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小弟向來喜歡飲 Gin 酒，尤其喜歡它的草本香味，但一般較能入口的如 Gordon's 或 Tanqueray 等都不便宜，便宜一點的 pouring brand 又不入流。一次到澳門旅行時，終於給我發現了一支便宜又高質素的 Gin 酒，新力出品的 GSM (Ginebra San Miguel's)。

大支裝 GSM 750 ml 才不到 40 澳門幣，雖然味道不及 Gordon's 等大牌子，但用來溝 mixed drinks 絕對足夠有餘，小弟就用來溝 Gin Tonic 和 Gin Ale，兩晚才喝了大半瓶，絕對抵飲。

右面是 GSM 的廣告 poster，該名美女是菲律賓女星 Anne Curtis，下面有 GSM 的 FB fans group 和電視廣告片 (有 Anne Curtis 的泳裝片段)。

I love gin, for the elegant herbal aroma of this fine spirit. Gins of famous brands like Gordon's or Tanqueray are surely fascinating, but are also expensive. Pouring brands are cheap but of lower quality. Last time I visited Macau, I found a cheap but fine gin, GSM (Ginebra San Miguel's).

750ml version of GSM was selling at MOP 40 only. Although its taste and herbal aroma cannot be compared with those big names, it is good for making mixed drinks. I made Gin Tonic and Gin Ale with GSM and found them tasted really good. And I could not finish this 40-MOP GSM in two nights. It is a very good bargain indeed.

On the top right hand corner of this post is GSM poster, with its spokewoman Anne Curtis, a Philippines actress. Below you can find GSM fans group on FB and a TVC of GSM (with Anne Curtis in swimming suit).


GSM Fans Group
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=57419746750

GSM TVC

今日參與了朋友的私人 wine tasting，席間試飲了四紅一白加一甜酒，全為意大利佳釀，急不及待要與大家分享。

首先寫報告的這一支是出自 Chianti Classico DOCG 區的紅酒，DOCG 為意大利酒中評級最高級別，而 Chianti Classico 區則以其多年出產高質素紅酒的歷史聞名於世，著名酒評人 Robert Parker 亦給予這支 Brancaia Chianti Classico 高達 91 分的評分。

酒名: Brancaia Chianti Classico DOCG 2008
國家: 意大利
酒莊: Brancaia Chianti Classico
年份: 2008
葡萄: Sangiovese (加少量 Merlot)
價錢: HKD 350

- 色 -
深石榴石色。

- 香 -
微酸，帶雜莓味，呼吸約一至二小時後則出現焦糖甜味。

- 味 -
輕酸度，中等酒身，梅味頗重，反而雜莓味不及梅味突出，餘蘊偏短。




I joined a private wine tasting party with my friend today. We tasted 4 red and 1 white wines, plus a desert wine, all from Italy. Can't wait to share with you all.


The first report is on Brancaia Chianti Classico DOCG 2008. Being produced in Chianti Classico DOCG region, this wine inherited the high quality of wine made in this reowned area located at the epicenter of Chianti region. Robert Parker gave 91 points to this wine.

Name: Brancaia Chianti Classico DOCG 2008
Country: Italy
Winery: Brancaia Chianti Classico
Vintage: 2008
Grape: Sangiovese (with little Merlot)
Price: HKD 350

Color
Dark garnet.

Aroma
Weak to medium acidity, with asorted berries aroma. Caramel smell surfaces after breathing for 1-2 hours.

Taste
Weak acidity with medium body. Medium to strong plummy taste which covers the berries tastes. Finishing was relatively short.

Gin Tonic and Margarita with sugar rimmer, creative

早幾天趁假期跟朋友到尖東一連鎖扒房吃了個晚飯，當晚如常點了些雞尾酒和 mixed drinks，朋友點了餐廳自創的改良版 Margarita，我則點了至愛 Gin Tonic 和 Vodka Lime。

先講 Margarita，正常應該用鹽圈，但變了糖圈 (Menu 上都寫明是 Salt Ring)，唯有當成新飲法，意外地糖圈跟酒本身都 match，只是入口略帶藥水味。

至於 Gin Tonic，雖是 pouring brand，但仍有 herbs 草香味，算是中上之作；而 Vodka Lime 則不過不失，中規中矩。

至於本篇重點則在於「抵飲」二字，此連鎖店年中無休，風雨不改堅持一年 365 日都有 Happy Hour，由下午五時至晚上八時，幾款精選 Cocktail HKD$ 3X 有交易，Spirit 加 Mixer 更低至 HKD$ 30。

有興趣朋友可以到 Outback Steakhouse 網頁瀏覽。

http://www.outback.com.hk/


Recently I dined with my friend in a chain steakhouse. As usual we ordered cocktail and mixed drinks. My friend ordered a special version of Margarita developed by the chain, I ordered Gin Tonic and Vodka Lime.

