Author: Jacky I.F. Cheong
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The Pride of Peru
Situated in central-western South America, Peru – officially the Republic of Peru – neighbours Colombia and Ecuador in the north, Brazil in the east, Bolivia in ... -
The Sicilian Emblem
Nero d’Avola has for years been, by some distance, the single most important and widely planted red variety from the island of Sicily. Nero d’Avola literally ... -
The Roman Province
Situated at the northern tip of the Latin Arch, Provence is the only wine region in Southern Europe whose rosé wine constitutes a majority in its ... -
The Innovative Spirit
Not for nothing is Australia – officially the Commonwealth of Australia – called the Island Continent. Covering just under 7.7 million sqkm, Australia alone is equivalent ... -
The Rhodanien Time Capsule
Students and drinkers of Generations X and Y know by experience the complexity – at times confusion – of EU law with regards to education and ... -
The Holy Spirit
One of Germany’s 16 Bundesländer (Federal States), Freistaat Bayern (Free State of Bavaria) is no doubt one of the most powerful and characterful. Covering some 70,500 ... -
The Progenitor of East Asia
Since the invention – more likely to be accidental than intentional – of grain-based beer, fruit-based wine and grain-based cereal wine predates written history, it falls ... -
The Vinous Bel Canto
Covering just under 22,300 sqkm and with a total population of approximately 3.75 million, Tuscany (Toscana) is the fifth largest and ninth most populous amongst Italy’s ... -
The Magic Ring
Each of Germany’s 13 wine regions has its own chapter of Verband Deutscher Prädikats- und Qualitätsweingüter (VDP), formerly Verband Deutscher Naturweinversteigerer, established in 1910. The Mosel ... -
The Champion of Nahe
If Bordeaux’s Grand Cru Classé wines are the vinous equivalent of Hollywood, the A-Listers of Germany would resemble European cinema – the lack of bankable stars ... -
The Art of Eclecticism
Same as its northern neighbour Mosel, Nahe is the name of both the river – a tributary of the Rhine running parallel to Mosel – and ... -
The Quintessence of Purity
Mosel is the name of both the river – a tributary of the Rhine running parallel to Ahr – and the wine region, one of Germany’s ... -
The Heart of Rhine
Mittelrhein (literally: Middle Rhine) is one of the few UNESCO World Heritage Sites that are simultaneously wine-producing regions, other prominent examples being Douro (Portugal), Tokaj (Hungary) ... -
The Revolutionary Precursor
Without any national unity to speak of until its unification in 1861, Italy began to have its own national wine legislation – modelled after the French ... -
The Danubian Spirit
The German-speaking area of Europe – from east to west Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Alsace – are revered for their noble Riesling; less well-known is their ... -
The Kosher Libation
Situated along the east coast of the Mediterranean or the western edge of Asia, Israel is surrounded clockwise by Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt. This narrow ... -
The Prussian Red
The 10th largest (by volume) wine-producing country worldwide, Germany has a total of 13 wine regions, five of which – Saale-Unstrut, Ahr, Sachsen, Mittelrhein and Hessische ... -
The Buyer’s Caveat
It may sound ludicrous or “let them eat cake” to say that Bordeaux wine is generally inexpensive and that it is for everyday drinking, given how ... -
The Norman Orchard
If the world of brandy is a clan, grape brandy in its various forms would be the patriarch, having for long occupied centre stage and overshadowing ... -
The Quintessence of Japan VII
(Continued from “The Quintessence of Japan VI” on 9 June 2016) Juxtaposed with wine, the vast majority of which is fined and filtered, sake has an ... -
The Hanseatic Claret
Stretching from the Baltic Sea in the east to the North Sea in the west, the Hanseatic League – alternatively Deutsche Hansa or simply Hansa – ... -
The Danish Connection
For years, Cortes de Cima has been hailed as the poster boy of enterprise and innovation of Alentejo, possibly the most dynamic and progressive wine-producing region ... -
The Little Unsung Hero
For as long as there has been wine, there has been pomace. Grape pomace refers to the skins, pulp, seeds and stems etc. after pressing the ... -
The Guardian of Autochthones
In terms of viticulture and winemaking, the Old World and the New World differ from each other in numerous aspects such as terroir, style, production method, ... -
The Southern Kaleidoscope III
(Continued from “The Southern Kaleidoscope II” on 1 July 2016) The wine classification systems of Burgundy and Germany are notoriously complicated, but perhaps necessarily so, considering ... -
The Aragonese Dynasty
If vitis vinifera were an empire, grape varieties would be its constituent kingdoms, duchies and principalities. There are aristocrats and noble grapes, however arbitrary or contentious ... -
The Alpine Relic
Sandwiched between Switzerland and Austria, the Principality of Liechtenstein is one of the only two doubly landlocked countries in the world, the other being Uzbekistan. Lichtenstein ... -
The Southern Kaleidoscope II
(Continued from “The Southern Kaleidoscope” on 17 June 2016) By production volume the single largest wine region in France, Languedoc-Roussillon produces more than twice as much ... -
The Genesis of Gin
Due to gin’s classic combination with tonic and the prominent position it occupies in the realm of cocktail, it is tempting to assume that gin is ... -
The Southern Kaleidoscope
With approximately 16,000ha under vine, Sud-Ouest (literally: South West) is by production volume the 3rd largest wine region in France. One of the oldest wine-producing areas ... -
The Quintessence of Japan VI
(Continued from “The Quintessence of Japan V” on 20 May 2016) Traditionally, Japanese sake is measured by portions of 180ml (a “go”). Comprising 4 such portions, ... -
The Valley of Mistral II
(Continued from “The Valley of Mistral” on 6 May 2016) Vallée du Rhône (Rhône Valley) is one of the oldest wine-producing regions of France, with its ... -
The Fiery Water
The term brandy sensu lato includes any spirit obtained by distilling alcoholic drinks fermented from grapes, fruits or pomace with or without ageing, colouring and flavouring. ... -
The Quintessence of Japan V
(Continued from “The Quintessence of Japan IV” on 25 March 2016) Hierarchically, the designations of tokubetsu honjozo (special house brew) and tokubetsu junmai (special pure rice) ... -
The Firstborn of New World
Covering some 1.2 million sq km (more than France, Spain and Portugal combined) and with a population of 55 million (just 10 percent less than Italy), ...
