Saturday - International Wine
Do you really want to buy wine online?
I love walking around wine shops. Especially really good ones. Some of them have wonderful bottles of vintage wines, ports, sherries, madeira, marsala and brandy in lovely dusty racks. Others give you a list and you can go and actually look at a bottle of wine that is on the list at ?2000. Of course buying it is out of the question, but you will always remember that day when you actually touched a Rothschild '47 or whatever it was for the rest of your life.
If you live or work in London there are some fabulous wine merchants to window shop in. You can potter around the more expensive areas of the West End and discover a cornucopia of wine shops with superb wines from all over the world. Many specialise in the more expensive vintages.
Looking round these emporiums is a bit like taking a kid into a sweetshop. You look at all these wines that you have read about only in fables and decide that you will have a bottle of 'house-red' thanks. You can't tell the be-suited gentleman behind the wooden counter that your bank manager would have a fit if you bought the one you really wanted. You also know that if you try to bluff him by asking for the '85 rather than the '86 he will produce the bottle from the folds of his morning suite.
The airports of Western Europe, particularly Amsterdam and Zurich for transit passengers are amazing. Good wine is not in it. From behind glass, possibly bullet-proof, you can gaze at bottles of 200 year old brandy. I wonder if anyone actually drinks it, or do they frame it or something? You may wonder, whilst looking for the rather cheaper duty-free shop which sells things for under $1000, whether you could buy some of these things rather less expensively somewhere else.
If you go to Italy or France you can just go to the local shop in the town and you will be amazed at the range of wines there. Of course the local wine/s will be paramount in the mind of the storekeeper or wine merchant, but there will be some special wines that really need attention paid to them. Little stores can often come up with some really cracking wine if persuaded to. "This is my last bottle" really means that the wine is really good and possibly too good to be drunk by a foreigner.
If you take a tour of the wine growing regions of Italy or France you will be able to buy a case or two of whichever wine you took a fancy to on your holiday. Having tasted it in Italy though, does not necessarily mean that it will taste the same in England or Germany when it's only 2C outside.
Most of us would love to go to interesting places; see how wine is made and taste it on the spot; have the time to wander round wine warehouses and have the knowledge of what to look for. The rest of us take advantage of the new ability of being able to buy wine online. It's much easier but not, perhaps, as much fun.
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A Short International Wine Summary
Do you really want to buy wine online?
I love walking around wine shops. Especially really good ones. Some of them have wonderful bottles of vintage wines, ports, sherries, madeira, marsala...
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Featured International Wine Items
Paradise Ranch Canada Ice Wine
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News about International Wine
Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio Named 'Hot Brand' of 2007
Tue, 25 Mar 2008 12:55:28 PDT
From article: "For the fourth time, Impact magazine has awarded Santa Margherita "Hot Brand" status, based on 2007 case sales. The refreshing, food-friendly white wine also continues to dominate Wine & Spirits magazine's annual poll, as the leading imported wine in America's top restaurants."
Pairing Food With White Wine (Crisp Whites)
Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:28:34 PDT
Crisp white wines are pleasantly acidic and thirst quenching with a light body and a refreshing finish. Most have little or no oak aging and pair well with a variety of foods. They are grown world wide with the best in the U.S. being made from sauvignon blanc and pinot grigio grapes.
The Joys of Italian Table Wine
Thu, 28 Feb 2008 14:58:25 PST
Never a fan of red wine, this Diva thought she would surely lead a life filled with Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio. Then one day, she entered a small restaurant in Rome and was served a glass of the restaurant’s own label...
Pinto Gris vs Pinot Grigio - Episode #416
Tue, 26 Feb 2008 18:46:13 PST
WLTV
Don't be a Wine Idiot
Sun, 24 Feb 2008 04:59:57 PST
Don't embarrass yourself when you go our to dinner, learn how to pronounce wine terms the way they should. Syrah, Pinot Grigio and even Gewürztraminer, it's all here.
Delicious recipes for Italian Wines
Mon, 11 Feb 2008 10:35:02 PST
Recipes that pair with Sangiovese, Pinot Grigio and Primitivo
Wines of FreshDirect: A Pinot Grigio Yawner
Sat, 12 Jan 2008 13:11:15 PST
A pinot grigio that offers something simple to drink but not much in way of flavor. Eric Hazard continues to review the Wines of FreshDirect.
Chianti Wine
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Labels: Wine Recipe | Wine Recipes
