What exactly is the ‘body’ of a wine? I'm sure by now you've come across the terms light, medium and full bodied. However, I still have a lot of people asking me what exactly do these terms mean.

To put simply the body of a wine is influenced by its alcohol content, tannin concentration and grape types used as well as certain wine-making methods used.

To really understand the difference between ‘bodies’ let’s try a quick experiment it with something similar, like milk  for example!

You’ll need a cup each of skim milk, 2% milk, whole milk and heavy cream for this experiment. Try the milks from ascending order of richness beginning with skim and ending with the heavy cream. You will feel the difference in texture and how the milk coats your mouth from light to heavy! The skim milk will disappear quickly from your mouth whereas the cream will create a coat on your tongue.

That’s exactly how wine is! A wine with a heavier body will leave a sense of richness in your mouth. Now you know!

Organizing a wedding can be a stressful time for most people. Choosing wines for a wedding can add to that stress as it can be tricky! What you usually like to drink may not be what the rest of your guests prefer – let alone be within your budget!

Here are a few tips on how to choose the perfect wines for the day:

Wines for pre-dinner cocktails: 
Bubbly wines are very popular for any celebration, especially weddings! Champagnes are the most famous of them all, but they are fairly expensive and may take up a big chunk of your budget. As an alternative you can go with a very nice Cava (from Spain) or Prosecco (Italy). Their quality can be very similar. In fact, the only difference is that they are half the price.
Alternatively, Rosé wines are a great way to start a party, and save the bubblies which are great for desserts or the after-party.

Selecting the mix:
Do not over-complicate things; choose one wine of each type (white, reds) for the dinner. It's not necessary to try and match every single dish with different wines.

Selecting your dinner’s wines:
Try to find wines which will please a wide range of people, without being too generic. Unless you are willing to spend some time explaining the wines to your guests, it may not be advisable to choose something too ‘geeky’ with unknown grapes varietals. Instead stick to more ‘classic’ types like Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay for whites, and Shiraz or Cabernet Sauvignon for reds.

Working with a Budget:
This will most likely be the most important part of your final wine selection decision! Wines in Malaysia are not very cheap, and weddings are already a costly affair. However, you shouldn’t choose your wines solely on whether they are the cheapest! You can most certainly find bottles around RM30 in Malaysia, but these are the cheapest, mass-produced wines in the market, and the quality is a fair gamble, that also comes along with a tougher side-effect (cheaper wines use more preservatives like Sulfur, which causes faster hangovers!).

If your budget is RM40-45, choose a wine from the New World (Australia, Chile) which usually offers easy-drinking good value wines in that range – easier than French for example. If your budget is RM50-70 per bottle, you have a wide range to choose from! Between a nice South African, a rich Aussie Shiraz, a smooth Argentinean Malbec or a stylish French, you can pick your favorites without too much risk. You can serve more premium wines, but I don’t believe it is necessary as many people will actually prefer a more ‘simple’ wine than something overly complex!

How much to order: 
This is always a tricky question. A safe bet would be 1 bottle for 2-3 people, but there are some variables. You should ask yourself a few questions:

• At what time will my event start and how long will it last? The longer the cocktail/dinner/party, the more wines you will need 
• What other alcohol are you serving? – If you also offer beers and spirits, you may need less wines 
• How many people from your party actually drink wines? Maybe you do not need to include everyone in your total. However, it is better to have a little extra wine than not enough – ordering 1 or 2 cases on top of your estimated number will prevent any eventuality. And you can have some of your ‘wedding wines’ to enjoy for the next few months! 

Ultimately it is most important that you and your guest have a good time, good food, and good wines! Plan for your wines a few weeks before the big day as it is an easy box to tick on your do-list!

Let us help you pick out your wines!
All you have to do is fill in this form (even if you don't have most of your details figured out), and one of our wedding wine experts  will be in contact with you to have a chat!

Source

A bottle of good wine always makes a good gift for a special occasion or dinner parties. But you can always jazz your gift up a little more by gift wrapping or decorating them! Here are some interesting ways to decorate and present your wine gifts!

1. Use a tea towel with an interesting pattern and tie it up with ribbon.  Your friend will now also have a tea towel he or she can use to serve the wine too!

