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Tips for better-tasting vintages

Sunday | Wine
2011-9-18

I hear this all the time, "I had the same bottle of wine that we tasted together, but the second bottle didn't taste as good." My reaction is always the same, inquiring about how the wine was served. In Shanghai,...

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Wonderful whites from Chile

Sunday | Wine
2011-9-4

THERE'S no better way to pass the last few days of summer than sharing a glass or two of refreshing white wine with friends. We have a growing choice of white wines available in Shanghai and one of the best choices...

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Good budget wines

Sunday | Wine
2011-8-28

BUYING budget wines is inherently risky as many inexpensive wines are simply awful. This is less true in wine producing countries where low-priced, drinkable wines are more readily available, but especially true in...

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Dry trend benefits Aussie whites

Sunday | Wine
2011-8-21

WHEN we think of Australian wines we usually think weighty Shirazes, oaky Chardonnays or dry, textured Semillons. But there are some new kids in town, bracingly dry and fresh Rieslings. In realms of Aussie winemaking...

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US presidents and their wines

Sunday | Wine
2011-8-7

MY dad was a lifelong Democrat so he wasn't especially fond of Richard Nixon, the 32nd President of the United States. He did however admire him for two things, firstly his foreign diplomacy sagacity and secondly...

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David Wrigley

Sunday | Wine
2011-7-31

DAVID Wrigley, international development director of the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) Q: How do you characterize the Chinese wine market? A: It's growing all the time. In terms of consumption, there's...

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Drops of wisdom

Sunday | Wine
2011-7-31

THOUGH China has a long history of making rice wines and distilling spirit, its modern wine history is quite short, little more than a hundred years old, but wine making and wine appreciation have advanced considerably...

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Anthony Rose

Sunday | Wine
2011-7-31

ANTHONY Rose, the wine correspondent of The Independent and writer for The World of Fine Wine and Decanter magazines Q: What's China's position in global wine market? A: Several figures show that wine production...

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Bubbles of love

Sunday | Wine
2011-7-31

MULTITUDES of lovers will celebrate Qixi Festival, or Chinese Valentine's Day, on the coming Saturday. There are two essentials for a romantic dinner; one is a date and the other a delicious wine. A dinner without...

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Middle road Bordeaux

Sunday | Wine
2011-7-24

AS I've mentioned in the past, the words Bordeaux and bargain continue to seem mutually exclusive. The best Bordeaux are ridiculously expensive while cheap Bordeaux tastes exactly that, cheap. What's a Bordeaux lover...

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Luring high fliers with wine

Sunday | Wine
2011-7-24

DELTA Air Lines' master sommelier Andrea Robinson opened up bottle after bottle of white and red wine from France, Italy, Australia, the United States and other parts of the world. As she tasted them, a blue bucket...

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Ancient island treasures

Sunday | Wine
2011-7-17

REVISITING the topic of Sicilian wines is always a delicious summertime pleasure. The island in the Mediterranean Sea and home to Europe's highest active volcano, Mount Etna (pictured above), at 3,350 meters is now...

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Good vintage is all in the year

Sunday | Wine
2011-7-10

TIME and time again I've met someone who questions the importance of a vintage. Why should the same wine in different years, often separated by only a single year, command vastly different prices? Anyone who has tasted...

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Spain's summer delights

Sunday | Wine
2011-7-3

WHAT'S the perfect summer red wine? For me the best summer red wines should have generous fruit but also be fresh with moderate tannins and good acidity. The wines should also be easy-drinking and affordable. A little...

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Cocktails mixed for real men

Sunday | Wine
2011-7-3

"SHAKEN! Not stirred!" James Bond chooses a vodka martini. A Cosmopolitan is Carrie Bradshaw's drink in "Sex and the City." And, what about your favorite cocktail? Drinking a chilled cocktail on a summer night...