Raise a Glass. Salud.

To Kick off the series, here is my sassy friend Eiling as the 1st Blogger in the Spotlight (BITS) for Cumi & Ciki. Enjoy!

Some people regard me as an oenophile which I gladly accept as long as I’m not labeled as an alcoholic. I take pride in the wines I drink and perhaps drinking is no longer a suitable word that fits the picture. I would rather say, I appreciate my wines and I take great pains to learn about every bottle that I savor (that includes the art of googling {the information}!). The whole swirl, sniff and sip routine never fails to excite me every time a bottle is uncorked.

In this 21st Century, wine is no longer a luxury as one can easily saunter into a supermarket and pick up a bottle of wine for less than RM50. Everyone can have a glass or two occasionally due to the mass production of wines. But of course, for the oenophiles, a RM50 might not be enough because fine wine indulgence is quite an expensive affair. I wouldn’t say I’m a “wine snob” (although I do look like one) but I definitely would not ask for a second glass of something I don’t enjoy.

20010404 FTR WINE 2


If you only have one liver, why waste it on bad wines?

True to the word, I enjoy good wines. Especially Burgundy. The Burgundy wine is such a beauty, with such depth, such pleasure, such finesse and such seduction that no one would be able to resist its charm. It’s so seductive that when someone has had their first Burgundy affair, they’d  be hooked for life.

One particular bottle that left me mesmerized and perhaps yearning for more is a bottle of DRC La Tache 2001 which I had the pleasure of uncorking last year here.  The market price for this bottle today should be around RM10,000. The Domaine de la Romanée Conti (DRC) is Burgundy’s most famous estate, producing all grand cru wines from 25 hectares of vines. The wines are rare and limited in production and thus the prices are one of the highest in the world!

la tache

On the nose, there are intense ripe fruits and on the palate, it’s smooth, filled with rich red berries and some hints of spice. It’s an elegant wine with firm tannins and a long substantial finish. It could be much better if you have the perseverance and patience to wait a few more years. You’ll practically live your life searching for more Burgundy!

One glass a day, keeps your heart at bay.

Grapes have antioxidants such as flavonoids or resveratrol. Resveratrol lowers the “bad” LDL cholesterol, and elevates the “good” HDL cholesterol levels. Red wines have a higher level of resveratrol than white wines. The red wine, pinot noir in particular, has about twice as much as other reds. Therefore, one possible reason given for the low rate of coronary heart disease in France is the French habit of drinking wine with meals.

fine wine

Now, pair it with Chocolate.

There are two inevitable indulgences that I have regularly. Wine and chocolates seemed to be my best friends. And you can now pair both of these healthy indulgences together like what I did. Milk Chocolate (45% cocoa) for lighter reds and dessert wines (Pinot Noir, Burgundy, Rose, Port, Ice Wine) and Bitter Sweet (60% cocoa) is suitable for Syrahs and Zinfandels and lastly the dark chocolate (70% cocoa amd more) pairs with full-bodied wines like Cabernet Sauvignon, Barolo and wines from Bordeaux.

Take your time and enjoy every sip of wine. It’s funny how other healthy foods seem to get more publicity compared to the goodness of a glass of wine. Probably because of it’s intoxicating attributes drinking alcohol and therefore wine, has been stigmatized. That may be so especially in certain cases of excessive drinking, which I do not condone. I definitely believe that the rule of thumb for a healthy life is always MODERATION.

Books on wines you might like:

About this week’s guest writereilinglim
Eiling is a  food blogger who is also a true wine aficionado based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She is one person who enjoys writing about her gastronomic experiences, and if you go to her blog you will see that she describes herself as “someone who loves Cuban Cigars, foie gras, fine wines, gourmet chocolates and everything fine. Someone who writes with her heart and sings with her soul because apparently she can’t sing to save her life!” Anyway read more about her worldly adventures on her blog entitled simply , Wine & Dine and Everything Fine.

Follow Eiling on twitter.

