Katarina's Blog

There are wineries in so many different parts of the world today. Winemakers experiment with growing vines in places where the climate is quite different from that of Southern and Western Europe. One such place that I visited recently is in Myanmar, on the hillside sloping down towards Inle Lake in the south of Shan state.

What is the stuff at the bottom of the cork? Dark red, almost inky, deposits, sometimes crystalline in texture? You find it at the end of the cork which has been in touch with the wine during aging and it is actually a quality sign which shows that the wine has not been overfiltered which can strip away some of the flavors. How did it end up there and what is it? Read on to find out.

One of the more fun wine tastings to do is a vertical tasting. It means that you use the same wine, i.e. the same varietal from the same vineyard from a number of different years. Invite a group of friends who like wine, they do not have to be experts, neither do you. You are actually about to learn a lot from tasting the same wine from different years and you can do it just for fun and notice the differences and enjoy the wines, or you can go about it more seriously and take notes, discuss and compare.

So how do we choose a wine for Mom tomorrow? I was thinking of this yesterday and deciding that I first had to figure out my Mom, what wine does she resemble? Is she crisp and cool like a Sauvignon Blanc? Composed in every situation with a fresh eye on what is going on? Will know what you are doing even if she has her back towards you? Maybe she is colorful and fun, has a sense of humor but with a spicy edge to it? A Zinfandel of course.

Wine and Music are my two passions. Now there is a lot of discovery around how music affects your wine appreciation. We are looking at different genres of music and also look at what other people have found out. Let me know what YOU think!