With guest Wine Wanker – Sarah Phillips
Well folks, as they say in the classics (or perhaps just the Four Seasons song) ‘Oh what a night’. I’ve dragged myself away from a rather swank soiree to report on the day that was; so let’s get down to business.
Happy to report that the red pant brigade were out in full force today- with members of both genders strutting all shades of ruby, maroon, scarlet and crimson without abandon. Gerard Basset, master of all things wine and sommelier like, gently explained to me that this is a purely tactical move, camouflaging any wine that happens to spill throughout tasting.
On the whole, the fair still seems to be lacking in the hard and fast business that these events usually facilitate (damn you Prowein) but 38€ set lunch menus seem to be good for at least the restaurant trade.
There was an embarrassment of riches for highlights in a day full of wine moments:
Most refreshing: Wine Mosaic iBoat event- a breath of fresh air bringing together a nightclub and little known wine varietals. Best on ground: a tie between the Armeanian Areni Noir, and Italian Albarossa.
Simple yet effective: The crew at Vallee du Rhone knew just how to set the mood this afternoon, with a folksy band transporting us all to the vineyards of the Rhone.
‘Fuck’ wine: 2005 J.J Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese. Just wow.
Early adopters: The Chinese crew are well ahead of the game in realising the importance and potential application of data in the wine world. Word on the street is that the tech-savvy crews are paying top dollar/euro/yen for clean and pristine data. Watch this space.
Biggest splash: Le Pan magazine. The newly launched Hong Kong based publication has made an impression with their Vogue meets Hello meets Decanter coffee table style wine magazine. The masterclasses on offer have been outstanding, not to mention the soiree this evening at the epicentre of Bordeaux chic: Place de la Bourse (hello Krug, Dom, Pavie and Coutet to name a few of the starting line-up on tasting).
Crowd pleaser: 1989 Chateau Guiraud Sauterne on tap, because WINE ON TAP.
So in summary, I’m officially chalking Vinexpo Day 2 up as a win- based simply on the swank and red pant factor alone. Fingers crossed for a good showing of scarves, cravats and outlandish tasting notes tomorrow (although it’ll be hard to beat the “can of tennis balls” riesling descriptor today).
The Wine Wankers 
Wasn’t the ‘Can of freshly opened tennis balls’ descriptor from the doco Somm?
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Yep- I think someone might have ripped it off and hoped we wouldn’t notice!
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Red pants for wine tasting makes good sense! I’m like WTF with the ” ‘Fuck’ wine: 2005 J.J Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese”? I looked it up, and finely found info on it once I took “‘Fuck’ wine:” out of the search (like duh, right?). It seems to be non-existent in NM, USA as far as I can tell. So it will remain a mystery to me! Le Pan seems like such a strange name for a wine magazine. It’s like a French article with the Spanish spelling of bread. Am I missing something here?
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You’ll just have to make a trip over to Germany and go direct to the source- trust me, it’s worth it! I shall try to find out the answer regarding the ‘Le Pan’ name today .
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Great another excuse to go back to Europe!
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Hi Timothy, I’ve found the answer to your question about Le Pan- it is named after the Greek god of nature, and the owner who is a Hong Kong based businessman called Pan Sutong.
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Ahh yes! Pan the God — half goat and plays the flute! I should have known, but I get so enamored with Aphrodite I forget about Pan. It seems even stranger to mix a French article with a Greek God! But then… I jest. From the reviews it looks like Messier Sutong is producing a top quality Magazine. Good for him!
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The auslese is the ultimate sex wine.
Low in alcohol so it doesn’t have any deleterious affects
Refreshing
Tastes great at any temperature
Languorous
Can clean your teeth with it
Great for breakfast
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You would have loved the tasting flight of the 6 2005s then! My other favourite of the line-up was Robert Weil Grafenberg- wish I could taste them all again in another 20 years!
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Brilliant move with the red pants. I’m sure I’d still find a way to embarrass myself even if I was able to camouflage wine stains, but what party is complete without that?
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Exactly- if there’s no stains you haven’t tasted enough wine!
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Now I know how to spot a true oenophile 🙂
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I’m definitely wearing a red dress if I ever go to a tasting. I’m afraid I’ve been making Sangria with cheap wine lately. Red is still required. 🙂
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