The first wine tasting

The first wine tasting has come and gone, and it was fantastic. I learnt so much, and was introduced to so many new wines and new tastes. Just to recap, we were 8 people, which meant 8 wines. Each person gave me a bottle of wine of their choice one week before, which I then "prepared" for the night, after reading up on them a bit.  A blind tasting of 8 bottles of wine. The wines were from Australia, Germany, Argentina, Spain, France, South Africa and Italy. The prices ranged from 58kr to 105kr and we tasted 2 whites and 6 reds.

The night was also one where we had fantastic home baked bread and excellent cheeses to accompany each wine and give the taste buds a break in between each bottle. You can read more about the format here. Here's the "esteemed" panel, deliberating during the night.

Lindemans Chardonnay Bin 65 (2007)

Wine tasting 1

This was a good wine to start with. Most guessed correctly that it was a Chardonnay. When tasted, most agreed it was very full in the mouth and very smooth. Personally I prefer a Chardonnay with a lot more attitude and a longer after taste.

Panel's rating: 3,4 out of 5

Price: 59SEK
Country: Australia
Grape: Chardonnay

Colour: Straw | Gold, clear-yellow | Light golden yellow | Clear golden yellow.

Nose: Pineapple | Citrus with a little raisin | Fruity - pineapple with melon| Smells like butter and citrus | Very fresh and not so strong | Aromatic and fruity but a little sour.

Taste: Smokey | A little alcohol intensive with the taste of citrus | Buttery and spicy | Spice, Sweet and a bit anonymous | A bit acidic but mellow |Fruity yet sharp and a bit volatile.

Ruppertsbergen Riesling (2006)

Wine tasting 2

This was definitely the surprise of the evening and not everyone guessed correctly what it was. A really fantastic Riesling from Germany. It scored very highly, and is on my list to buy for a special occasion. I've always enjoyed fancy dark chocolate and Riesling together on a quite evening.

Panel's rating: 3,3 out of 5

Price: 59SEK
Country: Germany
Grape: Riesling

Colour: Light golden | A little more "green" | Whitish | Thicker and gold like | Colder golden white greenish | Yellow green.

Nose: Sweet citrus, a little bit spicy with some sweet apples | A bit less "smell" than the Chardonnay, alcohol | Too sweet | Like sweet apples | Sharp, heavy and full | Fruity.
Taste: Raisins | Elderberry and apple, a little tight | Sweet apple | Small spice, fruit, flowers and raisins | Mellow | Sweet.

Raza Malbec (La Riojana) (2007)

Wine tasting 1

Real value for money and finally an acceptable ecological wine.

Panel's rating: 3 out of 5




Price: 59SEK
Country: Argentina
Grape: Malbec

Colour: Dark red-brownish | From purple down to a dark red | Dark red | Burgundy purplish | Dark and strong | Close to purple | Currants

Nose: Alcohol, spicy with cherry and vanilla | Slightly acidic, clear, easy and healthy | Warm and sweet | Cherries and a bit sour | Dates

Taste: Cherry stones with lots of tannins | Light with a semi-long taste and tight cherry pips | Cherries with some tannins | Small spices at the end | Liqurice and sweet cherries | Sherry and vanilla | Savoury, bitter and volatile.

Lat 42 Gran Reserva Rioja (2001)

Wine tasting 1

This wine is my choice for best buy of 2008. Fantastic aromas and a very smooth, deep taste that lingers on. Just my kind of wine. It does change character depending on when you have it, before a meal, with a meal or after a meal. I recommend it with an exceptional cheese. A properly matured wine at a very good price.

Panel's rating: 3 out of 5

Price: 79SEK
Country: Spain
Grape: Tempranillo

Colour: Ruby and full bodied | Blueish purple | Dark red | Black red | Almost black | Red with orange.

Nose: Cherry and vanilla, but a bit resin and spirits | Vanilla | Acidic and a bit gassy | Spirits and vanilla | Spirits | Very strong smell | Deep barrel wine smell.

