Expert Wine Picks: Brut Franciacorta Cuvee Ca Del Bosco 2004

Our wine pick this week is one of Italy’s most famous sparkling wines.

Paolo Gorreri is the Manager of Grissini at the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong. This week for Winebuzz.hk’s expert wine picks, he selects a Franciacorta Cuvee Ca Del Bosco 2004.

Franciacorta Spumante is one of the most appreciated sparkling wines from Italy and the best alternative to Champagne. Made from Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Bianco grapes, the sparkling wine is then fermented in the ‘traditional way’ for a period of time – quite long in this case of more than 25 months in the bottle.

The area of Franciacorta in Italy is situated in Lombardy, in the county of Brescia. The wine served in Grissini is specially labeled in the magnum bottle for the restaurant. The magnum bottle size is 1.5 liter, the equivalent of two standard bottles and you can get up to 10 full glasses from a bottle. We especially ordered the sparkling wine be bottled in magnum bottles because it ages better compared to regular bottles as there’s less oxygen to slow down the ageing process, thereby allowing for more nuance and complexity to develop in the evolution of the wine.

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Hotel Rooms: Villa Simona Oasis & Spa, Bali

A blissful place to escape to with your loved ones.

Bali is a great place to recharge; its beautiful landscape of lush paddy fields and old temples, set against the backdrop of the ocean, providing the perfect setting to leave the fast paced world behind.

The Villa Simona Oasis & Spa located in Canggu in Bali, near the ocean, is a magical new hideaway where you can relax with your family and friends. The villa consist of 4 bedrooms in a self contained thatched pavilion that can comfortably house 10 people. Facilities include a living and dining pavilion, private spa, pool, jacuzzi and sauna. There are 17 members of staff, from therapists to chefs and even a babysitter to make sure all your needs are taken care of day and night.

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101 Ways to Celebrate the New Year

Celebrate New Year’s in Hong Kong with a vintage wine.

With New Year’s Eve just around the corner, picking a good bottle of wine is always a good idea, provided you know what to pick.

Celebration usually marks an event that is dear to us and to our host. Choosing a bottle of vintage wine from the year that is most important to you or the recipient – ie the year that marked the beginning of something special, a new venture, an anniversary etc – is the perfect gift. Bacchus & Century, a new boutique wine shop that’s just opened its doors recently, has 101 consecutive years of French vintage wines from 1900 up to 2000.

These vintage wines will be a time machine to take you and your host back to a certain year to relive those fond memories once again. The ‘Shop’s Guardian’ Eric, my partner with an extensive knowledge of French vintage wine, will guide you in your selection.

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Bonhams First Whisky Auction In Hong Kong

Okay we admit, we’re a little late on this one.

Bonhams auction house can be credited for being the first in Asia to hold a whisky auction. Held on November 27, 2009, the auction sold 100% of their lots with a total sale of HK$609,990. Bonham offered over 150 lots from the Willard S.Folsom Collection of Old and Rare Whiskies consisting of single malt whiskies. Colin Sheaf, Chairman of Bonhams Asia, says that; “the international favourites such as Bowmore, Macallan and Glenfiddich dominated our top 10 list just as they would in London and New York, with collectors willing to pay the 100% duty to secure fine and rare vintages.”

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Carpaccio Brings Traditional Italian Eats to Tsim Sha Tsui

New Italian restaurant and wine bar opens in the new iSquare.

The new iSquare, located in Tsim Sha Tsui, is the new home of Carpaccio – a pasta, pizza and wine shop brought to you by the DiVino Group to offer casual, fast dining morning, noon or night. DiVino currently owns three more Italian restaurants in Hong Kong including Goccia Ristorante e Bar, with simple recipes made from high-quality, fresh ingredients guaranteeing authentic Italian tastes. It’s home cooking away from home, with the look and feel of a true tratorria.

True to its name, the restaurant will have many different carpaccio selections served chilled or warm. With very affordable prices, take the “Grand Tour” to taste fifty different wine selections from Italy, France, Australia, New Zealand and Chile. More than twenty different wines are offered by glass or half-glass, which cost HK$35.

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First and Second Growth Wines, A World of Difference

Mr. Rene Wong talks about first and second growth Bordeaux wines.

As a French expatriate in Hong Kong for 5 years now, I have observed the beginning of the wine business from back in 2004 when interest for wine was still in embryonic stages, and wine tax was astronomical compared to today. Since then, thankfully this tax has been abolished and wine is now a popular subject of discussion and, of course, consumption. However, some things have not changed and I would like to highlight some common pitfalls I have come across for your benefit.

In my early days in Hong Kong, I was amazed by the plethora of choices available for second wines or second labels in the market. For neophytes, these wines are made from lower quality grape that famous Bordeaux Chateau cannot take the risk to use for their flagship first label or Grand vin.

Knowing this economical reality, in theory it should be obvious to everyone that there is a world of difference between the quality of the first and the second wines, but here in Hong Kong many are still unaware of the quality difference and buy blindly based on the prestige of the house’s name.

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