Wine Times Hong Kong Issue 8

June 2015

Issue 8 FREE

100 points?

Naturally!

TOP 10

天然釀造100分

er Summ Rosé

十大夏日Rosé

A Trip to Pauillac: Pontet-Canet

初臨Pontet-Canet酒莊

the creativity forge

Drink Up, Hong Kong! 香港飲勝！

Ali Nicol Founder of Wine Times Hong Kong

I

A local Hong Konger who has been working in the wine business for over 15 years. Obviously loves wine and wants to share all the lovely wines with everyone.

have to admit that even with the 98% humidity that’s pretty much on our doorstep, my favourite time of the year is here – summer.

Sure, it’s hot, humid and muggy… but it’s also sunny and it’s time to hit the beaches, the boats and the patios and drink more white and rosé wines!

Last month we gave you our Top 10 recommended white wines and this month we give you our Top 10 recommended rosé wines – and there are some lovely wines there so make sure you source them out for your next party in the sun.

We wanted to dedicate this whole issue to organic, biodynamic and natural wines and we have done our best to make a topic that is, pretty uninteresting sound exciting! But, we have spoken to the pioneer of bio-dynamic winemaking in Austria, Ms. Christine Saahs of Nikolaihof winery and we have done an editorial based on a Facebook poll we did about whether or not you care about if a wine is organic or not.

For our tasting panel he have had a slight change and we have headed to natural wine shop La Cabane on Hollywood Road to taste a range of natural wines and our expert panel has given you their thoughts on their top wines. Sorry, food lovers, there is not a food pairing panel this month!! Additionally, Wine Times Macau’s Reuben Tuck has written about his visit to Bordeaux’s first bio-dynamic winery, Pontet

2 winetimeshk.com

Canet. So we’ve done our best to encompass all elements of these styles of wine for you!

Of course, of cover story is what writing is all about and this month we feature the wines of legendary winemaker Alessandro Mori of Italian winery Il Marroneto who makes, first and foremost some absolutely outstanding Brunello di Montalcino in a natural way but is an incredibly passionate man himself so check out what he has to say about the way he makes his wines – plus, as far as we know he has the only 100 point natural and bio-dynamic wine thus far.

So, as you read this I will be in Barcelona on a quick little holiday and doing some research for the next issue of Wine Times Hong Kong which is entirely devoted to all things Spanish! I will then be heading across the Channel for a quick visit to London to visit my little sister, Anna who has just given birth to a little girl, Lila.

So I am going to wish Anna and hubby Kaspar all the best and likely celebrate with a bottle of bubbly or two with them! Cheers!

從

門外的地毯就可看得出濕度高達98% ，不過我不能不承認這是一年中我最喜 愛的時間—夏天。雖然夏天酷熱、潮濕而悶 熱，但同時也有陽光普照的日子，提示我們到 沙灘、舉辦海上派對上及躺在陽台上，喝着更 多的白酒及Rosé！上期WTHK雜誌中，我們 為大家推介了《十大夏日白酒》，而今期我們 則接力推介《十大夏日Rosé》，這些美酒能 讓你的陽光派對變得更完美。 我們想以有機、生物動態耕種法及天然葡萄酒 作為六月號的主題，而我們也盡力使這個聽 起來頗為沒趣的主題變得精彩一點！今期我 們訪問到來自奧地利Nikolaihof酒莊的釀酒師 Christine Saahs，她是其中一位首先以生物 動態耕種法釀造葡萄酒的釀酒師。與此同時， 我們想知道一般人會否在意所購買的葡萄酒是 否有機產品，於是早前於Facebook上進行了 一個簡單的問卷調查，我們把調查結果與各方 面的意見，綜合成一篇報道與讀者分享。 至於今期的《飲食擂台》，我們把其形式稍稍 轉變；我們在位於荷里活道的天然葡萄酒零售 店La Cabane，與幾位「識飲之人」一起試試 天然釀造的葡萄酒，並由他們告訴讀者他們的 想法。在此，需向各位饞嘴的讀者說聲對不 起，因為本月的《飲食擂台》並無任何美食 配搭！另外，Wine Times Macau的Reuben Tuck與讀者分享他到波爾多第一間以生物動 態耕種法釀造葡萄酒的酒莊Pontet Canet。 當然，封面故事亦與本月的主題有關；我 們訪問了意大利酒莊Il Marroneto的釀酒師 Alessandro Mori，他是第一位以天然釀酒方 法釀造出非常出色的Brunello di Montalcino 紅酒的釀酒師，同時也是個充滿熱誠的人，讀 者可從我們的訪問中了解更多有關他對這種釀 酒方式的看法。再者暫時來說，他的葡萄酒更 是目前唯一一款天然、以生物動態耕種法釀 造，而取得100分滿分的葡萄酒。 在你閱讀今期的WTHK雜誌時，身在巴塞羅那 的我正在享受一個小小的假期，同時也在尋 覓寫作題材，因為下一期雜誌將以西班牙作 為主題！我也會到倫敦探望剛誕下女孩的妹妹 Anna，我們很可能會以一瓶氣泡酒來慶祝一 番，在此祝她和丈夫Kaspar和女兒Lila一切安 好。乾杯！ (Christie Chan譯) Contact us via email at md@winetimeshk.com

Contents 目錄

p7 Il Marroneto Wines

2 Drink Up, Hong Kong!

Hello Wine World 4 走進酒世界

香港飲勝！

7 100 points? Naturally!

Editor’s Tips: 13 Keep Your Wines Chilled in Hot Summer Outdoors

天然釀造100分

小編分享：葡萄酒戶外保冷方法

14 Winemaker Chat – Christine Saahs of Nikolaihof Wachau Nikolaihof Wachau莊園的釀酒師 Christine Saahs

The Wine Doctor: 17

Exploring Sulphites 酒博士專欄：探討葡萄酒中的亞硫酸鹽

19 “Join us for Tasting” Panel: Natural Wines 飲食擂台：天然葡萄酒

June's Wine Events 24 品酒日曆－六月份

26 “Un Giro d’Italia” Discover the Unknown Italy

Top 10 Summer Rosé 29 十大夏日Rosé

34 A Matter of Organics

A Trip to Pauillac: 37 Pontet-Canet

初臨Pontet-Canet酒莊

探索未知國度：意大利的葡萄寶庫

有機葡萄酒有價有市嗎？

p13 How to keep your wines chilled in hot summer p14 Nikolaihof Wachau

40 Whine-On: Ask us whatever you like!

Recruitment 44 in the wine business

讀者專欄：想問就問！

行業人才招聘

p34 A Matter Organics

p19 Tasting Panel @ La Cabane winetimeshk.com 3

Christie Chan Editor of Wine Times Hong Kong Almost an alcoholic who thinks the fun part of life starts getting unlocked when you drink. On first impression is not into girly-ness and sweetness; but spirits and liquors.

N

平

Any of our readers is a James Bond fan? Well, though I’ve watched the movies I am not a fan. But in my mind there are three things resembling this coolest special agent ever – his posture when holding a gun, his ritzy watches and his Martini – and you should know the last thing interests me the most. So I participated in “Know your Martini” workshop brought by Belvedere to learn how to bartend 3 kinds of Martini including Dry Martini, Wet Martini and Vesper Martini. Martini was traditionally made with gin but today it also can be made with vodka; it is either vermouth with gin or vermouth with vodka. And the ratio of vermouth decides the dryness of a Martini; the lower amount the drier your Martini. In general a Dry Martini is stirred and the other Martinis are shaken but nowadays it doesn’t matter much as long as drinkers are enjoying it! After this fun bartending workshop I learnt how to make Martini at home and here in the picture is my result – Ta-da! It’s a Martini with mango garnish in a non-Martini glass (simply because I don’t have one at home).

Guess I can address myself as Christie the Bartender now!

我們的讀者當中有人是James Bond迷嗎？我有看過 這齣經典電影，但卻算不 上是個James Bond迷， 不過有三種東西專屬於這 位「有型有款」的特工： 拿着槍的英姿、名貴手錶 以及Mar tini(馬天尼)—而 你該知道上述哪一項對我 最具吸引力。因此，我參 與 了 由 B e l v e d e re 舉 辦 的 工作坊，學習如何調製三 種不同的Martini，包括 Dry Martini、Wet Martini 以及Vesper Martini。傳 統上，Mar tini以Gin為基 酒 ， 但 現 在 也 可 以 Vo d k a 代替，也就是說你可選擇 Ve r m o u t h 混 合 G i n ， 或 Ve r m o u t h 混 合 Vo d k a ， 而 Ve r m o u t h 的 份 量 決 定 Martini的乾澀度，其份量 愈小，味道便愈乾澀。普遍 來說，Dry Martini以攪拌 調製，但現在你也可以要求 調酒師以手搖調製，只要你 喜歡便行了！參與過這個工作坊後，我嘗試在家裏調製 一杯芒果口味的Martini(圖)，我想我也可稱自己為調酒 師Christie吧，哈哈！

ormally I stay a lot at the office when it comes to work, however last month I got the chance to take part in various events and tastings and meet new wine friends. Earlier in May it was HOFEX which wine and spirits is a rather small part of the show, yet I tasted a range of rums produced by Clement, from young to old aged and from dark to light. Speaking with my finite experience of tasting rums, I think everybody is kind of into rum as its taste is truly diverse and it appears in most cocktails we drink at a bar. So don’t hesitate to give this not-so-popular spirit a try and it may surprise you!

Summer in Hong Kong is “meltingly-hot” and after we recommended Top 10 Summer Whites last month and Top 10 Summer Rose in this issue, I assume many of our readers think of drinking more of these chilled wines as I do. So, I’ve written a piece on how to keep our wines chilled under summer's high temperatures, especially in a time that we would like to drink at outdoors. Please take a look at my editorial and enjoy drinking chilled wines as much as you can. Cheers!

4 winetimeshk.com

常我多在辦公室裏埋頭苦幹，不過上月有機會參 加多個品酒活動，嚐了些美酒，也認識了些同行 酒友。國際餐飲及酒店設備展HOFEX於五月初舉行， 雖然酒品只是展覽的一小部分，但我在展上嚐到了一系 列由Clement生產的冧酒(Rum)，由釀造年數少的嚐到 年數多的，其酒色深淺各有不同。以我品嚐冧酒有限的 經驗來說，我認為人人也算是喜歡喝冧酒的，因為其口 味多不勝數，當中一定有一款你會喜歡上的！加上冧酒 也是調酒師調製雞尾酒時常用到的酒，所以你也可試試 人氣度不算高的冧酒，可能它能帶給你驚喜呢！

香港的夏天熱得把人融掉，而經我們上月介紹過《十大 夏日白酒》及今期的《十大夏日Rosé》後，相信不少 讀者也跟我一樣，想多喝點冰凍的葡萄酒吧。有見及 此，我在今期雜誌中向各位分享葡萄酒保冷方法，尤其 當我們在戶外暢飲的時候。希望大家在讀過我的報道 後，也能享受喝到冰涼的葡萄酒，飲杯！

5 winetimeshk.com

6 winetimeshk.com

100 points?

Naturally!

天然釀造100分

Text by Ali Nicol Photography by Christie Chan Images: Il Marroneto

譯文、攝影：Christie Chan 圖像：Il Marroneto

winetimeshk.com 7

C

lassifying a wine into a category seems to be all the rage this millennium as we seek to define each wine by the way it is made. Natural, bio-dynamic and organic are the popular terms used to mirror the descriptions ‘mass-produced’ or ‘industrial’ and making wines grown in a natural way seem as exclusive as a ‘Grower Champagne’ (champagne’s that are made by the people who grow the grapes – something that many of us would think goes without saying).

The same could be said for ‘natural’ wines; these are wines that are made with basically no intervention in both the cellars and the vineyards, where the use of anything un-natural (anything chemically manufactured) is frowned upon and where wild yeasts are used to create the fermentation of the wines – hence, natural. This however is the way that wines have always been made since the dawn of time; that is, up until the founding of the periodic table and the influence of big chemical companies designing the chemical sprays that many used on their land to create higher yields.

These days, more and more

8 winetimeshk.com

winemakers are looking to make a more expressive style of wine and arguably this can only be achieved through a more minimalist approach in both the vineyards and in the cellars; in many cases farming bio-dynamically and leaving the wines to ferment naturally such as in the case of rock star winemaker Alessandro Mori. Alessandro is owner and winemaker at Italian family winery Il Marroneto whose Brunello di Montalcino wines are a superb – and one of the truest – reflection of the Sangiovese grape and whose Selezione Madonna delle Grazie 2010 was recently awarded 100 points by Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate.

But before we get into the wines, one should learn a little more about the short history of this incredible winery which was only founded in 1974 by Giuseppe Mori, a lawyer from Siena and father to Alessandro. The first vines were planted in 1975 near the church of Madonna delle Grazie with other vines planted in 1979 and 1985 respectively using entirely clonal selections of Sangiovese sourced from the University of Pisa.

將

葡萄酒評級分類似乎是千年來流行的做 法，包括以釀酒方法來區分不同種類的 葡萄酒。天然(natural)、生物動力自然耕種法 (bio-dynamic)、有機(organic)等詞彙就如「 大量生產」、「工廠化」的對照般，而自然的 釀酒方法就顯得如「Grower Champagne」( 種植葡萄者的自家香檳)那麼獨有專屬。(有不 少人誤以為，種植葡萄的人自行釀造香檳乃是 不言而喻的事) 這點也可套用於「天然」葡萄酒之上，不論在 葡萄園上或酒窖裏，均不以人工干預的方式釀 酒，也就是在釀酒過程中並不涉及任何非天然 的物質(任何化學製造的物質)，所用的酵母均 為野生天然的酵母。不過，自盤古初開以來， 葡萄酒就是以這種方法被釀造出來的；也就是 說，自從元素週期表被創造，人們為了增加收 成而使用愈來愈多由大型化工廠生產的化學防 蟲劑後，才出現了非天然的釀酒方法。 現時來說，有愈來愈多釀酒師為了釀出更有個 性的葡萄酒，分別在葡萄園及酒窖裏體現極 簡主義，有人更說，只有採用這種釀酒方法 才能達到效果。於是這些釀酒師都以生物動

力自然耕種法來種植葡萄，同時以天然方式 讓葡萄酒發酵，知名釀酒師Alessandro Mori 就是其中的一份子。Mori為意大利家族酒莊 Il Marroneto的莊主及釀酒師，酒莊所生產 的Brunello di Montalcino紅酒堪稱一流， 同時也是最能代表Sangiovese葡萄的紅酒之 一；當中的Selezione Madonna delle Grazie 2010紅酒近日更被美國評酒雜誌Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate評為100分。 在介紹Mori的葡萄酒之前，讓我們先了解一 下其酒莊的歷史背景。Il Marroneto酒莊於 1974年由Giuseppe Mori所創立，他既是 Alessandro的父親，也是一名在意大利Siena 任職的律師。酒莊首次於1975年在聖母教堂 附近種植葡萄藤，其後在1979年及1985年分 別種植經比薩大學(University of Pisa)複製基 因的Sangiovese葡萄。 與他的父親一樣，Alessandro本身也是一名 律師，但他發現自己對葡萄酒抱有濃厚興趣， 於1993年毅然接管家族酒莊，並以個人理念 及生物動力自然耕種法打理葡萄園及酒窖。他 把極簡主義套用於酒莊，崇尚極簡的生產及耕 作方式，為的是表示對所耕植物的尊重。

Alessandro, himself a lawyer decided that winemaking was more his passion and in 1993 took over the family business to run as his own and implemented his philosophies and bio-dynamic way of farming into both the vineyards and the cellars. This minimalist philosophy saw him embrace minimal production methods and a style of farming that put the respect of his plants at the forefront of his thinking.