*all photos are credited to the B.I.T.S. mentioned above.

28 Comments

  • I am fantasizing about a time when Google did not exist. As such, when I read Eiling’s guest post, I might wonder what googling wine entails — is it like gurgling wine or may gargling? That seems a tad inelegant. But a lovely lady such as her might do it with more grace, and as such teach this poor mortal a trick or two too.

    Maybe I can ask this opulent yet (one suspects) obstreperous oenophile out for a date? She can order the wine, of course. 😉

  • Is Eiling conducting classes? I’m hopeless with wines.

  • eiling says:

    Life for Beginners: Well, I guess I can only say that I’m still learning. I do not attend any wine classes so I have to rely on the information on the net to learn. So after every bottle that I have savoured and having noted the tasting notes, I’ll go and google about the wine and the label. After that I’ll blog about it so that I remembered. I’m no connoisseur but I truly enjoy a good bottle or wine. Let’s go out and drink someday. I’ll probably learn something from you too, if you allow.

    Lyrical lemongrass: Hey Meena, I’m not a professional but we can wine and dine together!

    • cumi&ciki says:

      i don’t think i need to answer LL or LFB .. i leave them in ur capable hands la Eiling! 😛 LOL (great answer by the way. bring me along too on the eat drink escapade!)

  • @Eiling: How does this sound? A Night Out with Lyrical Lemongrass and Life for Beginners? Hmm, maybe too much of a mouthful… 😛

    You teach us about the wine, we’ll share our love for the swine, er, babi, er, pork. 😛

  • superwilson says:

    When u wanna do superwilson in spotlight so i can go slimmer? 😛

    1st blogger, oredi got a cutie, u cun la u!

  • Brother B says:

    Joie de vivre indeed

  • Sean says:

    loved your post! it really conveyed the pleasure of drinking wines. i enjoy wines very much, but i’m afraid i dunno how to appreciate them. even with tasting notes, i can’t really distinguish one wine from another, or recall what they’re like (although i’ve learned that i don’t like cabernet sauvignons). i’ll be keeping an eye out for burgundys after reading this, but the other problem is that i don’t usually order any bottles that cost above rm200 =)

    • cumi&ciki says:

      i knew u’d like the post sean! eiling is really cool. she’ll take u eat PORK ribs + drink red wine..

    • eiling says:

      Thanks Sean and likewise. Yeah Burgundys is the way to go. Not easily acceptable by many if you tend to have a palate for full-bodied wines like Cabernet Sauvignon or Bordeaux but it’s a very complex wine, with supple textures, refined tannins and a nice ruby red. I think you can get a fairly good bottle for around RM200-300 like Joseph Drouhin from Beaujolais (around RM90), Beaune Clos des Mouches Rouge 2006 from Cote de Beaune (RM300) and Chambolle Musigny 2006 from Cote de Nuits (RM200). The fine ones that my friend drinks are around RM500+ a bottle.

  • Leo (thule) says:

    like what eiling said, I’m a wine snob too! but I never go to the extent og googling the wine on internet! whatever suits my taste.. I’d drink it… no matter it’s RM50 or RM500 wine 🙂

    • eiling says:

      I don’t look at prices too but then again, one should know the price of the wines especially the ones you like. So that you can compare with the other wines you like. It’s useful to know if you collect or invest in wines too!

  • Huai Bin says:

    Oh, I like this guest posting thing you have going on!

    oenophile – Eiling, your England too powderful I had to google that to find out what it means. 🙂

  • superwilson says:

    I hearts Malbec! Isshhh

  • minchow says:

    That was my NY resolution this year actually… treat my liver to the good stuff, no more of those Chilean house pouring crap by the gallons. I am ashamed to say that of late, the latter has been dominating my drinking activity again… eeps! Time to recalibrate!

  • eiling says:

    Minchow: haha… great to hear that you’re going for the quality stuff! If one has only one life, live it to the fullest! House pouring is usually a crappy wine. Salud!

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