Wine and Food Pairings Archives

Virgin Atlantic Airline Launches “Social Drinking Booth”

Virgin Atlantic has launched a social drinking space ‘The Booth’ on its latest A350 aircraft.

“The Booth’ will be “a cosy corner, providing comfy lounge style seating”. It will also feature two 27” touch screen monitors, and two Bluetooth audio jacks.

“We’re famous for our on-board social spaces and the introduction of The Booth elevates the customer proposition for our leisure travellers to new heights,” said Corneel Koster, Virgin Atlantic’s chief customer and operations officer.

“I’m delighted that we’ve curated The Booth specifically for our customers jetting off on holiday to our sunny destinations, such as Orlando, offering a truly stylish start to their trips,” Koster has added.

According to Virgin Atlantic, ‘The Booth’ has been “designed with beautiful, tactile finishes, including Scottish leather seats and a pressed wool effect table. It’s a luxurious spot just for two, to enjoy anything from a wine tasting experience, to a romantic dinner, a nightcap, or just a change of scene.”

People travelling between Heathrow and Orlando will be the first to experience ‘The Booth’ as a social drinking space with the first flight currently scheduled for December 2021.

#travelling #airlines #thebooth #socialdrinkingbooth #wine #winelovers #winetasting #wineandfoodpairing #spirits #spiritslover #planes #instatravelling #instaplane #travel #travelgram #cocktails #virginatlantic #avgeek

The Wine Scholar Guild launches a new sensory wine project

The Wine Scholar Guild (WSG) has unveiled a new way to assess wine that takes a deep dive into “personality,” and “terroir signature” of wine using sensory language and neuroscience.

The WSG initiative, entitled The Architecture of Taste Research Project (ATRP), involves non-traditional methods of assessment including universal criteria such as sensory perception, perceived energy and emotions to evaluate wine.

The Project Leader Julien Camus and his team took into account how language formats individual thought and collective culture and noted how olfactory notes may speak more about the genetic background, the experience and the culture of a person applying them than about a specific molecule within the wine itself.

“We need to pay more attention to the global intuitive signals our bodies give us. If we put our sole focus on wine’s structural components, we may miss the bigger message,” said WSG president, founder, and leader of the Architecture of Taste research project Julien Camus.

“Our current research is very encouraging. When using our assessment grid, certain sets of descriptors correspond to certain terroirs. There are patterns that are statistically significant,” added Camus.

The oenological research’s next phase of the study will involve sensory analysis experiments, blind-panel tastings, statistical analyses, and an expanded set of assessment criteria to encompass salinity, bitterness, umami and minerality – each within the context of how the body responds to stimuli.

The WSG has put together a multi-disciplinary, advisory committee of professionals to oversee the ATRP. Members of the committee include: Gabriel Lepousez, neuroscientist; Benoît Marsan, wine chemist; Marc-André Selosse, botanist and mycologist; Thibault Boulay, historian and vigneron; Clémence Corbière, historian and sommelière; Pascaline Lepeltier MOF, restaurateur and wine writer; Andrew Jefford, journalist and author; and Lisa M. Airey, CWE, wine educator.

The first large-scale panel tasting using the WSG’s new ATRP tasting grid will take place in Alsace sometime this month (September 2021).

#wine #winenews #instawine #winetasting #winescholarguild #wineeducation #WSG #ArchitectureofTaste #terroir #winedescriptions #olfactory #blindtasting #winelovers

Wine Grounds Launches Machine Learning-Based Vintage Scores

Wine Grounds announced this week a revolutionary new vintage quality feature to their food and wine pairing app, Grape Base. Their data-driven approach to determining the quality of a vintage allows industry professionals and consumers to see scores for any wine-growing region in the world. By utilizing machine learning and a proprietary weather model, Grape Base can instantly predict the overall quality of a vintage based on the weather during the growing season, at harvest and throughout the winter.

Grape Base is taking a hyper-local approach to vintage quality and creating scores for the top varietals grown in every officially recognized region, district and or appellation across the globe. Vintage scores will be continually expanded on and made available after the end of harvest in the northern and southern hemispheres. Industry professionals can use the data to make purchasing decisions and project trends in consumer buying habits.

Wine Grounds Founder Chris Hall states, “By tracking and evaluating the weather of a specific region and comparing that to the ideal conditions for the grapes grown there, we can predict the quality of the vintage for those grapes. You can then use those scores to pick the best vintage in a wine shop, from your own rack or out to eat. Somms can ahead on building wine programs that showcase varietals at their very best. It is absolute revolution in wine tech.”