His wines reflect the empathy he feels for the vines they are derived from and his respect and love for the land they are grown on shows in the quality of the wines. He is uniquely humble when it comes to his wines, wines that have been described as “the purest and most profound expression of Sangiovese on the market today” and wine of an “elegance and fragrance dating from ancient times”. Much lauded by critics around the world, Alessandro’s Il Marroneto is arguably the benchmark for Brunello di Montalcino – wines that others should be aspiring to match both in the way that they are made and the way that they taste.

Visiting Hong Kong recently, Wine Times had the chance to catch

up with the man himself and get to know a little more about what makes him tick. What struck us first and foremost is his laid-back approach to life and his love for it!

We probably shouldn’t call him a rogue winemaker because he makes wines the way he wants to, more so we should call him a pioneer.

Not looking for praise, he makes wines for himself and makes wines that he hopes people will like in a style that he himself adheres to and firmly believes in. Certification is not something that Alessandro feels he needs; he feels that the natural ways of farming set down by past generations is simply the best way to farm his vines.

“Making wine, it’s a philosophy. For more than 30 years we have added nothing to the ground; it’s the soil, the sandy soils. There are many micro-elements in the soil that give themselves to the vines – there’s so many natural micro-elements why would you need to add unnatural ones?”

“I would say I am a classic vigneron from Montalcino as I use only my grapes, work in my own way without aggression, pesticides or many medicines, no selected yeasts, no added nutrients for fermentation,

winetimeshk.com 9

no added tannins – that is true biodynamism. For me, bio-dynamism is to remain attached to and respect the wine in a way to make it like our grandfathers did. Our grandfathers only made wine in a natural way, so this is the perfect form of biodynamism that you can imagine”.

When asked if he followed the parameters that others seeking biodynamic certification such as the burying of the cow’s horn with the manure, Alessandro simply replied: “I really just think that is a lifestyle choice”.

So how are the wines? Alessandro’s Rosso di Montalcino 2011 is rustic, classic and hits the spot with food for sure when paired with something simple like meatballs.

Possibly an everyday dinner wine, but most certainly a clean and very enjoyable drop. His Brunello di Montalcino (the 2009 and 2007 were tasted) was outstanding.

Rounded, elegant, structured, clean and although powerful on the palate had the sophistication to just waltz over the palate and left a finish that

10 winetimeshk.com

was more like a handshake saying ‘welcome, I’ll be back’. If truth be told, the 2007 with a little more age was our preference, but that only means you need to give the 2009 a couple more years!

So to the Madonna delle Grazie and THAT rating! Well, 100 points from Parker does not necessarily mean it’s a great wine by everybody’s standards as that score normally lifts people’s expectations too high and many of the time the drinker is left disappointed. The 2010 however does not disappoint (and it’s not often we like a Parker high score wine – but this is unlike any other 100 point wine we have tried). There’s no heavy black fruit, no over oakiness in the wine, it’s just a perfect representation of what Sangiovese should taste like. It’s an elegantly meaty and clean rustic wine with great acidity and a strong tannic backbone, a gentleman, polite and refined and one that deserves all the praise it has received.

從他釀造的葡萄酒中可嚐到，他對葡萄藤充滿 着情感，對土地的那份尊重和敬愛。當說起他 的葡萄酒，他顯得特別謙虛，把其形容為「現 時市面上最純正、最能詮釋Sangiovese葡萄 的酒」，以及具「遠古時代的優雅及香氣」 的葡萄酒。Alessandro的Il Marroneto酒莊 屢獲世界各地的酒評人讚譽，可以說是釀造 Brunello di Montalcino紅酒的指標—其釀造 葡萄酒的方法及葡萄酒的口味風格也值得仿 傚。 最近Alessandro到訪香港，WTHK有幸邀約 他進行訪問，希望可多點了解他與他的葡萄 酒。初次見面，我們最先注意到的是他鬆容閒 適的生活態度，以及對生活的熱誠！他以自己 喜歡的方式去釀酒，我們大概不應稱之為「為 所欲為」，而應是「開拓先鋒」；他這樣做並 非為了得到讚許，只是確信自己的一套，為自 己而釀造葡萄酒，也希望其他人同樣欣賞這種 釀酒風格。Alessandro認為，採用這種耕作 及釀酒方法不是為了獲得特定的資格，而是因 為他認為前人自古已採用自然耕作法，因此以 這種方法釀造自己的酒絕不會出錯。 「釀酒是一種哲學理念。在過去三十年來，我 們從沒於土壤中加入任何東西；只是土壤，砂 質的土壤。泥土本身已供給葡萄藤多種天然、 微小的元素，那為何你還要於土壤中加入非天 然的元素呢？」

“The philosophy for me to make wine is very particular. I started making wine when I was really young; about 13 years old. I look inside myself today and understand that I can make wines the same way I did 40 years ago in my childhood.

To think that I can use nothing to make this wine, only grapes, no machines, doing everything by hand and still make something great is all

about respect; respect for myself, the vine and the wine”.

Alessandro Mori’s Il Marroneto wines are available in Hong Kong from Vignette du Vin (+852 2681 2888). For more information contact Paolo at paolo.ponghellini@ vignetteduvin.com or Apex Lau at apex.lau@vignetteduvin.com

「我會說自己是一名意大利Montalcino典型 的『Vigneron』(法語：意指為釀酒而自行種 植葡萄的人)，我只會以自己的葡萄、自己的 方式釀酒，不會拼命擴大生產，不會使用殺蟲 劑或大量農藥，所使用的酵母也未經挑選，發 酵過程中也不會加入任何添加養分，葡萄酒裏 亦無額外增添的單寧—這就是真正的生物動 力自然耕種法。對我而言，我會一直以生物動 力自然耕種法去釀造葡萄酒，就像我們的曾祖 父一樣以同樣方法釀酒，這是對葡萄酒表示一 份尊重。他們只以天然的方式去釀酒，就是對 生物動力自然耕種法的完美體現。」 當問到他有否參考其他人般獲取生物動力自然 耕種認證，例如把牛角與糞肥一同施到土壤 中，Alessandro簡單的回應：「我只認為那 是生活方式的選擇。」 至於酒的口味如何？Alessandro所釀造的 Rosso di Montalcino 2011風格經典樸實，必 定與簡單美食非常配搭，例如肉丸。這酒口感 純淨，每滴都令人十分享受，很可能是每天都 能飲用的餐酒。他酒莊的Brunello di Montalcino紅酒獨特出眾(我們嚐了2009和2007年份 的)，口感圓滑優雅、具層次、純淨，但當中 的酒精為葡萄酒帶來了一點複雜性，散漫在口 腔之中，餘韻就像是握着跟我們的手說：「你 好，我會再來的。」如實地說，我們較喜歡年 份較陳的2007年，不過這也只代表你需要給 2009年份的待上幾年時間！ 最後，來到了壓軸的Madonna delle Grazie 紅酒，以及「那種」評分！獲得Robert Parker的滿分評分不一定代表該葡萄酒就是佳釀， 皆因每個人的評價標準也不一樣，而這樣的滿 分等級往往令飲者不自覺間期望過高，最後或 會失望收場。然而，這枝2010年份卻沒有令 人失望(我們並不常喜歡上獲Robert Parker高 評分的葡萄酒，但這酒真的與其他我們曾嚐過 的滿分葡萄酒並不一樣)。它的口味並沒有偏 重黑果類，也沒有過多的橡木香氣，單純地只 反映出Sangiovese葡萄的味道。酒的香氣欲 滴，風格純淨樸實，酸度恰好宜人，單寧結構 感強，就像是一名彬彬有禮的紳士，值得獲取 所得的讚譽。 「我的釀酒理念非常特別：我從年紀甚小時便 開始釀造葡萄酒，當時大約13歲左右；現在 到我自我思索，我仍然可以40年前小時候的 釀酒方法釀酒。除了葡萄，釀造葡萄酒不需用 上其他任何東西，不以機器取代人手，依然可 以釀造出佳釀，我這種想法也只源於欣賞及尊 重—包括對自己、對葡萄藤及對葡萄酒。」 Alessandro Mori所釀造的葡萄酒於本港 零售商Vignette du Vin有售，詳情可致電 2681 2888，或電郵到paolo.ponghellini@ vignetteduvin.com與Paolo聯絡，或電郵到 apex.lau@vignetteduvin.com與Apex Lau聯 絡。

winetimeshk.com 11

Editor’s Tips: Keep Your Wines

Chilled in Hot Summer Outdoors 小編分享：葡萄酒戶外保冷方法 Frozen Grapes & Berries

We know adding ice cubes in our wine will dilute it and we don’t want that, plus carrying ice cubes around is not a brilliant idea when everything in the bag becomes all wet. Frozen grapes and berries can act as ice cubes chilling your wine but it saves you from trouble. It’s easy, it looks nice, and it’s perfect to drink wine with fruits in a sunny afternoon.

S

weat here sweat there sweat is seeping out from every inch of your skin when you are under the big sun in summertime in Hong Kong. A glass (or more) of chilled white or rosé is exactly what we crave for, 港的夏日炎熱難 so here are some tips to keep our wines 忍，就算坐着不 chilled while we go drinking outdoor 動也會滲汗，走動兩步更 at places being recommended in the last issue. Literally let’s go 難免汗流浹背。在這個時候， 手中的一杯(或幾杯)冰涼白酒或 out and chill!

香

結成冰的葡萄和 莓果 在葡萄酒中加入冰塊會使 酒變淡，而且帶着冰塊到處去 並不是一個好提議，因為當冰塊融 掉時，更會弄濕袋子裏的所有東西。 而結成冰的葡萄和莓果的作用與 Self-made Ice Block 冰塊一樣，可令葡萄酒變冷， Cut the top part of an unwanted 加上把水果加到酒杯中，不 2-litre plastic bottle (or any plastic 但可當作裝飾，更可邊 bottles with a large round base). Pour 喝邊吃，不亦樂乎？

Text by 撰文：

rosé就可以替我們消消暑！我與讀者 於上期雜誌介紹了夏日戶外暢飲的 好去處，而為了能在戶外地方 也喝到涼透心的葡萄酒，現 我讓我與讀者分享葡萄 酒的保冷方法。

Christie Chan

some water in and place an empty wine bottle in it. Wait until it freezes into ice and a Gel Bottle simple ice block for wine is done! Yes the Cooler ice block in the picture looks so fancy Gel bottle cooler is a particular with its decoration but typical busy gel freezer pack for chilling wine but Hong Kongers probably won’t it seems not to be easy to look for where have the time for that. to buy in Hong Kong. I suggest you can purchase one from Chinese online shopping platform Tao Bao under HKD20, or just 自製冰製酒桶 將一個2公升容量(或任何 make one in “home-made style” – 底部面積大)的塑膠樽剪開， using some gel freezer packs and 留下底部。把水注入膠樽底部， rubber bands. It looks ugly but it works, doesn’t it?

再放置一個空酒瓶，把它放進冰箱 葡萄酒冰袋 至結冰。一個簡單的冰製酒桶冰製 酒桶便完成了！圖中的冰製酒桶 這產品其實就是專為 非常漂亮，不過我相信忙不 葡萄酒而設的冰袋，就如 迭的香港人該沒有時間去 一般可以重覆使用的冰袋一 裝飾冰桶吧。 樣，不過似乎在香港不容易找到 售賣的商鋪。找不到的貨，通通都 在淘寶有售，而且售價更是港幣$20 以下。或者你也可以自製一個葡 萄酒冰袋—用上幾個冰袋再 加幾條橡筋便行！當然這 並不美觀，但效果一 樣，不是嗎？

winetimeshk.com 13

Winemaker Chat – Christine Saahs of Nikolaihof Wachau

Nikolaihof Wachau莊園的釀酒師Christine Saahs Text by Ali Nicol

譯文：Christie Chan

Images 圖像: Nikolaihof Wachau

T

he Nikolaihof winery in Austria has a long and rich history and is in fact the oldest wine estate in the country. Its history can be traced back almost 2000 years to Roman times and wine has been made on the estate since 63AD. For centuries the vines had been tended to by monks who lived on the estate but, in 1894 the Saahs family took over the estate and the family have been carrying on the traditions set down by its monastic founders ever since.

Today, the winery is run by husband and wife team Nikolaus and Christine Saahs and the couple have the distinction of having run the first ever bio-dynamic winery after changing their farming practices to become fully bio-dynamic in 1971.

The family operates in accordance with the Demeter Association, the strictest control system of organic agriculture whose principles can be summed up as thus: to get as much power and energy as possible into the wine whilst interfering with nature as little as possible.

Nikolaihof Wachau has been certified bio-dynamic by Demeter since 1998.

In the Nikolaihof vineyards there are no herbicides, pesticides, artificial

14 winetimeshk.com

fertilisers or synthetic sprays used.

Instead they use stinging nettle manure, valerian drops, valerian tea and other homeopathic medicines and run their agricultural practices according to the bio-dynamic calendar formulated by Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925). Steiner is generally lauded as the founder of the biodynamic movement of farming that has become one of the most accepted ways of grape farming to maintain a sustainable environment for the growing of vines, without the use of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and, on the whole, chemicals that do more harm than good to the environment within which grape vines grow. For planting and harvesting the family also uses the cycle of the moon.

Wine Times sat down with Christine Saahs while she visited Hong Kong recently to learn more about the principles they farm by and to find out more about her distinguished wines. Passionate about the environment Ms. Saahs emphasised that; “It’s now our job, as humans in agriculture to help the soil. It’s really not so difficult to do, but the most important thing is the understanding. If you understand why you have to do it, it becomes much easier”.

Working on the cycles of the moon is not a thing uncommon to many in Hong Kong; we do after all have the lunar calendar in Hong Kong which sets the dates for both Chinese New Year and Mid-Autumn festival. Using this calendar in farming assures the times when the plants will be at their healthiest and when the water tables are at the right levels for the fruit on the vines assures Ms. Saahs. “However, working with the

奧

地利Nikolaihof酒莊是當地最古老的莊 園，其歷史源遠流長，可追溯至約二千 年前，始於公元後63年的羅馬帝國時期。自 莊園被建立的幾百年來，莊園一直由住在園中 的僧侶打理，其葡萄藤亦由他們所種植；直至 Saahs 家族於1894年收購莊園後，該家族至 今仍以僧侶當時傳承下來的傳統方法釀造葡萄 酒。 來到今天，酒莊由夫婦Nikolaus Saahs和 Christine Saahs主理，他們致力打造第一 個採用生物動力自然耕種法的酒莊，於是在 1971年徹底改變耕種及釀酒方法，成為100% 以生物動力自然耕種法運作的酒莊。他們採用 由最嚴格的有機農產品檢定機構Demeter Association所提出的規格營運酒莊，該機構的 宗旨為：以最少干預大自然而投入最大能量的 釀酒方式生產葡萄酒。而Nikolaihof Wachau 莊園在1998年正式獲得Demeter的生物動力 自然耕種法認可資格。 在Nikolaihof酒莊的葡萄園中，除草劑、殺蟲 劑、人工肥料或合成噴劑通通不被使用，而是 使用蕁麻肥料、纈草滴劑、纈草茶以及其他 順勢療法的藥物，同時採用由Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925)編制的生物動力自然耕種法月 曆。Steiner被譽為推動生物動力自然耕種法 的始祖，其種植葡萄的方法有利於葡萄藤的可 持續發展，廣被各地酒莊採用。他主張不使用 除草劑、殺蟲劑、殺真菌劑等，使種植葡萄的 環境不受化學物所破壞。Saahs家族也根據月 亮週期去種植及收成葡萄。 趁着近日Christine Saahs到訪香港，WTHK 邀約她與我們談談她營運酒莊的方式及理念， 以及為我們介紹酒莊所釀造的佳釀。熱愛大自 然的Saahs女士強調：「這是我們現在該做的 事，作為人類在農耕之上為土壤出一分力。這 並非極難之事，但最重要的是對事情的了解； 如果你明白為何你要這樣做，做起來便變得更 加容易。」

moon calendar is important but it’s only a small part of bio-dynamic farming – it’s not the bible – but it’s very helpful. But we always try to find the best day to get out into our vineyards”.

Much of what bio-dynamic farming is about is the relationship between humans and the environment around it and maintaining the balance within that environment.

One biodynamic practice is the burial of a cow’s horn filled with a special manure; this is said to enhance the living organisms within the soils and make for a healthier environment for the vines to grow in. “A handful of soil is a handful of living things”, says Ms. Saahs. “In a handful of really healthy soil you have more living things and microorganisms than there are people on the earth. So, the preparations of the horn silica, the horn manure and the camomile and dandelions help all the living things thrive and grow up. More living things in the soil mean healthier soils and thus the plants can grow up quicker and healthier”.

Farming in such a way gives healthier fruit and thus, wines that are able to live for longer both in the bottle and once opened. In the Nikolaihof vineyards grapes planted are 55% Riesling, 35% Gruner Veltliner and 10% Weissburgunder, Malvasier, Neuburger and

Chardonnay and over time the winery has become famous for its quality Rieslings and wines that are able to age well. Currently, the vintages available in Hong Kong express this and the Nikolaihof Riesling Steiner Hung Reserve is the 2005 vintage and the Nikolaihof Vom Stein Riesling Federspiel is the 2008 vintage. The wines express wonderful acidity and crisp minerality with citrus notes and are truly age-worthy wines.

Nikolaihof wines can be found in Hong Kong through Cottage Vineyards International (www. cottagevineyards.com)

月亮週期對許多香港人而言並不陌生，也就是 中國人的農曆，節日有如農曆新年及中秋節均 與月亮週期有關。Saahs女士指出，在耕作上 採用月亮週期，可以得知農作物在何時生長得 最茁壯茂密，也可得知地下水位在何時達到最 適合葡萄生長的位置。「雖然採用月亮週期非 常重要，但這只是生物動力自然耕種法的一小 部分；這方法並非如聖經般金科玉律，但它非 常湊效，我們也按照月亮週期找到在葡萄園裏 工作的最佳時機。」 生物動力自然耕種法多關乎人類與環境間的關 係，並講求維持平衡對等。其中一個做法就是 埋下載滿特別糞肥的牛角於泥土之中，有指做 法利於土壤中的生物生長，從而使土壤變得更 健康，更適合葡萄生長。「一把泥土也就是一 把生物。」Saahs女士這樣說。「在一把非常 健康的泥土中，當中的生物比地球上的人類還 要多。所以，在土壤中加上矽石牛角、糞肥牛 角、洋甘菊以及蒲公英，均有助所有生物順利 生存生長。土壤中有着愈多生物，代表土壤愈 健康，所種植出來的種物更成長得更快、更健 康。」 以上述的耕作方法種植葡萄，所釀造的葡萄 酒比較「長命」，不管在瓶內或是開瓶後都 較耐喝。在Nikolaihof莊園的葡萄園中，55% 為Riesling葡萄，35%為Gruner Veltliner葡 萄，剩下的10%為Weissburgunder、Malvasier、Neuburger以及Chardonnay葡 萄，當中因Riesling能被好好陳釀而最為 聞名。Nikolaihof Riesling Steiner Hung Reserve 2005以及Nikolaihof Vom Stein Riesling Federspiel 2008，其酸度非常宜 人，具清新礦物味及柑橘類果味，兩者都與美 名如實，而且於本港有售，實在是值得收藏陳 擺的美酒。 Nikolaihof酒莊的葡萄酒於本港酒零售商Cottage Vineyards International有售。(www. cottagevineyards.com) winetimeshk.com 15

THE WINE DOCTOR - Exploring Sulphites 酒博士專欄－探討葡萄酒中的亞硫酸鹽

by Maurizio Galli

W

A passionate wine aficionado and educator who believes in a non-pretentious approach to wine. Having a soft spot for obscure and exotic wine regions, he quickly gained a reputation of wine nerd under Red Mill’s umbrella.

hen it comes to debating differences between regular wine and natural wine, there is one topic that can create quite tense debates among different wine lovers: Sulphites.

Most likely, the majority of you encountered this term before, as it is often printed on the wine label in this way: "contains sulphites". In general I observed that there is a huge chunk of confusion and a number of "urban legends" that wrongly lead to accuse sulphites of being the cause of all evil in wine. I would like to see it completely removed, ignoring the fact that sulphites is actually an important component in wine. Although this is a relatively complicated and technical issue to explain, I'm hoping to do all I can to clarify some of the most frequent misunderstandings.

What are sulphites? From the chemical point of view, sulphites refer to sulphur dioxide or SO2 which is a chemical compound of sulphur and oxygen. In wine this compound is a by-product of yeast during the fermentation although very often, wine producers use it as an additive. Very simply put sulphites fulfil the following functions: 1. Sulphites stabilise the yeast so that the fermentation doesn’t turn the wine into vinegar.

2. Sulphites act as an antiseptic and antimicrobial agent that helps preventing the proliferation of undesired yeast and bacteria.

3. In the production of red wine, sulphites helps the extraction of red pigments from the grape skins during the maceration process.

Pretty much, it helps red wine to become red.

4. After the fermentation process, sulphites act as a preservative that prevents wine from oxidising.

Unfortunately naturally produced sulphites are often not enough to fully guarantee stability and consistency in the wine making process, leading the majority of producers to opt for

additive sulphites. This is where the drama, the debates and the confusion begin. Above all the misunderstandings a number of people tend to believe that "natural wines" or wines made in specific regions of the world are by default "sulphite free". But are they really? The answer to the question is no, there aren't 100% sulphite free wines. There are wines with no added sulphites yes, which is a completely different thing. Generally speaking "natural wines" tend to not have added sulphites, however small amounts of sulphites are naturally produced by the yeast living on the grape skins during fermentation.

Another misused argument is that high levels of sulphites in some of the "cheap" wines give you a headache, especially from white wine which tends to contain more sulphites than red wine. Studies on this matter are quite inconclusive and contradictory making this correlation more a myth than anything else.

My take on this is that it's more likely to be caused by a combination of sulphites with alcohol, if not entirely the result of alcohol: sulphites can help the absorption of vitamin B which is one of the reasons believed to cause headaches; however so does alcohol. On top of that, if sulphites were the sole cause of the problem then sensitive people would suffer headaches also when eating certain types of food such as dried fruit, which happens to contain high levels of sulphites.

Like any sort of product that you ingest, the choice of having wine with low sulphites such as natural wine is entirely personal. Also if you have any sort of intolerance to processed food then it would be best you avoid wine completely. For everybody else let's not forget that for wine (being an alcoholic beverage), sulphites are probably not the worst component in it neither the most detrimental substance for your body. Something to remember next time you have a colossal hangover.

每

當辨論普通葡萄酒與天然葡萄酒間的分別 時，其中一點常引來各愛酒者的激烈爭論： 亞硫酸鹽(Sulphites)。相信絕大部分人都曾聽過這 個名詞，因它常被標示在酒標上：「含亞硫酸鹽」 。從個人觀察而言，許多人對亞硫酸鹽混淆不清， 更曾有「城市傳聞」指其為葡萄中的有害物質。我 非常希望這些誤解徹底消失，而事實上亞硫酸鹽更 是葡萄酒中重要的成分之一。要解釋這點是相對複 雜及專門的，但我希望能夠向大家解釋對亞硫酸鹽 最常見的誤解。 究竟甚麼是亞硫酸鹽？在化學方面來說，亞硫酸鹽 即二氧化硫(sulphur dioxide或 SO2)，是由硫及氧 氣組成的化合物；在葡萄酒方面來說，這種化合物 是葡萄酒中的酵母在發酵過程中帶來的副產品，不 過許多釀酒商多以亞硫酸鹽為添加物。簡單而言， 亞硫酸鹽具以下作用： 1. 亞硫酸鹽可穩定葡萄酒中的酵母，使葡萄酒不 會發酵成酸醋。 2. 亞硫酸鹽就如葡萄酒的殺菌劑和抗菌劑一樣， 有助抑制多餘的酵母或細菌增生。 3. 在釀造紅酒的過程中，亞硫酸鹽有助葡萄在浸 漬時提取果皮中的紅色色素，也就是說，它有 助紅酒變成紅色。 4. 發酵過程完成後，亞硫酸鹽就像防腐劑一樣， 可以防止葡萄酒氧化。 然而，自然產生的亞硫酸鹽通常不足以確保葡萄酒 能維持其穩定性及一致性，導致不少生產商選擇 添加亞硫酸鹽到葡萄酒中，對於亞硫酸鹽的爭論、 混淆、鬧劇亦由此而起，更有不少人因此認為「天 然葡萄酒」或某些產區的葡萄酒被默認為「不含 亞硫酸鹽」。這是真的嗎？答案：不，世上並沒 有100%不含亞硫酸鹽的葡萄酒。有些葡萄酒沒有 添加的亞硫酸鹽，而這與不含亞硫酸鹽是兩碼子的 事。一般來說，「天然葡萄酒」通常不含添加亞硫 酸鹽，但它仍然含有天然產生的亞硫酸鹽，就是由 葡萄果皮上的酵母於發酵過程中所產生。 另一被濫用的爭論點是，某些便宜的葡萄酒中含有 大量亞硫酸鹽，會使飲者有頭痛症狀，尤其白酒比 紅酒含有更多的亞硫酸鹽。相關研究說法各異，未 能作出一致定論，使這個爭論點更像是一個迷思。 我認為引起頭痛的因由為亞硫酸鹽與酒精的結合， 否則單純只因為酒精而已：亞硫酸鹽可使人體加快 吸收維他命B，被認為是引起頭痛的原因；然而， 酒精亦然。此外，假若亞硫酸鹽是唯一引致頭痛的 原因，身體反應較大的人吃特定食物時也同樣會頭 痛，例如乾果，這類食物也有高含量的亞硫酸鹽。 與任何其他食物一樣，選擇亞硫酸鹽含量較低的葡 萄酒(如天然葡萄酒)與否，完全是個人的選擇。假 如你接受不了任何經加工的食物，那你最好也不要 再喝葡萄酒了。至於對其他人而言，亞硫酸鹽並非 是葡萄酒中最壞的成分，亦非對身體最為有害的物 質。下次宿醉時，不要再歸咎於亞硫酸鹽了。 (Christie Chan譯) winetimeshk.com 17

18 winetimeshk.com

“Join us for Tasting” Panel: Natural Wines 飲食擂台：天然葡萄酒

The Natural Wine Movement may not be as prevalent here in Hong Kong as it is in places such as the UK but there is a growing interest in Natural Wines and one of the pioneers of the movement in our city is La Cabane. With their bistro and retail shops conveniently located in Hollywood Road, Central, there’s no better way to explore the world of natural wines.

Natural Wines are, on the whole not your run of the mill commercial style wines. They are made without the addition of chemicals and use only wild or natural yeasts in their fermentation. Some wines have a “funky” nature to them but on the whole, a lot of that is just down to bad winemaking rather than a bad wine. On the whole, they can be fresh and offer the drinker a different olfactory sensation.

So for this month’s tasting panel we thought it would be interesting to team up with La Cabane to taste a range of natural wines and learn a little more about the subject. We headed down to their retail shop with four wine lovers to see what they thought of the wines and we asked them to pick their top two wines of the tasting.

在香港，推動享用天然葡萄酒或許不如其他地 方(如英國)般流行，但愈來愈多人對天然葡萄 酒感興趣，其中一位積極推動者就是本港酒零 售商La Cabane。這次，就讓我們在其位於荷 里活道的小餐館及商鋪，嚐嚐天然的葡萄酒。 何謂天然葡萄酒？一般而言，就是非大量生產 的商品葡萄酒。它們不含化學添加劑，用以 進行發酵的酵母亦為野生或天然酵母。有些天 然葡萄酒味道像是怪怪的，但這只因為釀酒過 程出現問題，而非以這種釀酒方法釀造不出好 酒。總的來說，天然葡萄酒的口味清新，香氣 也帶給飲者截然不同的感覺。

We think you’ll like the selection chosen by our panel this month so next time your craving for something different in your glass, head over to La Cabane and check out their array of natural wines available.

