The Birthday Present You Always Wanted

It is an old tradition among the wealthy British upper classes to give a newborn child a “pipe” (about sixty-one cases!) of Port from the newborn’s birth year. In the past, vintage Port and single quinta vintage Port would generally be given. These would be shipped in cask to a British wine merchant who would bottle the Port, after which it would be stored in the parents’ cellar. By the time the child was old enough to drink, he or she would have a lifetime supply of perfectly matured Port ready to drink. Today Port is bottled in Portugal, not Britain, but (for the U.K.’s aristocratic classes) the tradition remains essentially the same.

Switzerland is mostly a red wine producing country.

Answer: True.

It may seem counterintuitive given its climate, but Switzerland produces mostly red wine. The leading variety, in fact, is pinot noir, called blauburgunder, a light, spicy, and often quite good wine, although (when grown in Switzerland) rarely complex or nuanced in flavor. Some tasty, light red wines are also made from pinot noir-gamay blends (called Dôle) and merlot has been growing in the southern canton of Ticino since the early part of the 20th century. Both wines are light, sleek, fairly crisp, and sometimes spicy. But perhaps the most intriguing red variety of all in Switzerland is the indigenous rouge du pays, which can be the source of super-juicy, spicy wines redolent of black cherries and pomegranates.

Mazedar

The Urdu word used to describe the idea of wanting to experience something over and over again. The word is often applied to food (and by extension wine), and is said to describe the magical… Continue reading

The Birthday Present You Always Wanted

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