These days when there is so much of buzz around Organic food and vegetables. There is a niche segement of 'Órganic' wines around the world. When i saw this wine I did not want to let go of the opportunity to try some organic Red wine from Stellenbosch.

First thing that had me intrigued was the name, and this being a South African label i was sure there was a story behind this. Apparently the name is a tribute to the three thousand ladybirds that are released each year into the vineyards to combat the bugs and hence bypasses the need of pesticides.

This wine is predominantly Merlot along with Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Petit Verdot.


On the nose : it has a fruity aroma, has a freshness of Cherries and there is a hint of Spice.
On the Palate : this is full bodied wine with a lush fruity taste of Plum and Cherries and medium finish with a hint of oak. 
This was an excellent wine and paired well with steak and a rack of lamb.


Stellenbosch is perhaps the most famous wine-producing region in South Africa. The town, in Western Cape's Coastal Region, is steeped in history and is home to the country’s best-known wine estates. Cabernet Sauvignon is the region’s most prized grape variety, often found with Merlot as part of a Bordeaux Blend. Stellenbosch is just 25 miles (40km) east of Cape Town.

 

Boplas Vineyards is one of the oldest Vineyards in South Africa. 
This particular Port style Wine is made from 
85% Tinta Barocca, 12% Touriga Nacional, 3% Souzao Variety of Grapes in the Western Cape Area and aged for Eight years in Oak barrels.

Tasting Notes:This is a delicious wine with a nutty caramel taste, with a hint of chocolate and an Orangish finish. It has a long and a yummy finish

Pairing : It pairs well with Cheese Cake and with Ice cream too. Apparently this wine can also be served as a Appertiff.

This port has won multiple awards and has to be one of the best Port Wines I have ever tasted.

To be perfectly honest I picked up the bottle of Gazela Vinho Verde because I thought the label was pretty and stood out amongst the staid labels, plus the novelty of having a wine from Portugal appealed to me :-)

Unlike most wines that are named by the Varietals of Grape that they contain,  Vinho Verde is the actually the name of the geographical region is Northwestern Portugal , and it means “green wine : as in young, vibrant and fresh :-). The grapes in the Gazela Vinho Verde are four Portuguese grapes, mainly  Loureiro, along with Arinto,  Trajadura , Avesso and Azal).

 Color: It is a straw coloured wine and very slight effervescent (though not enough to call it a bubbly or sparkling)

Nose:  Aromatic citrus fruity flavours lime hits you straight along with a hint of green apple. The smell is very refreshing and pretty inviting if you are a citrus fan.

Palate: Again lime and green apple are the dominant force here along with a slight peachy  taste. The wine is pretty acidic and along with the slightly effervescent nature, this light bodied Portuguese wine is a Winner.

It is a pretty refreshing wine for a warm Indian summer and they are fresh wines and preferably need to be consumed within the year of Vintage.

This Wine pair very well with South Asian food like the Spicy Thai and Indo Chinese food.

My only peeve is that all over the world this retails for  much under ten dollars, but you will be hard pressed to find this in India for anything less than 1.5K rupees :-(

I remember watching the movie “Sideways” and those distinct dialogue by Miles  “I am not drinking fucking Merlot!” . Apparently those words caused immense harm to the Californian Wine industry, but was a true reflection of the state of the Merlot grown in California. However since the movie’s release in 2004, the state of the “Reds” in California had improved and the Merlot made by the Stag Leap Wineyards in 2007 is one of the prime examples of that redemption.
I chanced upon this wine of the Wine list of Jaipur Mariott and decided to have a stab at the stag :-D.
This is a wine from the Stag Leap Vineyard from Napa Valley, California. The Wine is made from Merlot varietal.  Its dark purple in colour
On the nose there were hints of Plum, Chocolate, Vanilla and a hint of Oak.
On the palate it had a distinct fruity, cherry taste, which had a very long finish. It was tannic but a very smooth finish which lingered on for a while.
Excellent Wine and I was glad i went for it :)

It paired beautifully with braised lamb shanks.

Note
The Stag Leap winery achieved significant international recognition in 1976, at the ‘Judgment of Paris’ where it’s 1973 vintage Cabernet Sauvignon won first place among ten top French and California red wines in a blind taste test by leading French wine experts. The French wines tasted were prestigious first and second growths wines from the 1970 and 1971 vintage from Château Haut-Brion, Château Mouton-Rothschild, Château Leoville Las Cases and Château Montrose.

The result of the tasting has been described by Decanter as "a victory that put California on the winemaking map, and established Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars as a global superstar", and by Paul Lukacs as "most important, it enabled not only the United States but also Australia, South America, and the rest of the New World to emerge as legitimate sources of increasingly superior wines."

A bottle of 1973 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon was placed into the Smithsonian National Museum of American History collection in 1996 as a result of placing first in this competition and to reflect the impact that the achievement had on the United States wine industry.

Storing wine in India is one of the trickiest aspects that will be faced by a wine enthusiast in India, since most cities in India do not have the temperature that is conducive to storing wine.
If you intend storing anything more than 3 or 4 bottles of wine at home, I would recommend investing in a wine cooler. (And NO a domestic fridge cannot be a substitute for a wine cooler because the temperature in wine coolers range from 8 “C to 16’’ C , whereas the average temperature in a domestic refrigerator in closer to 4’’ C). I have a Cellfrost brand wine cooler which hold about 45 bottles, though I suspect I will have to upgrade to something of higher capacity. The racks of any decent wine cooler are made of Wood to reduce the vibration.