本月我們誠邀La Cabane參與《飲食擂台》， 在其零售店與四位愛酒之人共嚐幾款不同的天 然葡萄酒，讓他們與讀者分享其中最喜歡的兩 款酒，同時也讓讀者從他們口中多了解天然葡 萄酒。

Texy by Ali Nicol Photography by Christie Chan

如果你想嚐到些不一樣的葡萄酒，不妨到La Cabane嚐嚐其天然葡萄酒，也許你也會喜歡 專業評審所挑選的心頭好呢。 譯文、攝影：Christie Chan

La Cabane a Vin Wine Bistro 62 Hollywood Road, Soho, Central (Tel: 2776 6070) La Cabane a Vin Wine Cellar B/F, 97 Hollywood Road, Central

From the left 左起：

1. Domaine Belluard AYSE Mont-Blanc Brut Zéro 2011, Savoie - HK$350 2. Domaine le Briseau Kharaktêr 2010 - Anjou, Loire - HK$310 3. Domaine du Moulin LES SAULES 2013 - Cour-Cheverny, Loire - HK$230 4. Domaine Lucci Wildman Blanc 2014 - Adelaide Hills, South Australia - HK$300 5. Domaine le Briseau Les Longues Vignes Pineau d’Aunis 2012 - Coteaux du Loir - HK$220 6. Mas Del Périé Les Escures 2014 - Cahors, Midi Pyrenees - HK$170

winetimeshk.com 19

Cristobal Huneeus About Cristobal:

Domaine le Briseau, Kharaktêr 2010 Chenin / France

“One of the last cuvee made by the late Christian Chaussard, president of the AVN (Association des Vins Naturels) for 5 years and Nathalie Gaubicher. Great expression of minerality for this Chenin Blanc with light notes of skin peach.”

♛

TOP 1 Mas del Périé Les Escures 2014 Malbec / France

“Wine is made by Fabien Jouves who uses selection parcellaire for his Malbec (or Cot as we like to call it in France) and more funky wines for his blends (Malbec and cabernet franc or Tannat or Jurancon noir). His Escure is fresh and fruity, round with limited tanins.

Very enjoyable when summer comes. ”

♛

TOP 2 20 winetimeshk.com

Cristobal is French/Chilean and has spent the last 17 years working around the globe (Japan, UK, HK) in marketing, media relations and event management. He has been in love with wine since a young age and first discovered his first bottle of natural wine in 1995; a bottle of Meme from Domaine Gramenon – a wine that still stays on his mind when tasting.

He joined La Cabane early 2012 to develop the bistro and the wholesale business. His first business partnership and still loving it every day!

Karim Hadjadj About Karim:

Karim is Algerian born French and has been happily settled in Hong Kong for the past 10 years. Karim is a pilot with a famous Hong Kong airline and a married and father of 3. He found his passion and fell in love with natural wine 15 years ago; and has been drinking these wines ever since. Karim believes that natural wines are a true expression of the terroir, showing minerality, fruity, depth and complexity than can be summarised in one word for wines: Emotions!

Domaine Lucci Wildman Blanc 2014 Sauvignon Blanc / Australia

“Winemaker Anton Von Klopper demonstrates exactly what a natural wine should be like in this wine.

A purity which carries drinkability and accessibility. When I am thirsty, Wildman Blanc is the wine for me!”

♛

TOP 1

Domaine Briseau Longues Vignes Rouge 2012 Pineau d’Aunis / France

“Pineau d’Aunis is my favourite grape; it’s fresh and peppery with a fantastic tannin structure and has a nice acidity that makes it a totally unique red wine. ”

♛

TOP 2 winetimeshk.com 21

Alison Christ About Alison:

Domaine Lucci Wildman Blanc 2014 Sauvignon Blanc, Australia

“Epic! Inspiring of the outdoors with notes of flowers, bees and like running through a field of daisies.

There’s tastes of honey, lemon – like a friendly beehive in a glass. I loved this wine!!”

♛

TOP 1

Domaine Briseau Longues Vignes Rouge 2012 Pineau d’Aunis / France

“I love this grape for its pepper and spice characteristics. The aromas are more of black pepper, leather and tobacco while the mouth is raspberry and red violets.

I want this with duck rillettes and pork saucisson!”

♛

TOP 2 22 winetimeshk.com

Born and raised in New York, Alison holds a Bachelors degree in Hotel and Restaurant management and is a Certified Sommelier (through the Court of Master Sommeliers). Alison has a love for art and travelling having been to over 40 countries world-wide.

In this time she has held varied positions throughout the hospitality industry from General Manager to Sommelier to Importer to Assistant Winemaker, expanding her vinicultural knowledge and designing wine lists for many fine dining restaurants along the way. Now she will continue her passion for wine, art and music in Hong Kong at her new venue ‘myHouse Wine & Music’ scheduled to open in Wan Chai’s QRE Plaza in early September.

Bojan Radulovic About Bojan:

Domaine Lucci Wildman Blanc 2014 Sauvignon Blanc / Australia

“It could easily be mistaken for an orange wine but on the nose has tropical fruit, stone fruit, mango and melon. Some subtle acidity with a medium body. Would never expect it to be a Sauvignon Blanc!

Something completely new!!”

Bojan says he was young when he was born! From Serbia and born in the former Yugoslavia, Bojan arrived in Hong Kong last year after working firstly in the Hyatt Regency Belgrade where he was pushed into the wine industry. A fan of history, it was the history associated with wine that created his passion for the drink. Moving to the cruise line after leaving the hotel, Bojan worked as chef sommelier on many cruise liners including the Queen Elizabeth. Now permanently in Hong Kong, Bojan will be the opening chef sommelier for Ku De Ta opening in Lan Kwai Fong this July.

♛

TOP 1 Domaine Belluard AYSE MontBlanc Brut Zéro 2011 Gringet / France

“This sparkling wine has characteristics much like a champagne.

One the nose there’s crushed green apple, lemon and lime citrus fruits.

A dry wine with a medium body, the wine is refreshing and ideal for the Hong Kong summer weather.

It doesn’t need food but if you did; think oysters or calamari.”

♛

TOP 2 winetimeshk.com 23

1

Riesling Weeks Walk Around Tasting at W’s Entrecote

7

German Riesling X Michelin-starred Japanese & Chinese Cuisine at KO Dining

8

2

Tasting with German Wine Queen at MGM Macau

Mongeard Mugneret Tasting: Classic Terroir Driven Burgundy with Ginsberg + Chan

3

Tasting with German Wine Queen at The Flying Winemaker

Ch. Cos d’Estournel Tasting Event at Enoteca Central Shop

A Taste of the Northern Rhone with Ginsberg + Chan

Alois Lageder Wine Dinner at Cova

Ridge Winemaker Dinner at The Venetian Macau

9

10

Famille Hugel Tasting Event at Enoteca Kowloon Tong

14 15 16 17 Famille Hugel Wine Dinner with Pudao Wines

Champagne Piper-Heidsieck Tasting Event at Enoteca Elements

Cinema On the Terrace: A Year In Burgundy with Ginsberg + Chan

Bordeaux: See How They Age with Ginsberg + Chan

21 22 23 24

Wine & Music Jam at Orange Peel LKF

Backyard Braai with Napier and Kerry Wines

28 29 30 24 winetimeshk.com

‘Trio of Tuscany’ Winemaker Dinner at KEE CLUB

4

Tasting with German Wine Queen at Schmidt Vinothek

Ronco del Gelso Wine Dinner with Amorosso Wines at Totts & Roof Terrace

5

Italian National Day Celebration at Italy Small Vineyards

6

Tasting with German Wine Queen at City Super

11 12 13 Jacques Selosse Wine Dinner at Fuk Lam Moon with Madison Wines

For the full information on all the above events visit our website www. winetimeshk. com/events 各品酒活動詳情可 瀏覽WTHK網站 www. winetimeshk. com/events

Nikolaihof Wine Dinner at City of Dreams, Macau

18 19 20 Sicily Wine Dinner at Italy Small Vineyards

Dragon Boat Festival

Blind Tasting Challenge at Perbacco

25 26 27

Discover Old and New World Wine Dinner at Peking Garden with ASC Fine Wines

Liguria Wine Dinner at Italy Small Vineyards

Blind Tasting Challenge at Perbacco My Favourite Things: Tuscan Wine Lunch at Tosca

June's Wine Events winetimeshk.com 25

“Un Giro d’Italia” Discover the Unknown Italy 探索未知國度：意大利的葡萄寶庫 acid and a strong body. It thrives on the eastern part of Sicily in particular.

2. Inzolia

I

taly makes some of the world’s best wines from the multitude of indigenous grapes that grow on its fertile soils; in fact, Italy has the largest number of indigenous grape varieties from which wine is made worldwide.

In total, there are 377 different varieties alone, many of those having different clonal types thus making Italy arguably one of the most diverse wine making countries in the world. In this monthly feature, we will take a look at the grapes specific to each region and highlight some of the wines that are crafted from each variety. This month, we look at some of the regional grapes of the southern Italian island of Sicily.

Sicily has more vineyards than any of the other Italian wine regions competing with Apulia for the title of Italy’s largest wine producers yet the inhabitants of the island are one of the lowest consumers of wine itself. More famous for movies such as the Godfather and for its infamous volcano, Mt. Etna, Sicily has become renowned for making great sweet wines called Marsala, yet makes some of the best dry still wines Italy has to offer from a plethora of indigenous grape varietals. Here we will look at the major 4 grapes; Nero d’Avola, Inzolia, Catarratto and Grillo.

1. Nero d’Avola

Translated, Nero d’Avola means “Black of Avola”, a reference to the grape’s distinctive dark colouring and thus for the best part of the 20th century the grape was mostly used as a blending grape. These days though, the grapes fortunes have changed and it is more and more common to see Nero d’Avola as a single varietal wine. It is often compared to Syrah because it likes similar growing conditions – hot Mediterranean climate – and exhibits many similar characteristics. The grape typically has high tannins, medium

26 winetimeshk.com

Inzolia, native to Sicily is more famous as the traditional grape ingredient for Marsala wine however in recent times it is being used more and more to make crisp, dry white wines both in blends and in single varietals. Wines made from the Inzolia grape tend to be moderately aromatic, with nutty nuances, citrus characters and herbal notes. The grape’s ability to lose acidity late in the season makes it a perfect building block for Marsala wine but improved winemaking techniques and earlier harvesting has seen its role and placed significantly change in modern day Sicilian winemaking.

3. Catarratto

Catarratto is a grape variety which is mostly used in the production of light, easy drinking white wines. Despite being grown exclusively in Sicily, it is one of Italy’s most commonly planted grape varieties and makes up around 60% of the islands total vineyard area. The grape is a high yielding one with fairly low acidity but with careful vinification the grape is capable of producing interesting wines with a juicy texture and crisp lemon flavours. The grape is thought to be a descendent of Garganega, the key white wine grape in the production of Soave from north eastern Italy.

4. Grillo

Grillo is well suited to the hot dry Sicilian climate. Its high levels of sugar and ease with which it oxidises make it a good option for fortification. It is used however in more and more dry wines these days from Sicily, yielding wines that are light and nutty with fruit driven flavours that include apple and lemon. These days, the focus for Grillo has become more quality than quantity and many producers are starting a renaissance with Grillo, favouring the planting of the grape that now gives more fruit driven dry white wines arguably becoming one of the contenders for the quintessential Italian white table wine – light and easy drinking.

Text by Ali Nicol & Marco Bianchi

譯文：Christie Chan

意

大利的土地上生長着眾多的原生葡萄品種，釀造出 部分世界上最好的葡萄酒，事實上更是擁有最多原 生葡萄品種的國家，其葡萄酒更供應到世界各地。在數字 方面，在意大利的土壤上可找到377種葡萄品種，當中更 有多種無性繁殖的複製葡萄(clonal grapes)，因此有說意 大利是最多樣化的葡萄酒產國。在這兩版專頁上，我們會 為讀者介紹來自不同國家產區的葡萄品種，並且推介釀自 該些葡萄品種的酒品。今期WTHK帶大家來到意大利南部 產區西西里島，認識生長於該區的葡萄品種。

西西里島產區的葡萄園及酒莊比意大利其他產區都要

多，常與普利亞(Apulia)競逐成為全國產量最高的葡萄酒 產區，不過當地居民卻不太熱衷於享用葡萄酒。經典電影 《教父》(Godfather)更為西西里島帶來名氣，聞名的埃 特納火山(Mt. Etna)也位於島上，而該地區所出產的Marsala甜酒，以及以眾多原生葡萄釀造而口感乾澀的葡萄 酒，同樣也是西西里島的特色之一。這次，我們為讀者介 紹4種主要葡萄品種：Nero d’Avola、Inzolia、Catarratto和Grillo。 Nero d’Avola葡萄可直譯為「阿沃拉之黑(Black of Avola)」，也直接顯示這種葡萄的果皮顏色深，因此在二 十世紀中最好的葡萄酒時代裏，混合葡萄酒時也會加上這 葡萄來調酒色。來到今天，Nero d’Avola葡萄得以改寫 其命運，以它來釀造單一葡萄品種的葡萄酒愈趨常見。它 常與Syrah葡萄品種作比較，皆因兩種葡萄都喜以在相似 氣候下生長──炎熱的地中海氣候，同時也有着相似的葡 萄特性。這種葡萄單寧重，中度酸性，酒體也重，主要長 於西西里島的東邊。 Inzolia葡萄是較為人熟悉的西西里島原生品種，傳統上 為釀造Marsala甜酒的葡萄，然而現在也以單一葡萄或混 合葡萄的方法，被釀造成乾澀爽口的白酒。以Inzolia葡 萄釀造的葡萄酒具溫和的酒香，帶有堅果香氣、柑橘果類 的特性及香草的味道。這種葡萄的酸度會在收成季節尾下 降，使它成為Marsala甜酒的重要元素，不過，更先進的 釀酒技術及提早收成有所成效，改變了現代西西里島的釀 酒業。 Catarratto葡萄常用以釀造口感輕而容易入喉的白酒，它 除了只生長於西西里島上外，還是其中一種最常見於意大 利的葡萄品種，佔了意大利島嶼上的葡萄園面積約60%。 這種葡萄產量高、收成好，其特性為酸度較低，但若透過 謹慎的釀酒過程，這種葡萄也能被釀成有特色的葡萄酒， 質感豐富多汁而帶清爽的檸檬口味。Catarratto葡萄被視 為Garganega葡萄家族的後裔，而意大利東北部小區索 阿衛(Soave)，酒莊主要以Garganega葡萄釀造白酒。 Grillo葡萄十分適合在炎熱乾燥的西西里島氣候下生長， 葡萄中的糖分高，亦較容易氧化，使它成為釀造加烈葡萄 酒的好選擇。不過，現時該葡萄於西西里島愈來愈多用以 釀造乾澀的白酒，出產口感輕盈，帶有堅果及果香，以及 具蘋果及檸檬口味的白酒。目前，大部分釀酒師着重於 Grillo葡萄的質量多於產量，試圖復興這種葡萄，令更多 人選擇種植它，釀造出果味重而口感乾澀白酒，更可謂成 為其中一款最經典的意大利餐飲白酒之一──輕盈而容易 入喉。

