The wine diary.

First Post

I like to keep a diary of the wine I’ve tried and to record the ones I really like and the ones that I don’t. With so many brands offerred in the market, it is hard to remember which one is the best and which one I will avoid the next time. Sometimes, I want to buy the wine that I love but it is out of stock. Then I get overwhelmed looking at so many wines and I ended up buying whatever and getting pissed off during dinner because it did not match my taste. Sometimes I forgot the wine that I don’t really like and ended up buying the same one again because they have attractive but subtle labels….you know… the ones that is attractive, classy but not too distinctive that you could recognise it again later. I think it is a great camouflage strategy for bad wines.

Wine is unique. Everyone has different taste. This diary reflects my taste.

As a start, I would like to record the first wine that I considered really good and recommended it to my friends. It is a dessert wine. I first had this wine at Alexis restaurant in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia that is located at Great Eastern Mall.

I was there with my friend Kyan and his friends. One of his friends is Will Quah. We ordered pizza for dinner and Will preferred beverage that evening was wine. I asked him about his selection and he offerred me to taste it. I was in love at first sip.

The name of the wine is Brown Brothers Orange, Muscat and Flora. I thought the name is as sexy as the wine. It is a dessert wine and available in smaller bottle. This wine is sweet but not extremely sweet that you can only enjoy it after a meal. I like it with the pizza. But I think one should avoid drinking this wine with creme brulee. The combination of sweetness could probably kill.

Since that day, I’m always on the lookout for this wine when I’m at a restaurant and I shared this wine with many friends. One friend who also share my love for this wine is Miki Ong.

Here’s the photo of the wine…

Second Post

In Kuala Lumpur, at Jalan Bangkung, Bangsar, there is a restaurant called Opus. The only reason I go to this restaurant is because of one item on the menu and that is the tenderloin steak with red wine and pink peppercorn sauce. Some people love their mushroom sauce but I am in love with the red wine and pink peppercorn sauce.

I was there one night to treat my boyfriend for his birthday and we ordered Carmen Reserva Carmenere Carbenet Sauvignon. I love it and I think it went really well with the steak.

A few months later, I saw the same wine sold at a supermarket. I was so excited. It just so happened that I have been invited to my friends Elle and Rafael post wedding party at a bar in Changkat Bukit Bintang that night. So I thought, I could have some of this wine after my dinner before going out. It will put me in the right mood.

Unfortunately, after leaving the supermarket, I went to the ladies and hang the plastic bag containing the wine on the hand bag hook. And I think you know what happened next….sob sob…The plastic broke and the wine bottle crashed to the ground. Wine was everywhere. It was a tragic and traumatic experience for me and the cleaning lady.

My mood was severly destroyed. I went home and did not feel like going out that night. What I found out later was that the party did not went well because the police raided the pub to check for drugs and it was a humiliating experience for everyone at the party. I feel so sorry for Elle and Rafael.

Elle and Rafael as well as the friends they had invited that night were out to have a good time and they are not into drugs at all. They are the most decent people and the police not only spoilt their party but also wasted their own time and resources in this raid.

But anyway…here’s the photo of the wine. After the bag breaking incident, I did not get the chance to drink this wine again. I have moved to Dublin and will not be going to Opus anytime soon. I’m not sure whether Opus still has this wine of their list. I hope I will find it someplace…somewhere…: