World of Bacchus
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The Pride of Peru III
(Continued from “The Pride of Peru II” on 10 March 2017) Pisco is, in a nutshell, a double-distilled grape must-based aguardiente, i.e. brandy. The ... -
The Valley of Green Grass
Of the 100 or so operating single malt distilleries in Scotland, Glenfarclas stands out as a little rarity. In a world increasingly inundated with ... -
The Pride of Peru II
(Continued from “The Pride of Peru” on February 17, 2017) The jewel in the Spanish crown, the Viceroyalty of Peru used to be amongst ... -
The Ampelographic Paradox
On a per capita basis, Portugal is probably the most ampelographically diverse wine-producing country in the world. Home to numerous indigenous varieties, each going ... -
The Monastic Heritage
Speaking of monastic influence on viticulture and winemaking, Burgundy is probably the most obvious example, but it is not the only one. Germany’s historic ... -
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, ... -
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 ... -
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 ... -
The Effervescent Eagle
German wine legislation places heavy emphases on standardisation and thoroughness, so much so that most of the country’s vineyards are delineated into and registered ... -
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 ... -
The Gold Standard
With approximately 120,000ha under vine, Bordeaux is quadruple the size of its great rival Burgundy, or indeed equivalent to all German wine regions put ... -
The Progenitor of East Asia II
Continued from “The Progenitor of East Asia” on 8 December 2016) Although “huangjiu” literally means “yellow wine”, it is not quite yellow in colour, ... -
The Vinous Bel Canto II
(Continued from “The Vinous Bel Canto” on December 2, 2016) Tuscany’s indigenous grape variety goes by different names in various places, e.g. Sangiovese in ... -
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 ... -
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 ... -
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, ... -
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 ... -
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 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 ... -
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 ... -
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 ... -
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), ... -
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 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 ... -
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. ... -
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 ... -
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, ... -
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 ... -
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 ... -
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 ... -
The Siamese Adventure
Situated in the western half of the Indochinese Peninsula, the Kingdom of Thailand covers some 510,000 sqkm, slightly larger than Spain, and has a ... -
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 ... -
The Andean Stripe
Stretching 4,300km from north to south but merely 160km – or 350km at the widest point – from east to west, Chile has to ... -
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 ... -
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, ...
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