The HolyDaze are upon us which also means another year has come and gone… don’t ask me where 2009 went though. They say time flies “when you’re having fun” and “when you get older” – I think it’s a mix of both in my case. I’d like to take this time to thank everyone who took the time to visit my blog and Wine On The Rocks the past months: for your feedback, for your support and just for the plain fact that you’ve kept on keepin’ ON! Wishing you and yours a wonderful and safe holiday season!

Since I don’t see the need in sending out offline cards which only wind up being thrown away weeks after they arrived, I prefer the online version – which you can pick up here –>

As the year came and went, I did some tasting in between… and here’s my top 5 list of personal “full bodied red” favourites in 2009 (the keyword being PERSONAL):

1. Quinta Vale Dona Maria Tinto Douro DOC – 2004 (good international availability for this winery – but ’04 was sold out quite quickly)

Beautifully balanced, fruity, complex, length till Tuesday, the harmony is like a tight wire walk: it looks easy but needs years of experience to get to this level – everything you’d expect in an irresistible wine. Enjoying this wine for the first time with Cristiano Van Zeller leading the tasting, in Douro – wine always tastes better where it grows – made the experience that much more special. Needless to say, this is my 2009 Xmas wine! One more quick note: this wine is crushed barefoot – now how amazing is that. I chose this wine because it just gave me the biggest WOW factor and the fact that, even at EUR 28,00 per bottle, it’s still underpriced in my opinion.

2. Valentini Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC – 2001 (good international availability for this winery – premium retail)

There are mythical producers and there are mythical producers – Edoardo Valentini (who passed away in 2006) was definitely one of them and his son, Francesco Paolo, is definitely on his way to following in his father’s footsteps. Not only has drinking a Valentini wine become like a Pagan ritual to me but the respect I have for the Myth and his anti-marketing ethic is almost scary. Valentini’s 2001 is still very young but tasting it now and knowing what’s to come in the following years is definitely something to look forward to. Extraction out the yin-yang; an incredible thing when you do it with extreme attention, the taste of the land, notes of cherry, tabacco and a medley of fine spices. The tannins are still ON but rounding up beautifully. Each one of Valentini’s wines are truly unique. Bad year? No wine. Plain and simple. They have their price but in my opinion, they’re more than worth it.

3. Baltieri Amarone della Valpolicella Sortilegio DOC – 2005 (limited international availability – contact winery: www.baltieri.it)

I truly love meeting producers of fine wine, especially when you feel the soul of their work in your glass and it expresses their personality. Andrea Baltieri was one of these people: he’s managed to bottle his understated and humble, yet elegant and complex manner. Once meeting him, you would honestly think that he picked every grape individually, put it on a silk cushion, carried it to the press and gave it a little pep talk before starting the crush – great people really do make great wine. Andrea’s Amarone is so so silky with the perfect amount of freshness. It screams elegance and complexity but isn’t in your face about it. When it comes to meditation wines – this example is surely worthy of the title. Baltieri’s Recioto della Valpolicella… don’t get me started – mmmmmmmm!

4. Querciabella Chianti Classico DOCG – 2006 (good international availability for this winery)

This winery has been making fine reds since the early 70′s and the C.C. 2006 is no exception. Biodynamically produced, fruity/spicy with just the right amount of funk, elegance, complexity, nicely rounded tannins and mucho bang for the buck make this wine a true hit in my books. I love wines which you can drink everyday (price wise) but can also serve on a special occasion without thinking “are my guests going to think I’m being a cheap prick”? Great allrounder. I’ve gone through 6-7 cases of this wine in 2009 as I often use it in my wine seminars – definitely a participant favourite!!

5. Chateu Cos d’Estournel – St. Estèphe – Deuxième Cru Classé 1997 (good international availability for this winery)

Becoming a sommelier, I’ve noticed over the years, has some disadvantages as well as advantages:

Disadvantage: people stop buying you wine because they think it’s never good enough!
Advantage: when someone does buy you a bottle of wine you can be sure it’s a pretty good one!

This example can definitely be logged in the ADVANTAGE file. I received this bottle from a good friend and after drinking it together, we became even better friends. I love left-bank Bordeaux and examples such as the 1997 Cos d’Estournel is exactly why. The wine, just shy of its teens, developed with such an elegance regardless of its heartiness – I can only imagine how “green” it was 10 years ago – and there is still good things to come. The bouquet was so attractive that I had trouble getting my schnozz out of the glass, some wines really are a pity to drink: it was like pixies dancing and leaving a fresh scent of wild berries and spices in their wake. The palate didn’t dissapoint one bit either – full bodied YYEESSSNEESSS – that’s all I could think when drinking it – YYYEEESSSS! C’est tout mes amis :-)

Wishing you all the best in 2010!! And of course, keep on keepin’ ON!

It was a jam packed 4 days spent filming, spitting, swallowing and just plain enjoying all the wonderful things Veneto has to offer. The weather couldn’t have been better… summer conditions in late September, but the crazy thing is, the sun has been shining in Munich for 10 days and it’s warm to boot. Nothing like our summers. Must analyse!

Our time in Veneto was split up between Valpolicella  – known for its big reds – and Monti Lessini, which is more the  white wine powerhouse of the region – key word: Soave… a beautifully kept midievel city perched atop a hill as well as DOC & DOCG Superiore region. We filmed the harvest, wine making process (whites), grape drying methods (Recioto & Amarone), crashed a birthday party – and are we glad we did -  and not to mention, did a couple of on camera tastings. So you can definitely expect more “wine content” in the upcoming shows.

Can’t wait for my Portugal trip at the end of October. Aaaaahhhhh wine travel – I can surely get used to it on a regular basis, I tell you that.