Highlights Include:

Weather model can be applied to any region in the world for any grape and it is continuously learning and improving
75+ regions available with scores for the past ten years
Search allows users to find scores by region or grape varietal
Monthly subscriptions start at US $1.99 after a one-month free trial
Grape Base is available in the Apple Store and on Google Play

#wine #winewednesday #wednesday #winetrends #businessofwine #tech #winegrounds #machinelearning #vintagewines #vintagescores #foodandwineapp #somms #wineandfoodpairing #app #AI #winelovers #instawine #wineinstagram #winelife #winemarketing #socialmediamarketing

Covent Garden launches a three-week Rosé Festival

Rosé season is here and to celebrate all things pink, Covent Garden [London] is hosting its first-ever three-week rosé festival which runs from May 17th to 6th June 6^th.

Over 20 restaurants participating with over 30 varieties of rosé wine, rosé cocktails, rosé themed menus, as well as 9 pop-ups from Mirabeau, Amie Wine, HUN Wine, Dirty Martini, Chez Antoinette x AIX-en-Provence, Magners, The Bubble Bros, Fiona Fleur and The Oystermen x Pol Roger which will be taking over Covent Garden’s Piazza.

With the return of indoor dining, restaurants across Covent Garden will also reopen over 2,500 additional dining spots. The area will remain at the heart of outdoor dining with the botanical pocket garden seating area on the East Piazza remaining open for takeaway drinking and dining.

For visitors wanting to join in the blush celebrations but preferring non-alcoholic options Ladurée will host a rosé-inspired afternoon tea, Shake Shack will offer a limited-edition cherry blossom pink shake, Amorino will be serving their very instagramable rose-shaped ice-creams in a multitude of flavours and Bubble Wrap will sell an exclusive Covent Garden Rosé and Strawberry Blossom combo. For tea connoisseurs, Whittard and Mariage Freres will also be offering over 40 rose blend teas.

I would say it’s time for a glass of rosé and some retail therapy!

For more information and details about the Rosé Festival, indoor and outdoor dining and shopping log into coventgarden.london

#rosewine #cocktails #wineevent #instawine #rosewinelovers #winelovers #wine #CoventGarden #RoseAllDay #AlfrescoLondon #RoseFestival #ThisisLondon #rosè

Celebrating Wines of Italy: Vino Nobile di Montepulciano

From Alto Adige down to Sicily, a few countries can boast the variety, quality and history as Italy. I enjoyed an online Master Class on Vino Nobile di Montepulciano a few weeks ago to learn more about Tuscany’s noblest red wine. The masterclass and tasting was organized by the Italian Trade Commission, Consorzio Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and hosted by Ms. Lauren Power.

Nobile became D.O.C in 1966 and D.O.C.G. in 1980. These Sangiovese-based red wines are named after the town Montepulciano.

Throughout history, these wines were favored amongst Italian Kings, Popes, Presidents and celebrated as wine of the nobles, hence its name “Nobile”. Thomas Jefferson, a renowned wine aficionado, fell under its spell, stating: “For the present I confine myself to the physical want of some good Montepulciano…this being a very favorite wine and habit having rendered the light and high flavored wines of a necessary of life with me. It was most superlatively good.”

There are 1,300 hectares currently under vine for Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. The vineyards are situated between 250 and 600 meters above sea level. By law, these wines are made up of (minimum 70%) Sangiovese (‘Prugnolo Gentile’) with the balance of 30% of other varieties also authorized by the region. Other legal requirements include that both vinification and ageing must take place in the municipal area of Montepulciano and must be aged for two years (three for Riserva) before being sold.

We tasted both 2016 and 2017 vintages.

The 2016 as a “classic vintage”; it had nice intense colour, with pronounced aromas, good structure and tannic texture, with medium acidity and alcohol – overall a year with high quality, elegant and refined.

The 2017 vintage is considered outstanding – there was extreme hot and dry weather conditions that impacted vine growth which resulted in smaller yields and excellent quality wines. The 2017 wines have intense colour, are more concentrated, some darker notes; are well-balanced both in alcohol and acidy, and complex with significant tannins.

Here are eight wines tasted as part of this Master Class, which showcased 2016 and 2017 vintages:

Cantina Del Giusto San Claudio II D.O.C.G. 2017

85% Sangiovese, 10% Canaiolo Nero, 5% Mammolo

Six months in stainless steel, 24 months in large Slavonian Oak and eight months in the bottle. Cantina del Giusto is a small size farm at the the foot of Montepulciano, in Acquaviva.