The Margarita was interesting. It had sugar rimmer instead of salt (while it says "salted rim" on the menu). We really appreciate this creative recipe and fortunately the sugar rim matched quite well with the cocktail itself. But it tasted like cough syrup.

Gin Tonic was good. Although it was pouring brand, it was of good herbal taste and smell. And Vodka Lime was a plain one, no surprise but was of good quality.

Main point of this article is "Good Bargain". This chain has Happy Hour everyday throughout the year, from 5 pm to 8 pm. Several cocktails were selling at HKD$ 3X. Mixed drinks (spirit + mixer) were even cheaper at HKD$ 30.

You may visit Outback Steakhouse website for more information.

http://www.outback.com.hk/

第三個試酒報告，今次同朋友試另一支澳洲酒，Jamiesons Run 出品的 Merlot。同樣是澳洲紅酒，但今次產地是 Coonawarra，當地以出產 Cabernet Sauvignon 聞名，Merlot 則不太常見，值得一試。

酒名: Jamiesons Run Coonawarra Merlot 2004
國家: 澳洲
酒莊: Jamiesons Run
年份: 2004
葡萄: Merlot
價錢: HKD 150


- 色 -
深石榴石色。


- 香 -
酸味偏重，帶黑加侖子味和橡木味，有人試出士多啤梨味。


- 味 -
入口略甜，中等酸度，中等酒身，重黑加侖子味，帶輕橡木味，餘蘊偏短。




We have another Australian wine this time. Coonawarra is famous of growing high quality Cabernet Sauvignon, while merlot is not very popular in the region. This time we pick this merlot wine made in Coonawarra, a rarely found one.

Name: Jamiesons Run Coonawarra Merlot 2004
Country: Australia
Winery: Jamiesons Run
Vintage: 2004
Grape: Merlot
Price: HKD 150

Color
Dark garnet.

Aroma
Medium to strong acidity with strong blackcurrant and oak aroma, reportedly carry light strawberry smell as well.

Taste
Slightly sweet and carry medium acidity. Medium body with strong blackcurrant taste. Taste of oak was weak. And the finishing was short.

Interesting Toy - Hand Beer Server, Beer Hour

今日 wine tasting 後去了逛街，tasting reports 稍後會發表，先講講今日在某潮流日式百貨發現的新玩具 - Handy Beer Server "Beer Hour"，一個套在罐裝啤酒上，可自行調校出泡還是出酒的裝置，盛惠 HKD$ 129 一個。可以幫你輕鬆控制酒和泡的比例，即使要全杯都是泡也沒有問題。

下面是有關產品介紹的影片。或可到 youtube 觀賞。

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poZUlCiP-1c


I went shopping after wine tasting this afternoon. Tasting reports will be published soon. What I want to share now is an interesting toy I found in a reowned Japanese trendy  department store, Handy Beer Server "Beer Hour".

This device clips on a beer can and you can choose to pour our beer or just beer foam. It costs HKD$ 129 each set. "Beer Hour" helps you control how much foam you pour out. You may even have 100% foam using "Beer Hour".

Below please find an introduction video of the device. You may also visit youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poZUlCiP-1c to watch the clip.

第二炮找來 Mansion House Bay 的 Pinot Noir，由於試飲時無留影，圖片是後來網上找的，圖中年份為 2006，但試飲的是 2008 年。


Pinot Noir 中文叫黑皮諾，是所有釀酒葡萄中最難種植，最難釀製的，所以比較少見，而以 Pinot Noir 釀成的紅酒亦經常打破拍賣紀錄，絕對值得一試。


酒名: Mansion House Bay, Marlborough, Pinot Noir 2008
國家: 澳洲
酒莊: Mansion House Bay
年份: 2008
葡萄: Pinot Noir
價錢: HKD 180


- 色 -
極淺紅寶石色。


- 香 -
酸味較重，果香則不太突出，只隱約帶黑加侖子味。


- 味 -
酒味偏柔和，與其顏色一樣給人淡薄的感覺，比較輕身，與一般 Pinot Noir 不同，果味以黑加侖子和少量草莓甜味為主，入口酸味頗重，後段帶苦澀味，且餘蘊較短，未必適合亞洲人口味。




Here comes the 2nd tasting report in WikiWinery. This time we chose Mansion House Bay Pinot Noir 2008.


