In The Bottle with Angelica Nohra! — wine

Happy 2015! My sincere apologies for the lack of content of late. It's embarrassing to say but after a system reboot, I lost the password to this blog and it took me some time to get it back. But we are back, which is the main thing. Over the holidays, as most people do, I indulged. Not just in food. I indulged in Wine. Within 3 days, I consumed 8 bottles of bubbles & 2 bottles of white wine...basically on my own. I'm not proud of this but it was an interesting experience. It is an experience I'd like to...

As a wine seller, we do a lot of shows around town. This allows the consumer to taste the wine before they buy and it helps us see whats popular, whats not a big seller, what is trending, what needs more of a push...its all about consumer insight. when you are doing these shows, we need all sorts. We meet people who only drink Moscato (not that there is anything wrong with that), people that refuse to drink anything other than Malborough Sauvy B (there is something a little wrong with that), people who are just learning to people who...

Is my wine CORKED? This is the most common wine fault (well, not with stelvin caps, just wines with corks in them) Trichloranisole or TCA can make a wine smell musty and mouldy. There will be no fruit on the nose at all when a wine is corked. Help! There is mould on top of my cork! - Don't worry, that is probably a bit of ullage, it shouldn't affect the wine. If you have pieces of cork floating in the wine, don't stress, its probably just a sign that you opened the bottle incorrectly! If your wine has a...

Wow, what a weekend in Brisbane!! Qlders sure know how to come out and get on the drink. We always have a good show but this one blew our mind! The Calappiano Prosecco Brut seemed to be the big hit. What am I saying “seemed”? ugh…it WAS the big hit. We actually SOLD OUT of it by Friday afternoon!! We ended up taking about 6 bottles and hiding them for people to try it the next day. Let’s play a game. It’s called Spot the Difference! The first shot was taken before the show started. That handsome devil is Scott,...

Have you ever heard the terms "Fruit driven?" Did you know when you hear a wine is 'fruity', it is exhibiting what we call, Primary Notes. Have you heard someone say a wine is "nutty" or "biscuity?" Well, that wine is exhibiting what we call Secondary aromas. Then there are people that speak of wines that are "leathery", "oaky", "vegetal". What does that mean? Well, that is Tertiary Notes. When a wine exhibits a high level of Primary fruit characters, it is youthful. If those characters are starting to disappear, usually it suggests a wine is in the developing stage...

I love wine. I drink a glass 4-5 times a week and enjoy both new experiences and "old faithful go to's". I can be a snob when I need to be but I'm pretty open to all experiences. When I was being particularly loud at a recent event, I was asked by 2 people close to me if I think I may have a problem with alcohol....how very judgmental! Particularly because I'm one of those people that struggles to filter the words that come out of my mouth with or without a drink.  My personality is no reflection of the...

So, I'm currently doing my WSET. Wine and Spirits Education Certificate Level 3. I'm opening up my palate to so many different varieties, particularly from France and I won't lie, sometimes it's intimidating and I struggle. Today, I came across this amazing infographic on Pinterest. Super Super helpful! Excellent if you are just learning and want to know the FIRST thing you should be thinking about when you smell or taste a wine. Would love to know your thoughts. It will definitely help me and I hope it helps you.  

Many of you will know that Sensi just realeased a No Added Sulphite Sangiovese. It has been super popular but I’ve been surprised by how many people have asked “what are sulfates?” So it prompted me to write this post. Sulfates  are organic compounds that occur naturally in grapes and many other fruits and vegetables. But sulphur dioxide is also added to wine as an anti-oxidant and anti-bacterial agent to prevent the wine from going off. This is first added during transportation from vines to winery and then may be added again to STOP the fermentation process if winemakers choose...