Source

 2.  Cut off the sleeve from an old sweater and sew up one end for a pretty, upcycled solution!

Source

3. Make your own tags with a message on a card and some ribbons. Or cut a hole at the top to fit the top of the bottle through.

Source

Source

4. Make your own wine labels to wrap around the bottle!

Source

5. Keep it simple and just use a paint pen to write a personal message on the bottle itself!

Source

There are, of course, many ways to present your wine. If you know of other ways to decorate a bottle of wine, share them in the comments below! 

Ultimately, the content of the bottle is the most important! Feel free to talk to us if you need help picking out a wine gift for someone. We can also gift wrap it and deliver it on your behalf!

Tucked away in the corner of the Cantabrian Mountains in the north, and following the Ebro River, La Rioja is one of the most majestic wine regions in Spain, if not in the world. In a place where time seems to have forgotten long ago, the traditions are still very strong and deeply rooted in the soil and vines which produce some of the most splendid Spanish wines.

La Rioja got its name from the Oja River (Rio Oja)which crosses the area and is divided into 3 sub-regions, each which different characteristics: Rioja Baja, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Alta. Vines have been present in the region for centuries, dating back to the Phoenicians. The earliest traces in writing mentioning La Rioja wines date back to 873. La Rioja is the first of the only two regions to be classified as as Denominación de Origen Calificada (DOCa), the highest ranking in the country, by the Denominación de Origen (Spanish Wine Council); the other being Priorat.

85% of the wines produced in the region are red (Tinto). The remaining is spread between white (Bianco), Rose (Rosado), and a small amount of sweet wines, which are slowly coming back into fashion, after decades of abandonment. Traditional Spanish grapes are of course highly dominant, but a small proportion of ‘International’ grapes (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot) can be tolerated in the blends. For the white wines, the king of the region is the Viura (also called Macabeo), and can be blended with Malvasia and Garnacha Blanca. The Viura offers good acidity, fresh fruits and aromas, while the Malvasia adds some fragrance and Garnacha Blanca givies body and structure to the wine.

As for the Rosados (rosé) and red wines, Tempranillo rules in the region, but it is generally blended with some other varietals like Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano. Tempranillo (which needs to make up a minimum of 60% of the blend) brings the main flavors and tannins for the ageing; Garnacha brings color and body while Mazuelo and Graciano add complementary flavors and aromas. The blending in the region is an art itself. Due to the historic presence of ‘International’ varietals, some Bodegas are allowed to use them in their blends, but in a limited amount.

 Traditionally, many wineries aged their wines for a long period of time in old barrels, which created classic wines with delicate colours, slightly oxidized flavors of caramel, coffee and roasted nuts. Nowadays, some Bodegas tend to age their wines for a shorter amount of time, offering more fruity flavours and tannins. Also, a much higher percentage of new oak barrels are used, making the wines richer and more concentrated. The region, while adapting to the modern markets and demands, will continue to keep close to its own roots and tradition. The Bodegas, dominated by family-owned domains, will continue to work closely with local grape growers and cooperatives, in order to keep the ancestral history going, and to continue to produce the most stunning, delicate and long-living wines from this country.

So what's the deal with TERROIR?

The ‘Terroir’ represents the complete surrounding of a vineyard. The better the terroir is, the better the quality of grapes you will get – and directly the better potential to make great wines. It encompasses many elements but there are 3 main ones:

Type of soil
Vines need to have a tough life to grow good quality grapes. If the soil is too good, the vines will become ‘lazy’ and produce lower quality grapes. The best soils are porous (if the water goes deep into the soil, the vine will have roots going deeper to find it, becoming stronger) and have sufficient elements to add specificity to the grapes.

Location
The geography of the environment is important too. The best vineyards are usually situated on slopes or even hillside. Flat lands have more tendency to retain water, when on hillsides, the water will simply roll down the hill, leaving to the vines just enough. Slopes have also better exposure to the sun.

Weather
Vines need water & sun but not too much. The balance must be perfect to arrive at the upmost condition for the vines. Too much rain will cause overproduction of grapes; Not enough will cause a drought, and the production may be uneven and low. Some countries allow irrigation but it is mostly forbidden in Europe for the higher classification wines.

Areas combining the best of each element may have potential to produce higher quality grapes. It is the job of the winemaker to help reflect that in the wine.