Pinot noir wines break world wine auction records regularly and the grape itself is famous for being difficult to grow, collect and ferment. All these make pinot noir wine a must-try.


Name: Mansion House Bay, Marlborough, Pinot Noir 2008
Country: Australia
Winery: Mansion House Bay
Vintage: 2008
Grape: Pinot Noir
Price: HKD 180


Color
Very pale ruby


Aroma
Strong acidity with weak blackcurrant aroma


Taste
Its very soft taste was a good match with its pale color. This wine is different from typical pinot noir wine that it has a very light body. 
There is slight blackcurrant and strawberry taste with medium to strong acidity. Weak bitterness surfaces gradually in the mouth and finishing is short. These make the wine not suiting typical Asian.

Wine has become essential in fine dining

早陣子跟從事紅酒買賣的朋友喝酒聊天 (試酒報告容後張貼)，談到香港的紅酒零售市場，其實香港的市場已近乎飽和了，連超市貨架上都有數十或上百款不同價格的紅酒，紅酒商要「發圍」就要另謀出路。

其中一個較新的做法是這樣的，酒商會跟餐廳接洽，「買起」對方的 Wine Menu，例如餐廳的 Wine Menu 上有 1 至 10 號酒，酒商就跟餐廳談好，「以後一年內 Menu 要不變，1 至 5 號都要由我供貨」，條件是酒商會給餐廳一筆錢，名為資助推廣紅酒的費用。

這樣餐廳就等於可以免費的入貨來賣，當然酒商給的錢用完以後餐廳還要繼續賣的話就得真金白銀付錢了。你可能會問，那餐廳拿了錢不推廣他的酒怎辦? 如果餐廳不賣 1 至 5 號酒，就等於 Wine Menu 只剩 6 至 10 號 (協議說明 Wine Menu 在一定時間內不能更改)，這對餐廳生意也會有負面影響，所以這協議某程度上是可以制衡雙方的。

另外，若餐廳在指定時間內購入一定數量的酒，酒商會提供回贈，跟一般零售商跟供貨的協議非常相似。

Recently I had a dinner meeting with one of my friends selling wine (excuse me, tasting report will be uploaded soon). He pointed out that the wine market in Hong Kong is actually saturated. Even supermarkets have dozens or hundreds of different wines on their shelves. Wine traders hence have to find a new way to beat their competitors.

One of the new playing rule is like this, wine trader "buys" the wine menu of a restaurant. For example, there are wine no.1 to no. 10 on that menu. They would say "your menu can't be changed in the coming year, and we will be the exclusive supplier of no. 1 to 5". In return, wine trader would "sponsor" the restaurant to promote their wines.

In this case restaurant can get free wines, as long as the sponsorship is not used up. So what if the restaurant take the trader's money but does not promote his wines? Then the restaurant will lost its wines no. 1 to 5 (remember the menu can't be changed for a period of time). This would harm its business. So this kind of agreement can balance interest of both sides to some extent.

Restaurant may also receive some rebate if they buy a certain quantity of wine in a given period. Retailers in other industries make similar agreements with their suppliers.

A typical vintage chart of Europe wine

飲紅酒經常會聽到 Vintage 一字，廣義的 Vintage 包括由收集葡萄到釀成酒的整個過程，但現在一般引用其狹義解釋，即葡萄收成年份。

即使出自同一酒莊，由同一種類葡萄釀製，Vintage 不同的酒味道以至評分和身價也會有所不同，如 Califonia 出產的 Pinot Noir，2006 年收成的在 Wine Spectator 酒評中只得 83 分，但 2004 年的則達 93 分。

現時網上可以找到多款不同 Vintage Chart，給不同年份、不同地區的葡萄酒評分，其中以 Wine Spectator 的 Vintage Chart 最為人熟識，買貴價酒前可以先上網做點資料搜集，另外 iphone 亦有多款 Vintage Chart Apps 可供下載。


You may encounter the word "Vintage" many times. The general meaning of vintage is the process from collection of grape to completion of fermentation process. Nowadays people refer "vintage" to the year when the grape is collected.