Tips on Storing wine before opening them

• Always store wine on the sides, especially the corked bottles, because storing them upright will dry out the cork which may result in air entry into the bottle which may spoil the wine
• It is better to store the bottles away from light and store the bottles in a constant temperature so that the quality of the wine is unaffected. An ideal storing temperature in Wine Coolers that do not have segregated temperature sections for whites and reds is about 12.4 “’ C when you are storing both reds and whites.
• Not all wines mature with prolonged storage. Most whites (and for that matter a majority of the wines available in India) will need to be consumed within 2 to 3 years of bottling.

Tips on storing wine after opening

• White wine can be stored in a refrigerator tightly corked after opening and must be consumed within 3 days of opening
• Red Wines can be stored in a cool environment tightly corked, but must be consumed within a couple of days

This is a Rose from the Bordeaux region of France. It is a Blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Merlot.  Red grapes and their skins are macerated for only a few hours, and then fermented, as a white wine would produce a lighter colour. 
This particular wine was a sort of pale salmon coloured wine.
On the nose this wine has a red berry aroma with a slight citrus tinge.
On the palate this is a tad drier than most Rose’s (as pointed by my friend Gopal J ), tastes fresh with a fruit filled finish.
It paired well with the Hot Mezze (Spanakopita and Asparagus ,Zucchini Fatayer)and Cold Mezzes ( Hummus and Shankaleesh)on account of its dry characteristics.  I would recommend this wine as an appertif.

The Les Cazetiers 2004 is a red wine, made by Louis Jadot. It is made from the Pinot Noir grape. It is produced from the 2004 harvest. This was one of the Wines showcased by the Somellier from Maison Louis jadot at the Vintage Bank at Hilton on 6th September 2012.
This Varietal is grown in the Les Cazetier Vineyard in the Cote de Nuits area of burgundy in France. This is a premier cru wine (which is french for “first Growth). The interesting part is that this particular vineyard in just 0.5 hectares in size.
On the Nose : This has a black cherry and plum nose
On the palate : Deeply concentrated and rich tannins and taste of Cherries and Oak. It has a medium finish.
The Wine pairs well with Roast chicken, Grilled lamb chops and with Steak.

This is another red wine from Burgundy made of the Pinot Noir Varietal of Grape. It is from the Les Epenots Vineyard in the Cote de beaune region of Burgundy. This was one of the Wines showcased by the Somellier from Maison Louis jadot at the Vintage Bank at Hilton on 6th September 2012.

It’s a deep ruby red coloured wine.
On the Nose,, it was fragrant with a rich red cherry aroma and a hint of a Mushroomy aroma.
On the palate it has a good red fruitish character. Its acidic and lightly tannic. A very smooth Elegant wine.
It pared well with Seared Duck, Glazed Beef Skewers and Stuffed Mushroom.

This is a red made from the Gamet Varietal of Grape from Beaujolais region in France. This wine is made in the Chateau de Jacques owned by Louis Jadt. This particular Wine, Moulin-a-Vent is reffered to as the ‘’King of Beaujolais’.
Note : Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc, sometimes known as Gamay Noir but more often abbreviated to just Gamay, is a dark-skinned grape variety that is famous for producing the light style red wines of Beaujolais.
On the Nose : it has an aroma of Cherry, plum and a hint of cardamom
On the palate, it is a medium bodied wine, with medium tannins and ripe berry fruit and definite hint of Oak. It is smooth on the palate and has a medium finish.
It paired well with Grilled tenderloin Cutlets, bacon wrapped pork sausage.

This red wine is from the Caton Vineyards of Sonoma Valley * in California. It is made of a single varietal of Cabernet Sauvignon.
The Wine is deep reddish purple is colour.
The aroma is of ripe Berry and plum
On the palate : This is a smooth,tannic, full bodied wine, with a taste of ripe berries, slight hint of chocolate, oak and spice. It has a long finish.
Pairing : I had it along with Mediterranean styled Chicken with red peppers. It would pair well with a good steak, rack of lamb or a Burra Kebab

* Sonoma Valley is the birthplace of California's wine industry. Cradled between the Mayacamas and the Sonoma Mountain ranges, Sonoma Valley encompasses a rolling patchwork of vineyards, quaint farms and 13,000 acres of scenic parkland.
Comprising more than 200,000 acres of varied terrain between the Pacific Ocean and the Mayacamas Mountains, Sonoma is a region as renowned for its sheer size as for its remarkable diversity. Boasting no fewer than12 sub-appellations, a dizzying array of grape varieties produced and a colorful winemaking past that pre-dates the Mission era, Sonoma is one of the world's most dynamic wine regions.
Sonoma County's large number (13) of American Viticulture Areas (AVAs) reflect the wide variety of climate and soil conditions in the County, the large production in the County, and the prominence of Sonoma County in the wine market. The difference in climate and soil (terroir) means that cooler climate grapes grow well in certain regions and in others warm climate grapes are more suitable. The large production of the County means that each AVA is significant in its own right.