Taste: Dill and stable leather | Alcohol intensive, a little bit tannins and leather | Spirits, resin and vanilla | Mellow and vanilla | Cherries and spirits | Strong and mature

Farnese Montepulciano d'Abruzzo (2005)

Wine tasting 1

This wine was everyone's favourite of the night, with no score lower than four. A good solid red wine. Exceptional aromas of flowers and berries. Smooth. Mellow. Just perfect.

Panel's rating: 4,2 out of 5

Price: 99SEK
Country: Italy
Grape: Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

Colour: Cherry red blueish | Blueish purple and dark | Red pinkish | Purple | Red, close to Cerise.

Nose: Dark red berries, vanilla and cinnamon | A little like cherries and vanilla | A deep smell and cinnamon | Fruity | Cinnamon | Flowers.

Taste: Round, soft tannins and juicy | Soft tannins | Really nice | Juicy and spicy | Sharp | Liquorice | Full and round.

Bourgogne - Couvent des Jacobins (2005)

Wine tasting 1

Another winner on the night, but one that I'm afraid most forgot shortly afterwards. It had everything and yet lacked that little something to make it memorable. I am buying this again though to have with a meal, because I find it intriguing and love the label story about Dionysus or Bacchus.

Panel's rating: 3,4 out of 5

Price: 105SEK

Country: France

Grapes: Pinot Noir

Colour: Ruby | A little lighter | Light | Lightish red | Ruby | Christmas red and ruby.

Nose: Wild stawberries, vanilla and caramel | Strawberry sweet, cinnamon fragrance with a caramel finish | Sweet smell of strawberries and caramel | Wild strawberries | Wild strawberries and cinnamon.

Taste: Butter caramel, light with less cedar | Short with a little caramel | Light with wild strawberries | Light and some mushrooms | Very light with a berry taste | A little volatile.

Jacobsdal Pinotage (2004)

Wine tasting 1

My wine collection consists 50% just out of Pinotage, that's how much I love it. It is by far my favourite wine. Jacobsdal is one farm in South Africa that produces proper Pinotage wines, the other is Beyerskloof. I prefer strong, dark wines that feel as if they come from the deepest darkest parts of the barrel. Pinotage is that for me. The thing with it though is that because it's such a strong wine, you need to smooth it out a bit, with some blue cheese and fig preserve. The best way to enjoy this wine.

Panel's rating: 4 out of 5

Price: 105SEK

Country: South Africa

Grapes: Pinotage

Colour: It has begun to leave the blue | Dark red | Red to orange | Very dark red, purple, even blueish.

Nose: Burnt rubber, maybe plastic and gunpowder | Petroleum | Burnt rubber | Burnt smell and vanilla | Burnt rubber and gunpowder | Cherries and oil | Strong smell that lingers.

Taste: Light tannins and cherry stones | Dark berries, long taste, a tad bitter and long tannins | Tannins | Sharp | Brazillian nuts | Deep tannins with a long smooth taste.

Copertino Denominaxione di Origine (2001)

Wine tasting 1

Here's another surprise for the night, that no one could guess right. My guess is because it's also a properly aged wine, that gives it all the right characteristics. Although it still has strong smells on the nose, it is soft and round in the mouth. Exceptional value for money.

Panel's rating: 3,4 out of 5

Price: 66SEK

Country: Italy

Grapes: Negroamaro / Montepulciano

Colour: Red brick | Orange red | More ruby | Red with brick.

Nose: Resin with perfume, tobacco, prunes and earthy spice | Resin fragrance | Earthy | Resin | Blueberries.

Taste: Dry and warm, plum like | Soft and round | Resin and vanilla | Perfume | Pepper.

An elevated taste

I grew up in South Africa, and have lived in Cape Town from ten years. The one thing I've learnt, is that there's too much wine in the world, to know everything about them all, never mind having enough time to taste them all.

South Africa has its well known grapes, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc for the whites, and then Merlot, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinotage for the reds. There's a lot more, but these are the ones you find on most shop shelves, and the ones I know a little about. At least what they taste like. South Africans for instance only drink South African wine. There's so much of it, that there's not a lot of space for importing wine. So we're not really exposed to wine from other parts of the world. Since moving to Sweden however, I have been exposed to wine from every country that produces it.

