$1 Million Down the Drain

It was certainly an expensive drop - more than $1 million worth of shiraz wine has gone down the drain after it was dropped by a malfunctioning forklift.

The 462 cases of 2010 Mollydooker Velvet Glove shiraz - at $185 a bottle - fell more than 6m to the ground as it was being loaded for export from Adelaide to the US.

The drop was so forceful, the bottles punched through the top of the cartons. Winemaker Sparky Marquis said the accident had cost him a third of his annual production.

"We just couldn't believe it," Mr Marquis said.

"This wine is our pride and joy, so to see it accidentally destroyed, and not consumed, has left us all a bit numb."

Mr Marquis now is working with insurance agencies to help recoup the losses.

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The Judgement of HK: French wines vs. Portuguese wines

The Paris Tasting of 1976 shocked the world and now Hong Kong is doing the same with a special blind wine tasting of French and Portuguese wines in aid of The Sovereign Art Foundation.
Simon Tam, one of Hong Kong’s leading wine critics (not to mention iPhone app developer) sat alongside Charles Curtis MW, head of Asia wine sales for Christie’s, Nigel Bruce, publisher of several wine books and member of The Hong Kong Wine Society, Filipe Santos, President of the Wine Society in Macau, Paulo Pong from Altaya Wines and Benoit Allauzen, head sommelier from L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Hong Kong, to view this historic tasting with all ticket proceeds going to the Foundation which is a group supporting programmes in Cambodia and India, using art as therapy and rehabilitation for disadvantaged children.

The judges ranked the wines in the following order:

Mouton Rothschild and Lynch Bages
La Mission Haut Brion
Latour
Leoville Barton and Quinta Vale Dona Maria
Beychevelle
Quinta da Leda
Quinta do Noval
Pintas
Chryseia
Batuta
Esporao

The public also ranked the wines and were very close to the judges’ results who gave the winning wine an average of 18.33 points. However, the best Portuguese wine which came equal 4th received a very close average of 17.67 points. Even the lowest ranked wine received an average of 16.17 points from each judge, attesting to the quality of all the wines tasted.
The tasting showed that Portuguese red wines can compare favourably to 1st growth French wines. Portuguese wines have fantastic ageing potential and show real depth of flavour and character, with unique grape varieties. Not to mention they are tasty and pair well with different types of Chinese cuisine.