty insipid metallic note that is common with many inexpensive reds. The finish is dis-jointed with a bit of intruding alcohol.

All in all I’d say the Merlot is a hell of a lot better than I imagined it would be. No, it’s not a good wine, but I imagine that with a big plate of spaghetti and a few glasses it would go down easy enough. 75 points

Now for the Cabernet Sauvignon……

On the nose I get a hodge-podge mixture of dark-berry aromas and hints of herb and spice. This also has the hi-c type effect that many Aussie wines display regularly.

On the palate the wine is surprisingly more round and textured than the Merlot and even shows a touch of varietal character. Wow, not bad! Flavors of blackberry and dark chocolate seem to be wrapped around a nice big stave of oak…..The wine finishes with a slight herbal note and a touch of tannin.

To be completely honest, I have had much worse wines than the Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon. Once again, it’s by no means “fine wine” but it could definitely be a useful enough table wine and well within the budget. 80 points

A new study conducted by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis say that resveratrol – a compound found in the skin of red grapes and blueberries – may prove useful in preventing the vision loss associated with diabetes and old age.

This new study was reported by CBS News and can be found here.

The study, conducted on mice, also showed that resveratrol helps block the growth of abnormal blood vessels in the eye, such as that associated with macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in people over 50.

Just another reason to make sure you always have a glass of red wine with your dinner.

I have mentioned many times the desire I have to build a reasonable sized wine cellar in my house. Living in Arizona it’s not as if I can just stick a few cases of wine in my garage and expect them to keep for more than a few minutes during our hot and dry summers.

I have been investigating a few cooling options for my future cellar and have come across many different cooling system units. One that seems to be among the top of the line options is called WhisperKOOL. As we have discussed in previous posts, temperature and humidity control are essential to the proper aging of your wine, and WhisperKOOL has a reputation among professionals for a high level of accuracy and control.

WhisperKOOL offers several different options and ranges that include self-contained units, split systems, and fully ducted systems.

If your thinking of searching for a cooling unit for your home cellar, it’s vital to contact a professional that can help you make the right decision as to which size and type unit will work best for your space. Remember, maintaining the proper temperature and humidity is key to aging your wines properly.

Click on the link in the second paragraph for a in-depth look at the different units available. There’s also a really educational video contained on the webpage as well. Cheers~

Introduction to Australian Wine Hong Kong China Australian Red Wine Australian White wine Australian Sparkling wine

I first tried this single vineyard Sauvignon Blanc from Chile’s Ledya Valley in an amazing “blogger tasting” conducted by several amazing vintners from Chile. It was a tasting focused on Chilean Sauvignon Blanc and the many different soils and climates it is made in there. Check out the tasting notes here.

Anyways, this bottle during the tasting seemed a bit off for everyone in the group, so they graciously decided to send out another bottle for everyone to re-taste. (Pretty cool if you ask me!)

The really unique thing about this particular wine is that it’s partially aged in oak and is wild fermented. They used 500-liter French oak barrels for a total of 6 months, didn’t add any yeasts, nor did it undergo malolactic fermentation.

On the nose I get a quite distinct tone of grapefruit, that combines with a pronounced grassiness and minerality.

On the palate the wine is slightly viscous in texture but maintains it’s high acidity, which is of course  quite typical of the varietal and the cooler climate SB’s in general. The mineral characteristics translate onto the palate where the wine displays flavors of citrus, kiwi, and a touch of toast. The finish is quite long and powerful and perhaps flaunts a touch of it’s 14% by volume!

I really enjoy this wine and how they’ve taken a different approach to winemaking and crafting a unique wine. What’s great is that although the wine is fermented in oak, they didn’t overdue it or over-spice it. It’s pretty well balanced and has nice complexity. 88 points


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