Special Notice

There has been constant photo posting problems in my blog, which I hope could be solved shortly. In the meantime, please refer to my Chinese blog http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/wine-luver for the most updated posts.

Sorry for the inconvenience caused.

Babich Wine Dinner - East Coast Pinot Noir 2004

Babich Wine Dinner - Gimblett Gravels Hawkes Bay Chardonnay 2003

Babich Wine Dinner - Winemakers Reserve Gewurztraminer 2002

New Zealand Babich Wine Dinner 7/Aug/06

Hugh Johnson: Babich is a mid-sized family firm, esablished 1916; quality, value. AUCKLAND, HAWKES BAY, & MARLBOROUGH vineyards. Refined, slow-maturing Irongate Chardonnay & Cabernet Sauvignon / Merlot.

"Wines of the World": Babich has been a big name on the local wine scene since the family petriach, Joe founded the company in 1916. Long regarded as an industry stalwart - albeit a conservative one - Babich has been on a spending spree. In 1998, this medium-sized winery invested in a 40-ha vineyard in Awatere Valley, Marlborough, followed by 65ha in the nearby Waihopai Valley, as well as a quarter interest in Rapaura Vintners in Marlborough. The Patriach & Mara (the family matriach) brands do their namesakes proud, while the Irongate Chardonnay is one of the country's best.

Famous wines: Irongate Chardonnay, Patriach Cabernet Sauvignon, Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

Aperitif Wine = Black Label Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2005

Berry Bros Summer Sale Tasting - 19/8/06

Place: Berry Bros & Rudd Shop
Address: Shop 307-308, The Lee Gardens, 33 Hysan Avenue, Causeway Bay
Date: August 19, 2006 ( Saturday )
Time: 2 to 6pm
Fee: Free

Ponti 19th Anniversary Wine Fair - 19/8/06

Venue: Ponti Wine Cellar, Central
Address: Shop B2, 1st Basement Floor, Alexandra House
Date: 19th August, 2006.
Time:
Session 1: 1 to 3pm
Session 2: 4:30 to 6:30pm
Fee (for 1 session): $80 for VIP; $120 for non-VIP
* Entrance fee could be waived if a purchase of at least $300 is made, only valid on 19/8
* Pre-registration is required (Pls contact shop)

Is it illegal to vinify wine at home? - "Free licences for small stills for registered doctors and pharmacists"

CHAPTER CHOSEN:
CAP 109 DUTIABLE COMMODITIES ORDINANCE
Section 60 - Free licences for small stills for registered doctors and pharmacists - 30/06/1997

The Commissioner may in his discretion issue a licence free of charge toany practitioner registered under the Medical Registration Ordinance (Cap161), or to any pharmacist registered under the Pharmacy and PoisonsOrdinance (Cap 138), to keep and use on any specified remises a still of not more than 40 L capacity for the purposes only of his profession orbusiness.

(Amended L.N. 189 of 1982; L.N. 294 of 1982)

Is it illegal to vinify wine at home? - "Licence not required for home brewing"

Please see ordinance below:

CHAPTER CHOSEN:
CAP 109 DUTIABLE COMMODITIES ORDINANCE
Section 64A - Licence not required for home brewing - 28/07/2000

(1) A licence is not required for the manufacture of alcoholic liquor, other than by distillation and other than for sale, by a person aged 18 or over in premises which are used by the person exclusively as his place of residence and which constitute a separate household unit.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply-
(a) if the person who manufactures the liquor is in possession, anywhere in Hong Kong, of alcoholic liquor purported to be manufactured under subsection (1) of a total quantity exceeding 50 litres;
(b) if there is kept in the premises in which the liquor is manufactured alcoholic liquor purported to be manufactured under subsection (1) of a quantity exceeding 50 litres;
(c) unless the alcoholic liquor so manufactured-
(i) is stored in sealed containers marked legibly the words "Home Brewed, Not for Sale" or "家中自釀，不得售賣" or words to the same effect; or
(ii) is for immediate consumption.
(3) For the purpose of manufacture of alcoholic liquor under subsection (1) in any premises, a person may without a licence possess in those premises-
(a) any utensil or apparatus, other than a still or part of a still, for manufacturing alcoholic liquor;
(b) fermenting or fermented materials not exceeding 60 litres.
(4) In any prosecution for an offence under this Ordinance, the onus of proving the circumstances are such that subsection (1) applies shall be upon the accused.

(Added 57 of 2000 s. 8)

New test marks out a true champagne

If you get no kick from champagne, it might be cheap fizz in disguise. But a new test should help prevent fraudsters passing off other sparkling wines as champagne or cava.
Developed by researchers at the University of Seville in Spain, the test proved to be 100 per cent accurate in determining which of 35 samples of sparkling white wine were cava and which were champagne. It works by recognising characteristic concentrations of the complex mix of trace metals in the wine.
The trace metals come from the soil where the grapes were grown. Ana Maria Cameon and her colleagues analysed the concentrations of 16 metals in 18 samples of cava and 17 samples of champagne.
The cava was produced from grapes grown in the Penedes region in north-eastern Spain, while champagne has to be made from grapes grown in France's Champagne region.
The researchers used atomic spectrometry to measure levels of the trace metals. On average the samples of champagne contained 0.6 milligrams of zinc per litre, roughly twice the level in cava, while cava had 0.7 milligrams of strontium per litre, more than twice the level in champagne.

Premium prices
But these average figures were not a reliable guide to the wine's origin. Six samples of champagne, for example, had more strontium in them than one of the cava samples.
So the researchers turned to a commercial statistical software program called SIMCA. By looking at the levels of nine metals in the wines, this program pinpointed characteristic concentration "fingerprints" that were different in the cava and the champagne. "There were no false positives or negatives, which indicates a remarkable authentication power," says Cameon
Wines made from grapes grown in favoured localities command premium prices, as differences in the soils are thought to give wines their character.
Tests like Cameon's will cut down on general fraud such as selling table wine as Rioja or adding grapes from outside the designated area to produce wine that is labelled as appellation control, says Tom Stevenson, author of the New Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia. "Three-quarters of the wine sold as 'Italian' in the US is not Italian," he says.

Above article from NewScientist.com