The Malaysian Insider :: Food
The Malaysian Insider :: Food |
| The sparkle in Dominique Portet’s rose wines Posted: 24 Sep 2013 07:40 PM PDT This French winemaker, originally from Bordeaux, but now settled at his winery in the Yarra Valley in Victoria, Australia, does not make any sparkling wines except the Dominique Portet Brut Rose. "I don't make a lot of it but I can ask for more money for the rose," said Portet who presided at a wine tasting at Aloft Kuala Lumpur Sentral recently. "Besides, women love the rose." Portet spent six months in Epernay, France, learning to make champagne, and his Brut Rose is in this champagne style, with finesse, freshness and acidity. This sparkling rose can be kept for six to seven years while the normal rose has a shelf life of just two years. We tasted the Dominique Portet Fontaine Rose 2012, a blend of Merlot, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon and found it refreshing, with a great fruit intensity and a dry finish. "In France we drink a lot of rose at the table. It's very friendly, not complicated and very trendy," said Portet. "It goes with salads and tapas, and women like it." We went on to the Fontaine Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot 2007. "It's fresh, flavourful and aromatic, with a backbone to it. It has soft and silky tannins," said the winemaker."You can enjoy the aging character. It will last till 2020 to 2025. "It goes with strong meat, especially the Chinese roast duck." The Dominique Portet Heathcote Shiraz 2009 was rich and powerful, with floral aromatics and hints of spice. It was so smooth. "The Shiraz vines grow on volcanic soil in the east of Melbourne. The soil is loaded with rich clay that keeps the humidity in," said Portet. The only wine that we didn't take to was the Fontaine Sauvignon Blanc 2008. "It's done in a very different style from the New Zealand Sauuvignon Blanc." Yet he is the first to establish a winery and label bearing his family name in Australia. "It was the start of viticulture in the country, at the same time as in the US," he said. He had arrived at the Yarra Valley, near Domaine Chandon in 1976. "I was in the group developing the wine property in Australia and was asked to take over. I was only 28 then." It had the Bordeaux DNA that he had set out in search of, and here he started his winery, and the Dominique Portet label in 2000. His wine education and working experience stood him in good stead. He had qualified at the renowned Montpellier University of Oenology in France and during a compulsory year of military service, was the legion's wine purchasing adviser. Portet had spent vintages in the Medoc, Rhone Valley, Provence and champagne giant Moet et Chandon in Epernay, France. He had also worked at his brother Bernard's winery Clos du Val in the Napa Valley of California. Portet explained his shift to the Yarra Valley. "We have a rigid way of doing things in France. Old traditions give you respect, history and class. But in a New World country it's freedom. You work hard and succeed very well. In France you work but nothing happens." Dominique Portet wines have been selling in Malaysia for the past 20 years. "We have been with Asia- Euro (wine and liquor distributor) for 13 years. Business is good," said Portet. "We sell 40 per cent of the wines in the Yarra Valley, with 30 per cent for export to China, Hong Kong, Singapore, India and the Middle East. – September 25, 2013. |
| Posted: 24 Sep 2013 07:23 PM PDT That's right, author E.L. James of the bodice-ripping trilogy has launched a duo of white and red wines which she "personally blended" with California winemakers from the North Coast. With the tagline "You are Mine," the Fifty Shades of Grey Red Satin is a blend of Petite Syrah and Syrah and is described as having notes of black cherry, cocoa, caramel, vanilla, leather and clove. The wine is aged in French oak barrels. White Silk is a blend of Gewurztraminer and Sauvignon Blanc with aromatics that include lychee and honey and tasting notes of grapefruit, mineral, pear and butterscotch. The white wine is aged in steel tanks. "Wine plays an important role in Fifty Shades of Grey, adding to the sensuality that pervades a number of scenes," said E.L. James in a statement. "I've always had a penchant for good wine, so combining two of my passions to blend Red Satin and White Silk was a natural extension of the series. I hope my readers curl up with a glass as they enjoy the romance between Anastasia and Christian." Meanwhile, the Fifty Shades of Grey franchise has become big business, not only with spinoff wines and a blockbuster version that's set to bring the steamy sex scenes to life, but with amusing parodies including Fifty Shades of Chicken, a wildly erotic and animalistic cookbook in which a raw, organic bird is pulled, jerked, stuffed and trussed. There's also Fifty Sheds of Grey, described as "one man's struggle against a tide of tempestuous, erotic desire and the greatest love of all: the love between a man and his shed." Fifty Shades of Wine will be sold in select states across the US starting next month. Bottles retail for $18 (RM57.91). - AFP Relaxnews, September 25, 2013. |
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