Best Examples of Italian native grapes

Learn more at AIS: AIS sommelier courses are available at Italy Small Vineyards. For more information contact fay@ italysmallvineyards.com

1. Nero d’Avola

Baglio Oro Nero d’Avola Sicilia DOC 2012

Italian Small Vineyards有提供 AIS侍酒師課程，詳情請電郵到 fay@italysmallvineyards.com Pale ruby colour, wild berries and under bush on the nose with a rich dark-sweet spice, very ripe fruits and plums on the palate, rich and supple with nice fruity finish. 酒色為淡淡的寶石紅，散發着野莓及灌木香氣，更帶深而甜 辛料香氣，口腔充滿熟果及梅子，餘韻留下豐富而柔軟的果 味。

2. Inzolia

Baglio Oro Inzolia Aclamo IGP 2013

Available at: Enoteca Italiana

209 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong +852 2362 1488 info@italysmallvineyards. com

Monteverdi Restaurant

Pale straw color with golden highlights; citrusy (intense Mediterranean citrus fruit) and nutty (bread crust) on the nose with hints of orange blossom, very round and soft on the palate, with refreshing finish. 酒色為淡禾色，同時帶點金色；香氣主要為柑橘類果香(濃 郁的地中海柑橘類水果)及堅果香氣(麵包邊皮)，帶點橙花花 香。口感豐盈而溫和，餘韻清新宜人。

3. Catarratto

Baglio Oro Catarratto Aclamo IGP 2013

Straw yellow; intense and fine notes of tropical fruit and bread crust on the nose; fresh and savoury on the palate, with great persistence. 酒色為禾黃色，帶有濃郁美妙的熱帶果以及麵包邊皮的香 氣，口味清新宜人，餘韻亦甚長。

4. Grillo

Baglio Oro Grillo Aclamo IGP 2013

Crystal straw yellow; intense aromatic nose of white peach and precise exotic fruits; intense and balanced on the palate. A wine of elegance. 酒色為清澈的禾黃色，其香氣濃郁，混合了白桃及經過挑選 的異國水果，口味濃烈而平衡。這是枝優雅的佳釀。

6a-8 High Street, Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong +852 2559 0115 armando@monteverdirestaurants.com

Carpaccio Pasta Pizza & Vino Shop 307, 3rd Floor, iSQUARE, 63 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong +852 2328 5202 info@carpaccio.com.hk

DiVino Patio Ristorante Bar Pizzeria

Shop 11, 1/F, BRIM28 Causeway Centre, No. 28 Harbour Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong +852 2877 3552 info@divinopatio.com

DiVino Wine Bar & Restaurant

73 Wyndham Street, Central, Hong Kong +852 2167 8883 info@divino.com.hk

Spasso Italian Bar Restaurant Terrace

G5-8, 12-17, Empire Centre, 68 Mody Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui East +852 2730 8027 info@spassoristorante-bar. com.hk

Perbacco Restaurant 188 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong +852 2517 8884

winetimeshk.com 27

winetimeshk.com 28

TOP 10 er Summ Rosé

十大夏日Rosé Little Pig Rosé by Eddie McDougall (King Valley, Australia)

Bodegas Costers del Sio, SIOS Rosé (Costers del Segre, Spain)

Made by local winemaker Eddie McDougall, this latest vintage of the Little Pig Rosé is dry and fresh whilst also being punchy and fun. The wine is dedicated to those born in the year of the pig and in honour of Eddie’s very own grandma (you’ll have to ask him to tell you the story!)

This Rosé is a 100% Australian Sangiovese and boast great acidity alongside red berry fruits such as raspberry. This wine really works well with Dim Sum and Eddie recommends trying it with a little Char Siu (BBQ Pork). A wine that can be drunk anytime of any day, this is certainly a party wine that is so easy drinking you will definitely run out of bottles before the sun goes down!

This sophisticated Rosé from Spain is “not just another Rosé” and its vibrant dark pink colour immediately sets it apart from other Rosé’s on the shop shelf. A blend of Syrah and Grenache, the wine shows intense raspberry flavours with a touch of cherry alongside a subtle element of strawberry on the palate. Its easy drinking nature is backed up by a good acidity which makes it ideal not only for that summer salad but also goes exceptionally well with barbequed prawns and fresh scallops. Drink while young, enjoy in the sun and take it to any barbeque you go to this summer!

Available from Finessa in Hong Kong Available from The Flying Winemaker in Hong Kong

這枝來自澳洲的Rosé由本地釀酒師Eddie McDougall釀 造，其最新年份口感乾澀，猶如一口清新來襲，而且有 玩味。這酒被命名為Little Pig Rosé是為了獻給屬於豬 年的朋友，同時也是為了獻給Eddie自己的祖母(想知道 這個故事的話，你要自己向他問問看呢！)。這枝酒以 100%的Sangiovese葡萄釀造，其酸度宜人，帶有紅莓 果類味道，亦與廣東點心十分配搭，Eddie建議可嘗試與 叉燒共飲。一天中的任何時候也適合喝它，其容易入喉 的特性使它成為派對之選，或許在太陽下山之前你和朋 友們已經把一枝又一枝的酒清光！ 有售於本港酒零售商The Flying Winemaker

如果你以為這酒只是一般的西班牙Rosé，那你便大錯 特錯了。它的層次複雜，而且它的酒色為有活力的暗粉 紅，比起放在同一酒架上的玫瑰紅酒更加搶眼。酒以 Syrah和Grenache葡萄混合釀造，其酒香為濃郁的木莓 果香，同時帶有櫻桃的微香，口腔內還找到一點士多啤 梨的元素。酒的酸度恰到好處，其易飲的性質不僅與夏 日沙律配搭理想，亦與燒烤大蝦和新鮮帶子份外配搭。 此酒適宜時飲，不管在陽光下暢飲，還是在燒烤時喝， 是枝屬於夏日的酒！ 有售於本港酒零售商Finessa

winetimeshk.com 29

Top 10 Summer Rosé Ibizkus (Ibiza, Spain)

Bonny Doon Vin Gris de Cigare Rosé (California, USA) A stunning, super-easy drinking Rosé from the Spanish party island of Ibiza that we tried recently at the HOFEX show back in May. Made in a very Provencal style, it’s light and fresh both in appearance and on the palate. Wickedly addictive, this is a wine that we imagine ourselves sitting on the beach under the Ibiza sun and drinking all the way to sunset.

The wine comes in an instantly recognisable bottle, not just for its shape but for the glass “cork” that it is sealed with making it easy to open and re-seal if you don’t finish the whole bottle.

Sadly, we hear it’s not yet available in the city but a little bird tells us it is on its way – so look out for it when it arrives!

One of the best Rosé wines we have tried this year and it has literally just arrived in Hong Kong in time for summer. The Vin Gris de Cigare is an eclectic blend of “not your run of the mill” grapes from eccentric and iconic winemaker Randall Grahm. Grapes in this are Grenache, Mourvedre, Grenache Blanc, Rousanne and a few more! Loads of strawberry on the palate makes this a truly exciting wine and one with the poise and complexity to match with food. We however, would rather just drink it and it’s one of those addictive wines where we find our glass is empty almost as quick as its filled!

Available from Victoria Wines in Hong Kong

我們在上月舉行的國際餐飲及酒店設備展HOFEX上， 嚐到這枝令人驚嘆、「超級易飲」的Rosé。這酒來自西 班牙常舉辦狂歡派對的島嶼Ibiza，以 Provencal風格釀 造，口味及酒色同樣能代達其輕盈清新的特性。喝着這 令人上癮的酒，我們能幻想自己於Ibiza的太陽下，一直 喝酒直到日落。酒瓶的設計既特別且易認，不單是瓶身 形狀，其玻璃酒塞更方便飲者在開瓶後重新封瓶，無需 擔心喝不完這酒。可惜的是，現時香港市面上還未供應 此酒，但聞說即將在港登場──大家拭目以待吧！

這酒是我們今年內嚐過最好的Rosé之一，而且它剛在 夏日來臨之際登錄香港──時間剛剛好。Vin Gris de Cigare出自古怪而具代表性的釀酒師Randall Grahm 之手，由「非一般貨色」的葡萄品種混合釀造， 包括 Grenache、Mourvedre、Grenache Blanc、Rousanne 以及更多的葡萄品種！嚐一口這款來自美國加州的酒， 口腔內立即充滿豐富的士多啤梨果味，其香氣及層次亦 能與美食配搭；不過，我們認為最好還是把它獨酌。這 是枝引人入勝的Rosé，我們不其然會發覺剛斟滿的酒杯 在瞬間便清空了！ 有售於本港酒零售商Victoria Wines

30 winetimeshk.com

十大夏日Rosé Chateau Ksara Sunset Rosé (Bekaa Valley, Lebanon) Lebanon is most certainly known for its red wines but this Rosé has to be the benchmark for what other Lebanese wine makers and a wine that they should be trying to emulate. It’s a super satisfying wine that has a certain touch of complexity meaning it’s not really a quaffing wine, but a wine to take a little more care over and cherish.

There’s plenty of great fruit in your glass and this is matched with a great acidic backbone that lends the wine to pair with food very well. The wine is a blend of Cabernet Franc and Syrah and has a lovely rounded mouth feel and a mild touch of spice – something that makes it excellent with not only Lebanese food but with barbequed seafood and pork. A wine we have tasted a lot of over the years and it still continues to be one of our favourites.

Domaine Comte Abbatucci Faustine Vielles Vignes Rosé (Corsica, France) The small island of Corsica is not the first place you would think of buying a wine from but those that do are in for a special treat. The winemaker, Jean-Charles Abbatucci is a winemaking legend and his low production wines are something to behold as not only are they breathtakingly good, but are exclusively made from indigenous grapes on the island.

This beautiful Rosé is made from the Sciaccarellu grape – not one that’s easy to pronounce – but if you call the importer, just ask for the Abbatucci Rosé! This wine is exceptional with all styles of Japanese food so if you are thinking of taking a Rosé to a Japanese restaurant and paying the corkage, this wine will be well worth your while.

Available from My Bacchus Club in Hong Kong

Available from Red Mill Limited in Hong Kong.

黎巴嫩一向以其出產的紅酒較為知名，但這枝Rosé應 該當為其他黎巴嫩釀酒師的指標，更值得從它身上「取 經」。這酒極為令人滿足，你需要花點時間心思去欣賞 其複雜的層次，因此它並不適合豪飲。酒中帶有多種果 味，且具層次結構，其恰好的酸度使它與多種食物也十 分配搭。釀造此酒的葡萄組合為Cabernet Franc及Syrah 葡萄，其口感圓滑，當中也帶點香辛──不僅與黎巴嫩美 食極為配搭，與燒烤海鮮和豬扒配搭亦可。我們多年來 都經常嚐到它，而它仍然是我們最喜愛的Rosé之一。 有售於本港酒零售商Red Mill Limited

當你購買葡萄酒時，你大概不會想到買來自法國小島 Corsica的酒；不過如果你會的話，那你便「尋到寶」 了！這Rosé由傳奇釀酒師Jean-Charles Abbatucci 所釀造，不僅是枝驚人的酒，更以島上的原生葡萄 Sciaccarellu所釀造，加上其出產量低，使它更具收藏價 值。可能對一般人而言，Sciaccarellu葡萄的發音實在不 容易掌握──如果你想嚐嚐這酒，只需致電入口商，告訴 對方你想要的是Abbatucci Rosé！不同款式的日本菜與 這酒乃絕配，假如你想帶一枝Rosé到日本餐廳，而又不 介意付上開瓶費的話，這枝Rosé必定不會令你失望。 有售於本港酒零售商My Bacchus Club

winetimeshk.com 31

Top 10 Summer Rosé Chêne Bleu Rosé (Rhone Valley, France) Ahhh, the delightful Grenache Rosé from one of our favourite French wineries Chêne Bleu. We have tried this wine so many times and each and every time it fails to disappoint. A taste of the countryside in a glass for sure, this wine is like bottled sunshine and if you close your eyes while drinking it, you can almost transport yourself to a beautiful patio in a garden in France with the birds chirping and the bees buzzing as you sip this delectable wine. Fresh for sure, but with a defined complexity, Chêne Bleu wines are designed for food and with this wine, we’d just like a couple of bottles, some good food, close friends and a nice sunny afternoon in the garden.

Available from Sarment in Hong Kong

Ferrari Rosé Brut (Trento DOC, Italy) The first time we ever tried this wine was actually in the vineyards overlooking the stunning scenery that surrounds the Ferrari winery. Trento DOC in the Italian Dolomites boast some of the best climate for clean, crisp and refreshing sparkling wines and their Perle 2007 (a white sparkling) is one of the best sparkling wines in the world at the moment. This Ferrari Rosé Brut is in the same style – easy drinking, refined and refreshing with hints of strawberry that gives off elegant bubbles that dance around the palate. A great summer wine that can easily be drunk alone but works beautifully with food so could make a great companion to a romantic dinner with a loved one.