Tasting Notes:
Ruby red with a slight orange tint; a bit high on alcohol; precise and defined sensory profile of raspberry, cherry, plum with hints of lemon zest, some smoke and earthiness; medium body perfectly ripe tannins and with a long finish

www.cantinadelgiusto.it

Fattoria del Cerro Silineo D.O.C.G. 2017

100% Sangiovese

Eighteen months aging.

This the largest private estate producing Vino Nobile, which also invests in indigenous varietals and biodiversity.

Tasting Notes:
Vivid ruby red; elegant and bold with a smooth and strong body showing cherry, raspberry, chocolate and earthy notes both on the nose and comes through to the palate; malolactic fermentation comes through with hints of cream and butter; a savoury wine with a nice long finish.

www.fattoriadelcerro.it

Il Molinaccio La Spinosa D.O.C.G. 2017

100% Sangiovese

Il Molinaccio is close to the town of Montepulciano, is currently transitioning to certified organic and has a strong green philosophy.

After Malolactic fermentation, wine ages for twelve months in French Allier oak and 12 months in bottle.

Il Molinaccio states: ‘the porcupine is a shy and feared animal but La Spinosa, on the contrary, shows itself with an elegant dress’.

Tasting Notes:
Ruby red, graceful, elegant on the nose of raspberry, cherry currant; hints of pepper, mushroom and coffee – all present through to the taste – well-balanced, medium body, soft tannins and a round finish.

www.ilmolinaccio.com

Salcheto D.O.C.G. 2017

100% Sangiovese

70% large barrels/30% tonneau for eighteen months, with six months in bottle.

Salcheto is organic, biodynamic and committed to environmental sustainability. Their wines are sulfite-free and use indigenous yeasts.

Tasting Notes:
This wine displays notes of flowers and red berry aromas, red plums, rose petals; medium-full body; notes of red fruits, spice; fine tannins very well blended in the matrix; creamy rich with a long finish.

www.salcheto.it

Tenuta Valdipiatta D.O.C.G. 2017

95% Sangiovese, 5% Canaiolo

Family-owned winery founded in 1960; is certified organic and has sustainability and environmentally sensitive practices.

Aging period of 15-18 months, partly in French oak barriques and partly in Slavonian oak barrels of 30 and 50 hl

Tasting Notes:
Ruby red with hints of orange; opens up on the palate showing notes of flowers, plums, with some hints of smoke; medium-full body, soft and mature tannins – well-balanced finish.

www.valdipiatta.it

Podere Casanova D.O.C.G. 2016

97% Sangiovese

Malolactic fermentation in stainless steel and subsequent transfer in barriques, casks, and 1000 l barrels for 18 months; followed by 6 months in the bottle.

Podere Casanova, is located in the heart of Tuscany on the borders of Val d’Orcia near Lake Trasimeno and Montepulciano.

Tasting Notes:
Intense ruby red color; aromas of red fruits, currants and black cherry, with subnotes of cocoa, tobacco and coffee; the palate it is confirmed by vivid freshness and flavor, dynamic, juicy, presents a strong body and fleshy tannins; pleasant ending.

www.poderecasanovavini.com

Vecchia Cantina di Montepulciano D.O.C.G. 2016

Mostly Sangiovese

18 months in large 35-85 hl Slavonian durmast barrels, with a short time in the bottle.

Vecchia Cantina di Montepulciano is the oldest cooperative in Tuscany with around 400 member estates with a total of 1,000 hectares. The vineyards are cultivated using the espalier system, with spurred cordon vine training, Guyot, double Guyot and G.D.C.

Tasting Notes

Bright ruby in colour; cherry, blackberry and wet-earth aromas and flavors, with notes of spice and smoke; medium to full body; round with soft tannins; long finish with some lingering chocolate and wood flavours.

www.vecchiacantinadimontepulciano.com

Carpineto Riserva D.O.C.G. 2016

70% Sangiovese (Prugnolo Gentile), 30% Canaiolo and other authorized grape varietals.

Carpineto was founded in 1967 in Dudda, just outside of Greve, in Chianti by Giancarlo Sacchet and Antonio Mario Zaccheo with the purpose of making great Sangiovese.

Best decant for 1-2 hours before tasting.

Tasting Notes:
Intense ruby red; is wonderfully fleshy and expressive, has plenty of structural underpinnings; dark cherry, plum, spice, menthol, licorice and mocha; The balance of fruit depth allied to a mid-weight sense of structure is compelling; well-balanced and elegant with tons of character.