WikiWinery

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.