Available from Liquid Assets in Hong Kong

Chêne Bleu酒莊是我們最喜愛的法國酒莊之一，其以 Grenache葡萄釀造出的Rosé實在令人愉悅。我們曾多次 品嚐這酒，每一次都不曾令我們失望。把酒倒滿酒杯， 只嚐到一口又一口的鄉村風味，如果你閉上眼睛，更可 幻想置身於法國庭園的陽台上，邊喝着杯中的陽光，邊 感受着鳥語花香。這酒無疑口感清新，但可清晰地嚐到 箇中的層次。Chêne Bleu酒莊的葡萄酒為了配搭美食而 釀造，而對於這枝酒，我們想到的就只有：幾枝Chêne Bleu Rosé加上幾個好朋友，一同在花園裏共度一個陽光 和煦的下午。

我們初次嚐到這酒的時候，正正身處在意大利Ferrari酒 莊的葡萄園裏，美不勝收的自然景象盡收眼簾。Trento DOC產區位於Dolomites山脈地區，其氣候最適合釀 造出淨澈而清新爽口的氣泡酒，而Ferrari酒莊所釀造的 Perle 2007氣泡白酒便是目前世界各地最佳的氣泡酒之 一。Ferrari Rosé Brut也擁有同樣容易入喉的風格，精緻 而清新，味道帶有士多啤梨果味，其氣泡優雅地從酒杯 底上升，被倒進口腔內起舞。這是一枝十分適合夏日飲 用的酒，除了單獨飲用亦可配以美食享用，使你與你愛 人能在共進晚飯時更添浪漫。

有售於本港酒零售商Sarment

有售於本港酒零售商Liquid Assets

32 winetimeshk.com

十大夏日Rosé Chapel Down Rosé (Kent, England)

Champagne Lallier Grand Cru Rosé Brut NV (Champagne, France) We couldn’t do a list of top Rosé wines without mentioning the leader of English sparkling Rosé – especially after having written about the wines in our last issue.

This Rosé is one of the most popular sparking Rosé’s in the city and is a great ambassador for English sparkling wine. Loads of summer berries on the palate and on the nose – think cherry, raspberry, strawberry, a touch of rhubarb and blueberry – the wine bursts with tastes of the British summer. This is a great wine for sipping on the boat; not your average junk but a nice yacht as you sail around the South China Sea of a weekend afternoon. Crisp, refreshing and fruity, we think this is the epitome of English Rosé – and if you don’t believe us you’ll have to go and try it!

Well, we had to add a Champagne to the list didn’t we?! A lot of ladies around town like a glass or two of bubbly and especially a Rosé bubbly; however the selection in most bars and restaurants is not fantastic so you’re better off buying the wine yourself by the bottle online and heading out into the sun with friends.

Firstly, it’s much cheaper and secondly, you get to enjoy the great outdoors with a fantastic Champagne! This lively bubbly wine has great depth and finesse combined with delicate berry fruit – mostly strawberry – whilst also maintaining its elegance.

The bubbles are non-aggressive and float over the tongue and makes for a great pairing to the end of a day’s hiking as you watch the sun disappear and you get ready for the big night ahead.

Available from Victoria Wines in Hong Kong Available from Kerry Wines in Hong Kong.

我們上期才介紹過英國的Chapel Down酒莊，又怎能不 把這款英國首屈一指的氣泡Rosé列於十大Rosé的名單 之上？這酒是城中最受飲者歡迎的氣泡Rosé之一，也可 代表英國氣泡酒當上親善大使，讓大家對其加深認識。 酒使鼻子和口腔都充滿莓果果味，如有櫻桃、木莓、士 多啤梨，亦帶有一點大黃及藍莓。這酒很適合在船上享 用；但非一般「船P」場合，而是駕遊艇於南中國海航行 一整個周末下午。口感爽口清新而富果味，我們認為這 酒是英國氣泡Rosé的寫照，如若你不相信的話，可以去 試試看呢！

我們該把香檳加到十大Rosé的名單上吧，對不？不少 香港女士均喜愛喝上一、兩杯氣泡酒，尤其是粉紅色的 Rosé氣泡酒，不過，在許多酒吧及餐廳酒單中的選擇少 之又少，所以你最好還是網購酒品，帶上自己的Rosé與 陽光玩遊戲。首先，網購實在便宜得多；其次，你能在 優美的戶外環境下，享用到美妙宜人的香檳！這酒具深 度而精細，帶有莓果類果味，主要為士多啤梨，同時亦 不失優雅。酒中的氣泡不會在口腔中亂衝亂撞，反之浮 游在舌頭之上，適合於行山活動過後，邊喝着酒邊望着 日落，靜待夜幕低垂，準備參加晚上的狂歡派對。

有售於本港酒零售商Victoria Wines

有售於本港酒零售商Kerry Wines

winetimeshk.com 33

A Matter of Organics 有機葡萄酒有價有市嗎？

B

efore we start looking at what an organic wine is I think it’s important we know what organic farming is as this topic not only relates to wine, but to all the agricultural products we consume everyday from the breakfast cereal we eat in the morning to the salad we have at lunch and the “meat and two veg” we have for dinner.

The USDA National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) definition of organic farming is thus: “Organic agriculture is an ecological production management system that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity. It is based on minimal use of off-farm inputs and on management practices that restore, maintain and enhance ecological harmony."

Essentially, it’s about making sure the land that we grow our crops on (in our case the land the vines are grown on) is not mistreated through the use of chemical, or otherwise, fertilizers. It’s about creating a bio-diversity within the land so that the natural way of life on that land can thrive thus creating a healthier environment today and sustaining that for future generations.

But have we as consumers jumped fully onto the ‘organic bandwagon’ and are we in the position to demand how farmers should be farming their land and subsequently their crops? We all see the sky-high price of (for example) an organic lettuce or an organic tomato in the supermarket and generally this puts many of us off buying them. Why should organic products cost more when the farmers do not have to spend money on fertilizers?

Well, the answer to the second question is simple. If you use fertilizers or pesticides to keep pests and unwanted weeds away from your land then you are making sure you get the highest yields possible from your land. If you do not, then your plants are likely to be attacked by pests or lose out in competition with other plants thus you have less (in this case) fruit on your vine thus you make less wine, thus you need to charge more to make the same money you would do when you made more of the product.

As far as the first question goes; no we have not yet all jumped on the organic bandwagon as if we had, the consumer would be all powerful demanding that our food and drink

Text by Ali Nicol

譯文：Christie Chan

在

我們討論有機葡萄酒之前，我認為我們 先要了解何謂有機耕作，因為這指的不 單只有葡萄酒，更是所有我們每天食用的農作 物，包括早上吃到的穀類早餐，中午吃到的沙 律，至到晚上吃到的肉類和蔬菜。 美國農業部國家有機標準委員會(NOSB)對有 機耕作的定義為：有機農業是一個無論是土 壤、生態體系及人類三者的健康均能夠維持永 續(可持續發展)的生產系統。這系統有賴生態 上的過程、多元性及適應當地環境的循環，用 以克服各種發展上的困難，而不是仰賴外間的 介入。它是一種混合傳統、創新及科學發展的 科學，俾使共享的環境得益，促進公平交易關 係，令相關的生命保持高質素。 這也就是說，有機耕作能夠確保用以種植農作 物的土壤(在這我們指種植葡萄藤的土地上)， 不會被化學成分所侵害，也就是化學肥料及合 成農藥。這樣做為了維持土地上的生態多元 性，使所有生物能以自然地生長存活，從而使 整個生態環境變得更健康，讓土地能夠在未來 持續發展，供給世世代代生產。 作為消費者，我們有否被有機耕作的標籤所吸 引，同時有否以更大的需求來推動農夫採用有 機耕作？我們也曾經在超市裏看到有機生菜、 有機蕃茄，但其「超貴價」實在令人卻步。既 然農夫不用花錢在化肥之上，為甚麼有機農產 品比一般農產品價錢更貴？ 後者問題比較容易回答。如果農夫在農地上使 用殺蟲劑及化肥，可驅除害蟲及雜草，從而使 產量及收成達至最高。相反，如果農夫並不使 用殺蟲劑及化肥，你的葡萄藤(或其他農作物) 便會被害蟲侵蝕，土地的養分也被其他雜草分 薄，從而降低葡萄的產量收成，換言之葡萄酒 的產量也會隨之而減低。因此，農夫需要調高 農產品的價格，所賺取的收入才能與生產大量 農產品相比。 再回到第一個問題，答案是並非所有人都被有 機耕作的標籤所吸引，否則，若果消費者對有 機產品需求強勁，大品牌的商業機構早早便已 改變其經營模式以迎合消費者的需求，然而我 們看到這些商業機構仍然樂於以現時的方式經 營，可說是作為消費者的我們，根本不在乎他 們如何對待土壤生態。消費者以消費去表態，

34 winetimeshk.com

is made in an organic fashion and, should big brands want to continue enjoying the business they currently have (while we don’t care how they treat their land) they would have to adapt and evolve to the consumers way of thinking. Consumers vote with their wallets and it’s the money that big brands (and small ones) rely on for survival.

So, do we really care about our products being organic or not?

At the behest of saying we don’t care I am going to say that we are indifferent about it. Does an organic wine sell because it’s organic?

Mostly not. Do we look for organic labelling when it comes to wine?

Again, mostly not. A small survey we did on Facebook in early May outlined some interesting results.

We asked if whether a wine was organic or bio-dynamic influenced whether they would buy it or not.

The response was pretty good – hey, I don’t have millions of friends online!

Overwhelmingly 79% (125 out of 158) of respondents said it did not affect their buying decision – thus 21% said that it did (although 3 of the 33 ‘yes’ voters said ‘yes; I am more likely to avoid organic wine if I know it is organic).

So does this mean that they don’t care if the wines are organic or bio-dynamic or not, or just that it does not affect their buying decision – because there is a difference? I think, on the whole at this point not many people really care about how the wine is made, more so they care about what the wine tastes like – and this argument can be brought into all foodstuffs.

Would you buy a horrible tasting wine just because it was made in an environmentally friendly way? I somewhat doubt it. If wine is not made in an ethically way according to your own principles then I doubt you would buy it – but you are just part of the 21% who think like this and until that number quadruples, I don’t see anything changing in the wine industry.

It’s arguable that ‘organic’ and ‘biodynamic’ are still just “buzz words” in the industry and more used as a point of sales rather than anything

else. Can or should we demand more sustainability in the way our wines are grown? We can, but it’s up to the farmers to choose how they farm and at the end of the day it’s their livelihoods that are at potential risk. For now, let’s keep enjoying all wines no matter how their made – it’s just a bonus to find a great wine made by an ethical winemaker who farms organically and doesn’t make how it’s made more important than how it tastes.

Does whether a wine is organic or biodynamic influence whether you would buy it or not?

YES 21%

NO 79%

No. of respondents: 158

所消的費乃大品牌(及小品牌)賴以生存的。 那麼，我們重視農產品是否為有機產品嗎？答 案或許是我們並不重視，不過我會說每個人所 持的意見都不一樣。有機葡萄酒會否因而銷量 較佳？大概不會。我們購買葡萄時，會否注重 酒瓶上的有機標籤？同樣大概不會。就此有機 葡萄酒的話題，我們在Facebook上進行了一 個小規模的問卷調查，當中我們得到了不少有 趣的回應。我們的問題是：以有機耕作或生物 動力自然耕種法釀製的葡萄酒，能更影響你的 購買決定嗎？我們得到的反應不錯──當然我 沒有一百萬個網友！ 調查結果是壓倒性的：有79%人(158人中的 125人)認為這並不影響購買決定，而剩下的 21%人則認為這會影響購買決定(雖然投贊成 票的33人中，有3人指：「是的，如果我知道 葡萄酒是有機產品，我會避免購買。」)。 調查結果反映他們並不重視葡萄酒是否以有機 耕作或生物動力自然耕種法釀製，也不會對購 買決定造成影響──原因在於有機及非有機的 分別嗎？整體而言，我認為只有為數不多的人 重視葡萄酒是如何被釀造出來，而更多人重視 的便是葡萄酒本身的味道──這個論點關係到 食物之上。你會否因為酒瓶上的有機標籤而購 買一枝難喝的有機葡萄酒？我對此有所懷疑。 如果一枝葡萄酒以有違你個人原則的方法釀 造，我同樣也懷疑你不會購買。然而，只有 21%的人有這樣的想法，除非數字上升兩倍， 否則我看不到葡萄酒業界將會有任何改變。 有指「有機」及「生物動力自然耕種法」在業 界只為冠冕堂皇的字眼，除作為賣點以外根本 沒有價值，這種說法有待商榷。我們應否採用 更可持續發展的方式去釀造我們的葡萄酒？我 們可以，不過這也是農夫的選擇，畢竟這最終 會影響到他們的生計。目前來說，讓我們一起 享受各種以不同耕作方法釀造的葡萄酒──如 果可以嚐到一枝美酒，而它碰巧是由有良心的 釀酒師以有機耕作形式釀造的，那便算是你的 幸運；葡萄酒的味道比其如何被釀造來得更加 重要！ winetimeshk.com 35

36 winetimeshk.com

A Trip to Pauillac: Pontet-Canet 初臨Pontet-Canet酒莊

Text & Photography by Reuben M

Reuben M Managing Editor of Wine Times Macau

譯文：Christie Chan 攝影：Reuben M

A career expat, a freelance sommelier and a wine writer who lives in Macau. He is managing editor of Wine Times Macau on Facebook where he also publishes two video blogs: Reuben’s Regulars and Reuben M’s Appéllation Trail.

B

.O.D. Namiq. The first time I heard it I thought it was a proper name, or perhaps the name of a place. Maybe some variation of AOC? It took me several seconds to clock that my guide, Château Pontet-Canet’s marketing manager–the lovely, lively Violaine Figon–was saying “biodynamique,” or as we’d say back home in Georgia, BYE-oh-dye-NAM-mic. It was my first visit to Bordeaux and while I do speak French, the tour was conducted in English for my wife’s benefit.

Pontet-Canet has seen a meteoric rise in recent years, and now produces arguably the most popular wines in Pauillac. It’s a fifth-growth and one of the largest and most productive estates in the Medoc. It’s considered a “supersecond,” meaning it punches above its weight… its wines are often considered superior to its fifth-growth ranking. It was the first chateau in Bordeaux to be certified organic (biologique) and later biodynamique (organic certification awarded by Ecocert; biodynamic certification by Biodyvin), and remains the only chateau on the Left Bank to hold both distinctions.

Shuttling us around the grounds in a luxurious golf cart, Violaine gives a sly look, as if sharing a confidence, and tells us that there was “some big conflict between the father and the son” in 1994, the year that Alfred Tesseron decided to go green.

It’s a rather well known story, actually, and Tesseron is not shy about retelling it: Green harvesting

is when unripe bunches are cut off in the summer to channel more of the plant's strength to the remaining bunches. Some claim that the remaining berries simply grow bigger, not better, and it’s a big risk as it requires cheap labor, who can be ignorant of properly cutting vines. Nowadays, PontetCanet uses pruning, done during the winter, rather than green harvesting.

