Region  Le Venezie, Italy
Type  White Still
ABV  12.0%
Variety  100% Pinot Grigio

When it comes to food and wine pairing, wisdom of the ages is gold: salmon sushi and white wine make one heck of a match, much to my orgasmic pleasure. Pinot Grigio’s middle-of-the-road style compliment the umami flavour of sushi pretty admirably. Neutral aroma of apple, pear, pineapple, floral at times. As acidity took a backseat, it rested on ripe tropical fruits supported by medium-weighted texture, hence the creamy yet balanced mouthfeel. There’s something about this laid-back, flexible Italian white that I just found likeable, and satiating.

Available at  Milawa Warehouse Sale (51MYR) , B.I.G. (68MYR)

Distributed by  Milawa

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Wine Ratings explained! Great Infographic from De Long Wines for wine geeks who give a rat’s ass to how influential winestream media assess and move wines off the shelves.

Region  Colchagua Valley, Chile
Type  Red Still
ABV  14.0%
Variety   100% Cabernet Sauvignon 

Meet Los Vascos, the poor man’s Lafite from across the Atlantic at a fraction of the cost. This deep red rendered aroma of black cherries, tobacco and a hint of herbs. Medium-weight, it tasted slightly medicinal, bitter and fairly firm before settling into a softer mid-palate supported by earthy/rubbery cassis and cherries. Finished dry and okay with kind tannins. It came across a little robust at first, but the edges soon rounded off in the glass. A solid Colchagua Cab for which we overpaid at the wrong place.

Available at  Vintry Cellar (88MYR, 20% off during promo) , Jaya Grocer (55MYR) , B.I.G. (58MYR) , Village Cellar (58MYR)

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Cold Storage’s 2012 International Wine Fair is back like a clockwork at Great Eastern Mall, Jalan Ampang from 12 to 22 April. The pickings look promising with  Taylors and Terrazas de los Andes featured on the promotional poster, but lets be realistic if the previous promotion at Solaris Mont Kiara is anything to go by. Go check it out by all means. Do look out for the terrific value Icewines!

Updates: I’ll be damned, Icewine is off the table this time. Followers of cult Kiwi brand Cloudy Bay would however be delighted to learn the SB is now available at warehouse price of 99.90MYR.

Despite the presence of a few rare reputable brands, keen wine drinkers would be disappointed by the fact that participating distributors prefer a product/plonk-driven approach over customer experiential focus. Sub-par event management aside, I don’t really see the point of flooding the stage with lesser quality wines and forgoing the publicity to engage consumers in building brand values of other worthy labels in their portfolio. Such approach might potentially deal a disservice to encouraging the public’s appreciation of wine. Worse, steering first-timers away from wine due to less-than-savory impression of poor bottles they thought were a bargain.

The way out is to educate the folk in earnest. Add values to wine and brand image appealing to consumers’ emotional experience and enjoyment. Slashing the price of wines of lowly calibre ain’t gonna bring it to the next level.