I've had wine from Chile, Argentina, Hungary, China, Australia, Germany, USA, France, Spain Italy and countless others. The thing that I struggle with now, is to remember the names of all the grapes. There's so many, and so many blends. So a lot more has been added to the equation, than what I've been used to back home. So I am busy studying up a bit on all the new grapes, wine estates and names, and read all the wine reports I can find my hands on.

Here's one that I have in my Men's Journal magazine this month. The first wine is a Cabernet Sauvignon from Smith-Madrone in the Napa Valley, the second is a Malbec from Calomé Estate and the third is a blend of Shiraz and Viognier from Philip Shaw. We have some Viognier in South Africa, but it's mostly used to add to a blend, but I have not seen any Malbec. It is popular, and I've tasted it here in Sweden a couple of times, but it's not one of my favourites I need to add.

What I have learnt about it so far, is that it is originally from Argentina, and is now grown around the world. It was named after the peasant who introduced it to France and is one of the six grapes allowed into a blend of Bordeaux.

4 days left

I'm getting really excited about the first wine tasting I've organised for Saturday night. We'll be eight people and I'll be getting the bulk of the wine tonight. It should give me enough time to prepare them, and read up a little on each one. I've already received one bottle, and covered it, because the tasting will be a blind tasting, and no one will know what they're drinking, obviously only that it is either red, or white. There'll be a lot of guessing on the night, I think.

Blind Tasting

It seems as if it is all set for the first wine tasting on the 29th of November. For now I am keeping it small, just 8 people, but I think 10 people should be perfect. Here's the idea.

Each person who will attend, buys one bottle of wine, either white or red, and gives it to me a week before the event. The reason for this is to give me time to prepare all the bottles, because the wine tasting will be a blind tasting. This means, you won't see any labels, or know anything about the wine, beforehand, or during the event. We'll start with the white wines first, then move onto the reds. Each person will also have some paper and a pen, where they will write their thoughts on each wine they tasted. They will also need to guess the country, the variety, the estate/farm and of course the year. Each wine will also receive their rating out of 5.

This we do for all the wines, until right at the end, when we reveal the labels. It'll be interesting to see if the "owners" could guess the right wine they bought, when they drink it in a blind tasting.

At the end of the night, each person goes home with a list of wines they may never have tasted, as well as their thought on the wine, which will help them a bit, when buying wine the next time.

First wine tasting

It looks like the first wine tasting will be scheduled for the last weekend in November here in Gothenburg. I want to start with a closed group of 10 friends first, just to see how it goes, then I'll publish the results here, and move on to the next one, which looks set to happen before the end of the year. I'm really excited.

I'll publish the format and the rules in this coming week, so you can try it with some of your friends.

In the beginning

Where to begin? I'm from South Africa, or more specifically, I lived in Cape Town, for 9 years, before moving to Gothenburg in Sweden. I really like drinking and talking about wine. There's so much to learn.

When I moved to Sweden, I realised that the apartments in Sweden is not the ideal place to store wine, and that not a lot of my friends here, have wine stored away, as they do in South Africa. Most people tend to just go to the liquor store and buy what they need, then drink it either the same night, or the same weekend. You don't often find really old wines in people's homes. It's basically the last vintage or the one before that.

What Sweden does have though, is one of the biggest selections in the world to choose from. Their liquor store is called System bolaget and is state owned. They have wine from every country that produces wine. South Africans mostly drink South African wine, and the choice is basically grape variety and wine farm. Not here. Here you add country into the equations as well. So the choices are huge. A bit too much choice if you ask me. Sometimes I feel like a kid in a candy store, not knowing where to start and what to buy.

One thing I do miss is wine tastings. Here you have no chance to taste the wine before you buy it. You have to go on what others have said and their recommendations. With that in mind, I have decided to start a wine tasting group, with my friends, so we can taste more wines than we regularly do, and have a wider range of wines we "know", before we buy. But more on that later.