In 1989, though, Alfred hired Jean Michel Comme and began green harvesting, unbeknownst to his father. Tesseron told him to do it far from the house to avoid detection. Upon finding out, father Guy was unimpressed: discarding perfectly good grapes did not sit well, and Alfred says he genuinely thought he would lose his job. Yet he persuaded the old man to let

當

我第一次聽到「B.O.D. Namiq」的時候， 我以為這是葡萄酒的名稱或地名，又或是 與AOC相類似的名字。我想了想，原來Château Pontet-Canet酒莊市場營銷經理Violaine Figon所 指的是「biodynamique(生物動力自然耕種法)」 ，活潑動人的她以喬治亞口音把這個詞讀成「BYEoh-dye-NAM-mic」。這事發生在我初次到訪法 國波爾多的時候，雖然我懂法語，但由於與我同 行的太太不懂，因此Violaine以英語為我們介紹酒 莊。 近年來，Pontet-Canet酒莊的聲名大噪，所釀造的 葡萄酒更可被喻為Pauillac產區的「人氣王」。該 酒莊為第五級的酒莊(編按：拿破崙三世於1855年 制定標準，把Medoc產區中最頂尖的58個酒莊分 為五個等級，以第一級為最高；獲得評級的酒莊現 已增加至61個)，同時也是Medoc產區佔地最廣及 產量最高的酒莊之一，更比人視為「超班馬」，意 指所釀造的葡萄酒評價比其第五級的評級還要好。 它也是波爾多產區首個獲得有機認證(法語：biologique)的酒莊，其後也獲生物動力自然耕種法

winetimeshk.com 37

認證(分別從法國有機認證機構Ecocert，以及法國 生物動力自然耕種法認證機構Biodyvin取得認證) ，更是塞納河左岸地區(Left Bank of Seine River) 唯一一個取得雙重認證的酒莊。我們以高爾夫球車 代步在酒莊四處遊逛之時，Violaine臉上露出詭秘 的神情，猶如透露機密般跟我們提到，「父子間曾 於1994年發生激烈衝突」，原因是兒子Alfred Tesseron決定支持綠色環保。

him handle the harvest his way, saying he’d made a mistake but the grapes were gone and not coming back, and if the wines were good, he would carry on. The wines were good.

Experimentation with biodynamic growing began in 2004. Tesseron originally wanted to try with just two hectares, but Comme persuaded him to do fourteen.

“The idea of biodynamique, you know, it’s to use no chemical. No grass killing. To respect the nature, but also to make sure that all of our plants are healthy. It’s a bit like Chinese medicine compared to the classic doctor. If I say to my doctor that my elbow hurts, he will sit down and start writing. If I see a Chinese doctor, he will take my pulse, he will look at my hair, my ears, my nose, and he will try to understand why my elbow hurts.”

Biodynamic farming means the harvest requires 200 workers, and Pontet-Canet uses the same workers every year; they are mostly local but some Portuguese make the annual trip by bus. Harvest is by hand and is done parcel by parcel. PontetCanet is different, perhaps unique in that they do not remove entire plots of a certain age and then replant; rather, they remove and replace individual vines as they die. Thus a single plot may comprise vines of extremely varied ages – requiring essentially a double harvest. Fruit from the youngest vines is used for the chateau’s second wine, Les Hauts de Pontet, while the older vines give their fruit to the first wine. When I was there, PontetCanet used five Breton horses –

38 winetimeshk.com

Reine, Surprise, Turbo, Ulysse and Universe – to work 34 hectares of vineyard; Violaine said the goal is to eventually use only horses, but the estate lacks room for additional stables. The gentle giants simply walk in the vineyards and turn over the soil, adding much needed oxygen. According to Tesseron, the horses are gentler than machines – but they also enjoy eating the grapes.

Pontet-Canet is at the northern end of Pauillac, across the road from first growth Mouton Rothschild.

Before Tesseron, it was known for its history as much as for its wines. Jean Francois Pontet, Royal Master of the Horse in the early 18th Century, bought and consolidated several plots northwest of Pauillac.

In 1750, his descendants bought neighboring vineyards in an area named "Canet", creating one of the largest estates in the entire Medoc. Ten years after the 1855 classification, the property was purchased by Herman Cruse, in whose family it remained for more than 100 years. The Bordeaux wine fraud scandal in 1973 crushed the Cruse company and forced the sale of Ponet-Canet to Cognac merchant Guy Tesseron, owner of Château Lafon-Rochet, in 1975.

Of its 120 hectares (300 acres) 80 hectares (200 acres) are under vine.

Chateau Pontet-Canet's topography and gravelly soil with a substrate of clay and limestone predestined it to produce great wine. The grape variety distribution is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc.

Vines average 45 years of age, with

不過，這段往事其實是個廣為人知的故事，而且 Tesseron也不避諱舊事重提。「早段收成(Green harvesting)」是指於夏季把部分還未熟透的枝節剪 掉，使餘下部分的植物更能茁壯生長。有人說，這 樣做只能使所結果實的體積變得更大，而非其質量 變得更好，同時存在較大風險，因為廉價的收割工 人可能會胡亂地剪掉葡萄藤。今天Pontet-Canet酒 莊以在冬季進行整枝(pruning)代替在夏季的早段 收成，然而早於1989年時，Alfred瞞着他的父親， 聘請了Jean Michel Comme為酒莊裏的葡萄藤進 行早段收成，並叮囑他離房子遠點工作，以免被人 發現。最後，紙還是包不住火，他的父親Guy得知 此事後不為所動，在他眼中，Alfred只是把好的葡 萄藤通通剪掉。當時，Alfred心想他會因此事而被 父親辭退，不過他向父親遊說，指葡萄藤被剪掉已 成事實，並且不會立刻長回來，姑且看看以該些葡 萄釀造的葡萄酒品質如何，如果所釀的都屬佳釀， 便容他於酒莊繼續工作，最終他成功說服父親讓他 打理這些葡萄藤，更釀出好酒。 酒莊試驗採用生物動力自然耕種法始於2004 年，Alfred本想在2公頃的土地上進行試驗，但 Comme遊說他將試驗範圍增加至14公頃。「生物 動力自然耕種法的基本理念就是不使用化學物品， 也不除雜草；這既是尊重大自然，也確保所耕植物 全都健康。這有點像是對比中醫與西醫：如果我跟 醫生說我的手肘痛，他會坐下來開始在病歷咭上書 寫；如果我去看中醫，醫師會替我把脈，並且『 望、聞、問、切』，透過觀察五官及神精去了解我 的病情。」 以生物動力自然耕種法進行收成需要動用200名農 工，而Pontet-Canet酒莊每年均聘用同一批農工， 他們多為本地人，但當中也有些為葡萄牙人，他們 從葡萄牙乘搭巴士來到酒莊工作，以人手在一塊接 一塊的農地上採摘葡萄。Pontet-Canet酒莊的做 法不同於其他酒莊，或許是更與眾不同，他們不會 清除整塊土地，然後重新種植新的葡萄藤，反之只 會除掉個別已枯萎的葡萄藤，然後種上新的葡萄藤 取締。因此，在同一幅農地上，葡萄藤的年歲差異 非常大，需要以雙季收割(double harvesting)的 方式收成。從較年輕葡萄藤上收割的葡萄，被用 以釀造酒莊的第二酒品(second vin)Les Hauts de Pontet，而第一酒品(grand vin)則以較年老葡萄藤 所結的葡萄釀造。在我身處酒莊的當時，他們以五 隻Breton馬匹在葡萄園耕種34公頃的農地，其名 字為別為Reine、Surprise、Turbo、Ulysse和Universe。Violaine向我指出，酒莊的最終目標希望只 以馬匹耕種，但莊園並無空地建造更多的馬房。這 些巨大而溫馴的馬匹踏蹄走遍葡萄園，輕易地把泥 土翻鬆，為土壤注入更多氧氣。據Alfred所說，這 些馬匹比機器更「溫柔」，不過牠們喜歡吃園內的 葡萄。

the oldest still producing fruit at 80. "Quality" is the key word in the vineyard and cellars. The estate has one of the largest productions of any classified growth in the Medoc, averaging 20,000 - 25,000 cases of its grand-vin, with a lesser output of its second wine.

Fruit is delivered to the secondfloor sorting area; in keeping with the non-interventionist philosophy, no pumps are used “to avoid stressing the fruit.” Harvesting and destemming are done by hand (no new-fangled optical sorting machines here, boy), and after sorting the grapes are moved into the estate's gravity-fed cellars for crushing. Fermentation takes place in a mixture of concrete and stainless steel vats. These are uniquely (okay, not entirely uniquely – Ch. du Tertre also has them) pyramid-shaped – smaller at the top than at the bottom – to concentrate and increase the depth of the cap of skins. Unlike at other chateaux, the cap is never punched down or broken. In 2010, some Nomblot egg-shaped vats were added, and in 2012 Tesseron began experimenting with amphorae made of cement and limestone taken from the estate’s own grounds.

The grand vin is aged for 16-20 months in up to 60% new oak

barrels, the second wine for 12 months. Pontet-Canet stopped fining – the process of clarifying wine, usually with egg whites or bentonite, in 2004, preferring to “let the terroir express,”; as a result the wines often show sediment at an early age, and Pontet-Canet recommends decanting when possible.

I ask Tesseron what he would tell the Chinese consumer about Bordeaux, about Pauillac and about his wines in particular. “Pauillac is a very wonderful appellation,” he enthuses, “we have three firstgrowths. Where in the world do you have three first growths in an area? And Pontet-Canet is not a first growth of course, but when you see the beautiful vineyard that I have… the only thing I try to do is to make the best wine possible. My wine is made to compliment food – it is a perfect wine to celebrate and to share. Chinese, or Americans or English, what they like is to taste.

If the wine is good, they will know.

Taste is something simple. In the end, what we want is to have a good time, and I think that is what Pontet-Canet brings. That’s what I aim for – to bring you a good time!”

Pontet-Canet酒莊為於Pauillac產區的北部，與 第一級酒莊Mouton Rothschild只有一路之隔。 在Alfred接管酒莊之前，酒莊的歷史與同葡萄酒 樣聞名。在18世紀初，法國貴族Jean Francois Pontet(Royal Master of the Horse)買下並整合了 Pauillac產區西北邊的土地，至1750年，他的子 孫買下了名為「Canet」的周邊地區的葡萄園，成 為Medoc產區中其中一個最大的莊園。在1855年 酒莊評級的十年後，莊園轉手至Herman Cruse手 中，該家族曾擁有莊園超過100年，不過因1973年 的葡萄酒造假醜聞，令Cruse家族被迫賣出酒莊， 由干邑商人兼Château Lafon-Rochet酒莊莊主 Guy Tesseron於1975年購得。 莊園120公頃的土地上，當中80公頃種着葡萄藤， 其地形及礫質土壤有利葡萄生長，加上土壤基底帶 有黏土和石灰岩，這塊土地就像是命中註定能夠出 產美酒佳釀。酒莊的葡萄品種分佈為60% Cabernet Sauvignon葡萄，33% Merlot葡萄，5% Petit Verdot葡萄以及2% Cabernet Franc葡萄。葡萄藤 的平均年歲為45年，最老而又仍能結出果實的葡萄 藤達到80年。對他們而言，不論在葡萄園或酒窖 中，「品質」二字最為重要，不過其產量亦高，平 均生產20,000至25,000箱第一酒品，第二酒產則更 少一些。 在不干預主義的理念下，酒莊未有使用泵運送葡 萄，以免葡萄受到擠壓，而葡萄被採摘後便送到二 樓進行分類。收割葡萄和去除葡萄莖部均以人手進 行(並沒有使用任何分類機器)，葡萄在分類之後被 運送到莊園的酒窖裏進行壓榨。葡萄酒在以水泥 及不銹鋼石混合製造的酒桶內發酵，酒桶形狀獨 特(或許並非那麼獨特，因為Chateau du Tertre酒 莊也使用一樣的酒桶)，像金字塔般頂窄底闊，使 果渣層(cap)變得更厚，而酒莊也從不把果渣層衝 壓(punch down)，做法有別於其他酒莊。酒莊於 2010年開始使用Nomblot蛋形的酒桶，而Alfred 也於2012年試驗以水泥和石灰岩製造的雙耳瓦罐 釀酒，其製造酒桶的原材料更是取自莊園的泥土。 酒莊的第一酒品在約六成新的橡木桶中待上16至 20個月，而第二酒品則釀12個月。釀酒過程中常 以蛋白或皂土(bentonite)進行澄淨(fining)，不過 酒莊從2004年開始不再澄淨其釀造的葡萄酒，能 「讓風土展現出來」。因此，沉澱物常見於其葡萄 酒中，酒莊建議飲用前把酒傾析「透透氣」。 當問到Alfred會如何向中國消費者介紹波爾多葡萄 酒、Pauillac產區以及他的葡萄酒，他這樣回答： 「Pauillac產區是個非常美妙產區，這裏有着三個 第一級酒莊，世界上哪個地區有着三個第一級酒莊 呢？ Pontet-Canet酒莊當然並非第一級酒莊，但 我的葡萄園風光如此旖旎……我唯一想做的便是盡 力釀造出美酒。我的葡萄酒為了與食物配搭而被釀 造，是用以慶祝與分享的美酒。無論是中國人、美 國人，還是英國人，他們都喜歡品酒，只要是美酒 佳釀，他們嚐過後會知道的。口味喜好是簡單直接 的。到最後，我們想要的就是愉快歡樂的好時光， 而我認為Pontet-Canet葡萄酒能夠帶給人們這種快 樂，這也是我的目的──為你帶來好時光！」

winetimeshk.com 39

Whine-on: Ask us whatever you like! 讀者專欄：想問就問！

Have any doubts or questions about wine? Send us an email at md@winetimeshk.com or leave a message on our Facebook page at facebook.com/winetimeshk and we will bust the answer for you! 你有任何關於酒的疑問嗎？請寄電郵到md@winetimeshk.com或在我們的 Facebook 專頁facebook.com/winetimeshk留言，隨便發問！我們樂意為你解開 每個疑難！ Q1: How do I know which grape variety is best for me? – Amanda; Tai Hang 如何得知哪種葡萄品種最適合我？—Amanda；大坑

Answer: Wow, tough question Amanda as it really depends on what you and your palate like. We don’t think there is one grape for one person and we think that the best way of finding a grape or a style of wine that suits you best is to try as many wines as possible. You may find you prefer one grape over another (for example, we love white wines but really dislike Sauvignon Blanc) but it depends on what you personally like. Everyone has different tastes – not just in wine but in all walks of life – so it’s not for us to say which grape variety is best for you. All we can suggest is that you do your best to remember the grape varieties that excite you the most and drink them on more regular occasions….but again, we think you should try everything as without doing so you will never find out what you do and don’t like.