Vintage can make a big difference between wines, even they are from the same winery and of the same grape. e.g. Wine Spectator rating of Pinot Noir collected in 2006 in Califonia is 83 points, while the same grape in the same region collected in 2004 scores 93.

You can easily find on the internet different vintage charts, which give rating to grapes collected in different years from different regions. One of the most popular wine rating agents is Wine Spectator. It worths doing some research before buying expensive wine. You can also download Vintage Chart Apps to your iphone instead of searching on the web.

Reference
Wine Spectator 2010 Vintage Chart

Tasting Report #1 - Willunga Creek Out foR a dUcK Cabernet Shiraz 2007

作為 WikiWinery 頭炮，我們挑選了一支勇奪 HOFEX Hong Kong Wine Challenge 2009 金奬的澳洲酒，先來看看基本資料。

酒名: Willunga Creek Out foR a dUcK Cabernet Shiraz 2007
國家: 澳洲
酒莊: Willunga Creek
年份: 2007
葡萄: Cabernet Shiraz
價錢: HKD 250

- 色 -
酒色偏深，呈深紅寶石色，色澤頗清。

- 香 -
與一般 Shiraz 酒一樣，酒香味較強，帶少少 spicy，有人試到有 pepper 味，南澳洲酒黎講都幾常見，另外仲有少少甘草味，係比較特別的酒香。

- 味 -
Cabernet Shiraz blend 一般比較易入口，Out for a duck 亦不例外，酸度適中，入口除輕微 peppery 仲有少少 plummy，算係大路，值得一提係味道非常 long lasting，幫支酒加左唔少分。


另外 Lonely Grape TV 都講過呢隻酒 (唔同 vintage)，有興趣可以去本 post 最下面的 reference link 參考下。



This is the first tasting report in WikiWinery. We picked Willunga Creek Out foR a dUcK Cabernet Shiraz 2007, which won the Gold medal award of HOFEX Hong Kong Wine Challenge 2009. Below is the basic information of this wine.

Name: Willunga Creek Out foR a dUcK Cabernet Shiraz 2007
Country: Australia
Winery: Willunga Creek
Vintage: 2007
Grape: Cabernet Shiraz
Price: HKD 250

Color
Dark Ruby and clear

Aroma
Like typical Shiraz wine, this wine has a powerful aroma. It also shows its South Australian characters by carrying slight spicy and peppery smell. The presence of Licorice aroma highlights the special odour of this wine.

Taste
Cabernet Shiraz blend are usually of medium nature, Out for a duck is hardly an exception. It carries smooth acidity and is of medium body. The wine is signified with its slight peppery and plummy taste. This wine also has a surprisingly long finishing (>5 sec) which makes it very a good bargain.


You may refer to below reference of this wine in Lonely Grape TV Episode on youtube (different vintage)




Reference
Lonely Grape TV Episode 35 - Willunga Creek Wines (from 3:00)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-jNO7HE61I

或者你會認為本題目好白癡，因為紅酒當然是紅色，白酒自然是白色，但當你認真研究就會發現一般酒評對紅白酒色澤都有多種不同形容詞，不是非紅即白咁簡單。

例如紅酒就有紅寶石色、紫紅色、棕色等等不同形容詞，下面是有關紅酒色澤形容詞的資料，供各位參考，以後大家評酒記得要專業一點。

You may find this topic idiotic, cause red wine is red for sure, and white wine must be white. But when you go deeper into the world of wine, you will find there are dozens of adjectives just for describing the color of wine, e.g. ruby, garnet, etc. 

Below is a color guide of wine for your reference, be professional

http://www.colourlovers.com/blog/2007/08/07/wine-color-guide-for-quality-and-age/

 

 

 

 

 

介乎 紅寶石 和 石榴石 色之間的紅酒

Color of this wine lies between Ruby and Garnet

WikiWinery 是由一群愛酒之人成立，用以分享試酒心得的平台。

我們希望通過 WikiWinery 連繫世界各地的酒友，交流經驗心得，希望各位不吝賜教。

WikiWinery is established by a group of alcoholics lovers, as a platform for experience and knowledge sharing. 

We hope to line up alcoholics lovers all around the world and have you share your precious experience with us.