Category Archives: Favorites

White Wine for the summer under 300kr

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White wine mood?

Looking for a good white wine to drink this summer?

White Wine

It’s summer, and white wine is on the menu for many people. Vinmonopolet has many good wines, but here are a few of my favorite ones you can find now. Note: some you may have to order, they might not be at a specific Vinmonpol that you visit. And for non Norwegain readers, I am sure you can find them other places too!

Herzu by Ettore Germano

A light, dry, refreshing riesling that is grown in Piemonte. I am not usually a big fan of riesling because I find them too sweet, but this one is perfect. Truly one of my favorite white wines!

Bourgogne Chardonnay by Matrot

Matrot makes wonderful wines, and what’s even better is that you can find a really good one under 200kr. They are proof that amazing wines do not have to cost a fortune. Truly a fresh, balanced wine.

Bourgogne Chardonnay by Carillon

Another good chardonnay that’s also not very expensive. Carillon produces great white burgundy, and it’s great that we can drink such good wines without breaking the bank!

Macon-Villages by Jean-Marc Boillot

Macon-Village is one of my favorite appellations in burgundy. There are so many good producers that make Macon-Villages, and JM Boillot is no exception.

Wine 101

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Wine 101, maybe it sounds like something you might need? Jack Prenter at Knownman.com reached out to me about an infographic he had created (along with some wine people) and asked me to share it with you. Read his excerpt below.

Wine 101 by Jack Prenter

One of the main excuses people give for not exploring and learning more about wine is that it’s too complicated and intimidating. This graphic was created for the purpose of teaching people the basics of wine pairing, selection and ordering.

Most people will admit that they enjoy the taste of wine, but they might be too intimidated to order it on a date or to ask for basic advice. One of the easiest ways to ‘get into’ wine is to understand the basic rules that underly selection.

Once you understand the different taste profiles of the most popular wines and what foods they are generally paired with you’ll have the confidence to be more explorative with your choices. Not only that but the average person has such a lack of knowledge that just memorizing the key points on this graphic will probably make you the go-to wine expert in your group of friends.

Enjoy the infographic and make sure to share this with a friend!

Wine 101

Caudalie

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For my birthday, my good friend Chiara Boschis gave me some products from Caudalie. It was the first time I had heard of the brand, which was founded in Bordeaux by Mathilde Thomas. The beauty products are made from the vine and grape from vineyards in France. How cool is that?!

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What does the term caudalie mean? A caudalie [kodali] is a unit measuring the duration of the wine’s flavour on the palate. For each second the flavour remains this is a caudalie. A quality wine will contain many caudalie’s.

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What I love most about Caudalie’s products is that they don’t test on animals and they don’t use parabens. Instead, they use fair trade and organic raw material. So you can feel good about the products, because they are natural and environmentally friendly. And as a wine nerd, it’s cool to use creams and shampoo derived from the grapes that made the wine you drink!

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Their products range from hand creams to face creams to face wash to shampoo. Mine are all travel size, but you get them full size as well. And the smell is amazing! You can find Caudalie stores in the US, Canada, Paris, UK, Germany and a few other places. You can also buy the products online.

Quote: https://en.caudalie.com/story-ethics/mathilde-thomas.html

 

Caudalie – wine product that won’t get you drunk

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For my birthday, my good friend Chiara Boschis gave me some products from Caudalie. It was the first time I had heard of the brand, which was founded in Bordeaux by Mathilde Thomas. The beauty products are made from the vine and grape from vineyards in France. How cool is that?!

Caudalie

Caudalie products

What does Caudalie mean?

 

What does the term caudalie mean? A caudalie [kodali] is a unit measuring the duration of the wine’s flavour on the palate. For each second the flavour remains this is a caudalie. A quality wine will contain many caudalie’s.

IMG_0162

No animal testing and good for the environment; what more do we need?

What I love most about the products is that they don’t test on animals and they don’t use parabens. Instead, they use fair trade and organic raw material. So you can feel good about the products, because they are natural and environmentally friendly. And as a wine nerd, it’s cool to use creams and shampoo derived from the grapes that made the wine you drink! Finally a wine product that doesn’t get you drunk (haha).

Caudalie Hand Cream

Their products range from hand creams to face creams to face wash to shampoo. Mine are all travel size, but you get them full size as well. And the smell is amazing! You can find their products in stores in the US, Canada, Paris, UK, Germany and a few other places. You can also buy the products online.

Quote: https://en.caudalie.com/story-ethics/mathilde-thomas.html

 

Looking for a good summer wine?

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In need of good a summer wine?

Wines are good all year, but some work better than others as “summer wine”. Below are a few of my favorites to drink during the summer months (or weeks if you live in Norway!)

Summer wine 2017

Starting from the left, we have Ettore Germano’s Herzu. It is by far one of my favorite whites from Piemonte. I don’t usually enjoy riesling, but this wine is superb, especially on a hot day. Next up is Cavallotto’s Langhe Chardonnay. Always a good choice.

Moving away from white to red, we have Freisa by Bartolo Mascarello. I am not usually very fond of freisa for some reason, but it can be quite enjoyable in the summer time (don’t know why it tastes better than in the winter, but whatever). Now, dolcetto might be my all time favorite wine to drink in the summer. A glass of slightly chilled dolcetto is hard to beat. Mauro Veglio and Elio Altare make excellent dolcetto, so you can’t go wrong there! After dolcetto comes barbera and Vietti’s La Crena might be the best of the best! Although it is a heavier wine and might be best to enjoy with food, barbera is still a very good choice! Last but not least we have Langhe Nebbiolo. The Rinaldi “nebbe” is fresh and not too heavy (although world class and on Barolo level) so if you can get your hands on this, you will not be disappointed!

Notice I did not mention barolo. Not because barolo is bad or because I don’t drink barolo in july, but because when I think of summer wine barolo is not the first thing that comes to mind. On a hot summer day I prefer a light wine, without too many tannins, and the wines mentioned above fit my “criteria”.

Do you have any favorite summer wines?

Most of these you can find at Vinmonopolet (or they should have them) but they may be sold out. I always recommend checking online.

 

 

 

 

Favorite Wine Spots in Milan

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My time in Milan is coming to and end, and I thought I would share my favorite wine spots with you guys.

I think my absolute favorite spot i N’Ombra de vin, both because it was a great selection of wine but also because of the atmosphere. Really a fun place to spend time. And they have a good selection of Altare and Marengo!

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N’Ombra de Vin

Recently, I discovered a new place: Bottega del Vino, and I the wine list as so good that it took me 20 minutes to decide which wine to get. Amazing, really!

Another good spot is Signorvino, but unlike the others, I only go here to buy wine. They also have a restaurant but I am not a huge fan… But the selection of wine in the store is great! You find many Vietti wines here.

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Signorvino

Last but not least is Peck. I have never tried their restaurants (they have a few) but the Enoteca is amazing. Huge selection, some really good producers, and the actual place is really cool.

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Peck

What are some of your favorite spots?