答： 這個問題太難了吧，因為這只在乎於你的個人口味。我 們不認為只有一種葡萄品種適合一個人，而我們覺得 要找到最適合或喜歡的葡萄品種或風格，最佳方法便是 「多喝多試」。當你嚐到不同的葡萄品種，你可能會偏 好當中某些葡萄品種 (例如我們喜愛白酒，卻不太喜歡 Sauvignon Blanc)，一切也只視乎個人喜好。所謂「各 花入各眼」，人人口味不同，不只在於葡萄酒，人生中 的其他方面亦然，所以我們不能說何種葡萄品種為之最 好。我們只能建議你儘量記住能讓口腔留下深刻印象的 葡萄品種，然後多點喝這種葡萄……不過我們重申，你 應該嚐試各種葡萄酒，否則難以找到你的「心頭好」及 「心頭惡」。

Q2: What are the best wines to go with Chinese food? – Jon; Kennedy Town 哪種葡萄酒與中菜最為配搭？—Jon；堅尼地城

Answer: Well Jon, there are certainly many people these days who try to educate us about the pairing of wines with Chinese food but it must be remembered that there are many different styles of Chinese food from many different regions within China – for example, Cantonese, Shanghai and Sichuan. Regional Chinese food has varying levels of either savoury, sweet or spicy and different wines work better with each different style. We must say that in all honesty, the best wines to pair with Chinese food in general would be Chinese wine as it is after all made with Chinese cuisine in mind. However, the level of quality of Chinese wine can be dubious at best. For local Cantonese dim sum for example, German or Alsatian white wines are better and for more northerly Chinese, heavier foods reds with more body would best suit the food. With Sichuan, you need a wine that can match well with spicier food so we would suggest whites with a bit of body to them. But, overall, drink what you like with wines that you like as there really is no right or wrong when it comes to pairing wine and food these days.

40 winetimeshk.com

答： 現時有不少人都嘗試教導人們該如何配搭中菜與葡萄 酒，但不能忽略的一點是，中國幅員廣大，中菜款式亦 因而變化多端，例如以地方分類為粵菜、滬菜和川菜， 而每種菜甜酸苦辣的程度各異，因此最為配搭的葡萄酒 亦應因而各異。老實說，最能配搭上中菜的還是中國葡 萄酒，畢竟中國葡萄酒多數也是為了配搭中菜而釀造。 然而，即使是最好的中國葡萄酒，其品質也可能令人生 疑。以本地的廣東點心為例，德國和法國阿爾薩斯(Alsace)的白酒會是比較好的配搭；味濃的北方菜則以酒 體較重的紅酒較為配搭；以麻辣聞名的川菜則以酒體較 重的白酒較為配搭。但總的來說，喜歡喝甚麼就喝些甚 麼吧，因為葡萄酒與美食的配搭根本沒有對與錯之分。

Q3: Is summer the best time to drink Rosé wine? – Doris; Tai Koo Shing 夏天是喝Rosé的最佳時間嗎？—Doris；太古城

Answer: On the whole Doris, most people think about Rosé more in the summer but to be honest it is a style of wine that can be drunk all year round. We all drink white wines throughout the year so there really is no reason why we cannot drink Rosé through the whole year. The vibrant colour of Rosé however makes most people think of summer and it’s easy drinking, no nonsense style suits more relaxed drinking – and many of us are more relaxed during the summer months as we think more about heading out on boat trips and heading to the beach. The great thing about Rosé is that it is a very versatile style of wine and therefore can go with almost any style of food (especially BBQ!) or can just be drunk amongst friends while chilling out in the sun. We love Rosé and certainly drink more of it during the summer – but are happy with a glass of Rosé in our hand at any time of the year!

答： 夏天較容易令人聯想起玫瑰紅酒，但事實上一年四季也 適合喝這種酒，正如我們全年都在喝白酒，所以一樣也 可以在任何時候喝上玫瑰紅酒。或許是玫瑰紅酒的亮麗 色澤、容易入喉及輕鬆易飲的特質，令我們把它與夏日 互相結合，尤其夏天是戶外活動的季節，在享受陽光與 海灘及「船河」的時候，喝上這種令人放輕鬆的酒。玫 瑰紅酒極容易配搭上任何食物，特別是燒烤，同時也可 單獨飲用，在日光底下與朋友舉杯共飲。我們喜愛玫瑰 紅酒，當然會在夏季時更常喝它；不過，無論在任何時 候喝到它，我們也會樂此不疲呢！

Q4: How can I invest in wine? – Davis; Central 在葡萄酒方面，我可以作出怎樣的投資？—Davis；中環

Answer: Wow, not our favourite topic as we believe that wine is for drinking and not for use as a commodity Davis. Investing in wine is as risky as investing in stocks, the value of wines can go up as well as go down and wines’ value is generally determined by supply and demand. On the whole, most people invest in the younger vintages that will appreciate in value and in quality over time – seldom do you find people investing in older vintages as the wine will most likely be past its best by the time you come around to re-selling it.

The best way to find wines to invest in is to do some research over the internet and then head to an auction to buy the wines. Wines for investment are, on the whole Bordeaux First Growth wines that will become precious commodities in decades to come – and on the whole, Bordeaux and Burgundy are the wines that will, in theory appreciate the most in value. However, we don’t advocate investing in wine, we advocate drinking wine so we suggest buying some younger vintages and drinking them when they are at their best. Wine is a drink fundamentally and should be treated as such – it should not be left in a cellar for someone else to buy and sell at a later date.

答： 這問題並不是我們喜歡談到的話題，因為我們相信葡萄 酒是用作飲用享受的，而不會將其視為可供投資的商 品。投資葡萄酒與投資股票市場同樣具風險性，葡萄酒 的價值一般以供求而定，亦即有機會上升或下跌。一般 而言，絕大部分葡萄酒投資者購入較新年份的葡萄酒， 期望葡萄酒隨時間會具更佳的陳釀品質，其價值也因而 上升；相反，很少人投資於陳年葡萄酒，因為到了適合 將其轉手的時候，已錯過了最佳享用時機。投資葡萄酒 的最好方法為，先在網上做足資料搜集，然後再到葡萄 酒拍賣會投標購得相關葡萄酒。投資葡萄酒普遍以波爾 多一級酒莊的葡萄酒為上品，其於數十年後會有所升 值，而波爾多及勃艮地的葡萄酒的升值幅度更較其他葡 萄酒為大。然而我們不提倡投資葡萄酒，而是主張飲用 享受，所以我們建議讀者可購入年份較新的葡萄酒，待 其達到最高品質時把它飲用。說到底，葡萄酒本質就是 一種飲料，因此我們也應當視之為此，而非貯存於酒窖 中作低買高賣之用。

Q5: What age should I start educating my kids about wine? – Wendy, Tsim Sha Tsui 我該在甚麼時間讓孩子們接觸葡萄酒？—Wendy；尖沙咀

Answer: Great question Wendy and great to see that you are thinking about bringing up your kids to become wine lovers. Of course, when it comes to educating your kids about wine, common sense must prevail. In France, many children start sampling wine at the dinner table before they become teenagers as their parents will allow them a sip or two of wine which is generally diluted with water.

As the kids get older the dilution becomes less and less. This not only educates the children about the taste and nuances of wine but also gives them the respect for the product and on the whole ensure that they treat wine with the respect it’s due and don’t just treat it as a medium for getting drunk. Many kids start off learning about wine from their parents and a great way to educate your kids is to let them try a little white wine mixed with something sweet like Sprite. It’s really up to you; on the whole, kids are curious about what their parents drink so allowing them a little taste now again will make them feel special and also give them a gradual education over time.

答： 好問題！我們很高興收到你的提問，因為你在考慮與孩 子們分享你對葡萄酒的熱愛，讓他們將來跟我們一樣成 為葡萄酒愛好者。說到這個議題，或許真的需要參考一 般人的判斷。在法國，許多孩童在還未踏入青少年階段 之前就已嚐過第一口的葡萄酒，其父母會在晚飯時讓他 們輕嚐一、兩口，而且多為用開水稀釋過的葡萄酒，而 隨着他們長大，稀釋程度則愈來愈低。這不單使孩子們 認識葡萄酒的香氣及味道，也使他們學會欣賞、尊重這 種產物，而非只為求醉而喝葡萄酒。很多孩童由父母身 上開始學習有關葡萄酒的知識，而其中一個不錯的方法 為把白酒混合帶甜的飲料，例如雪碧，再讓他們喝喝。 孩子們也會好奇父母在喝些甚麼，而讓他們嚐嚐會令其 感到特別，同時也能循序漸進地讓他們學會更多有關葡 萄酒的知識。

winetimeshk.com 41

42 winetimeshk.com

Enjoy reading the most honest wine magazine in Hong Kong?

Subscribe to Wine Times Hong Kong and have it sent to your home or office every month! 喜歡Wine Times Hong Kong的精彩 內容？現在就訂閱雜誌！每月準時遞送 府上或辦公室，掌握酒品的最新資訊。

b sc

r

S

u

b i

! e

Subscibe now to get a bottle of Chateau Ksara Reserve du Couvent (Retail price: $212) as a welcome gift!

Presented by Red Mill Ltd www.redmillhk.com 現在訂閱雜誌，你更可獲贈由Red Mill Ltd.送出的迎新禮品，Chateau Ksara Reserve du Couvent紅酒一枝(零售價: $212)。

$150

per year 每年 For more information, email us at md@winetimeshk.com 想獲取更多有關訂閱的資訊，請電郵到 md@winetimeshk.com

or da andFw eekliyly updat es 緊 ne 或訂貼每日最 wsletter 閱 新

: 電郵動態， 快訊 faceb ： ook.c 每周

om/w

insta

gram

twitt

.com

inetim

er.co

eshk

m/wi

/wine

times

hk

netim

eshk

winetimeshk.com 43

Jobs provided by

以下職位由Wine Jobs HK提供

Recruitment in the wine business 人才招聘

Find out more wine job vacancies at www.winejobshongkong.com/ 請瀏覽以上網址查詢更多職位空缺

Sales Manager

Key Account Manager (Off-Trade, Shenzhen & Shanghai)

Responsibilities:

Responsibilities:

營業經理 East Meets West Fine Wines - To be very familiarize with all company products and its categorized pricing structure prior to approach customers - Capable to utilize company’s competitive advantage (collective resources and market positioning) in doing business in regional markets - Implement national Hotel Agreement in designated territories - To work due-diligently in developing new potential on trade accounts in the designated territory and subsequently increase sales volume within company guidelines - Plans an effective sales targeting approach to the assigned sales territory - To compile projected profit and loss statement (deal sheet) for all promotion events and keep track on the actual result for future reference - To follow through on their daily operation requirement in terms of inventory management (placing order, delivery and replacement) training needs - Be on full alert on market trend of imported wine market trend by closely followed up on local newspaper, magazine, internet and other media - To be very prudent when negotiate on payment terms for contract and should strictly adhered to company policy unless approved by senior management - To be responsible for month end payment collection for the assigned accounts and alert management when in doubt

Requirements:

- Minimum 3 years of the relevant experience in wine, luxury or F&B - With an outgoing and pleasing personality , good team player, dynamic, self-motivated and able to work under pressure - Knowledge of wine, customer expectations and brand(s) - Excellent in English, fluent Cantonese is must - Less experience will consider as Sales Executive If you are interested in this position, please send your resume directly to cherry.shen@emw-wines.com for recruiting process.

Direct Sales Executive 營業代表 Ausca Food & Wines Ltd.

Responsibilities: -

Responsible for On-trade and off -trade customer; Responsible for daily sales duties including order follow up; Response to customer inquires; Make sales calls(mainly hotels and coffee shops); Ad hoc special projects.

Requirements:

- Good communications skills; - Good command of English and Chinese; - 2 years of experience in direct sales is a must; - Can work independently with very little supervision; - Self-motivated and strong sense of responsibility; - Immediate available is preferred.

We are hiring for the position of Sales Executive who will bring us new clients on a monthly basis. Madison is in its expansion phase and seeking to enlarge its sales team.

Interested parties please send your full resume with date of availability and expected salary by email to info@ausca.com.hk.

All information collected for recruitment purpose only

客戶經理 Achieve Asia Limited

- Achieve volume, revenue and profit results with key account customers through shared plans, that recognise the importance of maintaining on going business relationships and encourages long term business growth and sustainable business relationships - Actively manage all facets of wine portfolio within key accounts Sparkling, Red, White - Negotiate and drive business agreements/trading terms with key accounts aimed at growing EBIT and build brand equity. Ensure all proposals/business agreements/trading terms are signed off internally before presenting to the customer. Within corporate guidelines, tailor dedicated discount and trade selling support for customers in line with growth opportunities and overall team objectives - Conduct monthly reviews to track agreed performance objectives; identifying where corrective action should take place - Monitor and manage trading term and campaign compliance - Ensure key account strategies and plans reflect sound category management principles - Understand the customers overall strategy in the market and for the beverage category, and proactively sharing this knowledge and information within Sales, Marketing and Commercial teams - Ensure that Plans and strategies are reflected within key account promotional programs (where possible) - Liaise with Brand business units and customers around the design and development of Key selling week programs for key accounts - Maximise the return on trade expenditure by implemented effective promotional programs that are in-line with the China Direct Retailers business plan

Requirements: -

Degree in Business, Commerce, or Marketing preferred Trade / Liquor knowledge / Experience in On Line Marketing & Sales Ideally accredited Wine qualification Experience in wine industry is high preferred Experience in dealing with a demanding customer base Strong strategic planning skills in order to develop initiatives (sales drivers) to achieve targeted results Effective negotiation skills including researching and being clear of the needs of the key stakeholders in the negotiation, and then effectively exploring alternatives and positions to reach outcomes that gain all stakeholders acceptance Experience in negotiating business agreements Capability to overcome customers objections and consistently gain advantage over the competition through superior business proposals and strong persuasive selling skills Strong computer skills including Excel, Outlook and Word Knowledge of the social media sphere Previous Key Account Management experience in a similar role Strong business financials understanding, analysis and application Exceptionally strong communication and influencing skills Exceptionally strong time management skills – requires rapid response time to meeting tight deadlines Critical change management skills Ability to understand, embrace and capitalise on change and lead others through change Ability to effectively manage time and prioritise workload

Please email your resume to christian@achieveasia.com or call Christian McGregor (+852) 2530 1219.

Looking for staff? Contact us at md@winetimeshk.com and we will add your search to our job page.

44 winetimeshk.com

winetimeshk.com 45