Tag Archives: champagne

Wines Sommeliers Suggest For Backyard Summer Barbecues

Summertime is about many things: outdoor activities, music festivals, sports, holidays, celebrations, and gatherings. For foodies, summer signals the start of barbecue season. It’s nothing fancy, just friends and family gathering in the backyard or on the rooftop, sharing delicious food and memorable moments. Like any good gathering, a barbecue isn’t complete without the perfect drinks. While cold beer is a common choice, wine lovers may ask: what’s the best wine for a summer barbecue?

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Below wine consultant Sylvia Ba, a vinicultural expert with the “VinoVoss” AI Sommelier wine search engine and recommendation system developed by BetterAI, gives guidance:

What Sommeliers Would Recommend

Whether you are hosting a barbecue party or attending one but wonder what wine to serve or bring, both traditional human sommeliers and innovative AI sommeliers like VinoVoss generally recommend bold reds for barbecue. Grenache, Syrah, and GSM (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre blends) are at the top of the list for pairing with barbecue foods. The rich flavors of charred meat, combined with spices, harmonize beautifully with fruity, round red wines that have spicy, smoky, or oaky notes. Zinfandel and Primitivo pair wonderfully with caramelized foods, while other bold reds like Malbec, oaked Tempranillo, or a Bordeaux blend are also popular choices.

Summer Wine and Barbecue: An Unlikely Pair?

From a food and wine pairing perspective, bold reds are indeed suitable for barbecue. However, bold reds can taste heavy and often have high alcohol content, which might not be the best fit for hot summer days. This is why many people opt for cold beer instead. In summer, we crave refreshing white wines to cool us down, but does that mean summer wines and barbecue are incompatible? The answer is no. There are plenty of summer wines that pair perfectly with barbecue.

Pork-based barbecue favorites like sausages and short ribs, seasoned with flavorful spices, not only pair well with red wines like Grenache, Syrah, or Zinfandel but also shine with high-acidity white wines like Riesling and Grüner Veltliner. The acidity cuts through the grease and adds freshness. Riesling is known to complement savory sauces, while Grüner Veltliner, with its herbaceous, white pepper notes, is perfect for sausages. In their home countries, Riesling and Grüner Veltliner are preferred wines for pork-based German and Austrian cuisine. Additionally, these high-acidity white wines, by nature, pair well with vegetables.

All-Rounder Barbecue Wines

If you’re concerned about going to extremes between bold reds and refreshing whites, don’t worry. There are versatile barbecue wines for your summer gatherings. Barbecue covers a range of foods from vegetables to mushrooms, from fish to meat skewers, so it’s ideal to have a master solution.

Light-Bodied, Chillable Reds

If bold reds feel too heavy, light-bodied red wines are perfect summer reds. Wines like Gamay, certain Pinot Noirs, Loire Valley Cabernet Franc, Frappato, Schiava, and many carbonic or semi-carbonic maceration reds are excellent choices. They have enough body to pair with meat but the fruit-forward character makes them food-friendly, so they won’t overpower vegetables or grilled fish. Most importantly, they are best enjoyed slightly chilled, bringing freshness to a hot summer afternoon.

Orange Wine

Some say orange wine is a white wine that tastes like red. It combines the vibrant acidity and refreshing character of white wines with the depth and structure of red. Orange wine is an all-rounder for food pairing, matching perfectly with well-seasoned, spicy foods, grilled asparagus, or sausages.

Pet Nat

For some, bubbles and barbecue are the ultimate pairing. Champagne and other traditional method sparkling wines are good choices, but Pet Nat (pétillant naturel) is even better. Its refreshing acidity and bubbles enhance the summer vibe, and its yeasty flavors and slight residual sugar add body, making it suitable for a variety of foods and barbecue seasonings. Plus, Pet Nat is ideal for casual, fun moments with friends. It’s an approachable wine to enjoy without giving it too much thought.

Are you ready to spice up your summer barbecues with the perfect wines? Share good moments, delicious food, laughter, and exceptional wines with your loved ones! For the Silo, Merilee Kern.

Merilee Kern, MBA is an internationally-regarded brand strategist and analyst who reports on cultural shifts and trends as well as noteworthy industry change makers, movers, shakers and innovators across all categories, both B2C and B2B. This includes field experts and thought leaders, brands, products, services, destinations and events. As a prolific lifestyle, travel, dining and leisure industry voice of authority and tastemaker, Merilee keeps her finger on the pulse of the marketplace in search of new and innovative must-haves and exemplary experiences at all price points, from the affordable to the extreme. Her work reaches multi-millions worldwide via broadcast TV (her own shows and copious others on which she appears) as well as a myriad of print and online publications.

Worth The Cost- Ultra Premium Champagne To Ring In The New Year

 Luxury Maurice Vendome Champagne Label1Miami, FL,  – Ultra-luxury wine and spirits purveyor Prodiguer Brands, which privately develops and markets many of the world’s finest, award-winning wines and spirits, offers a very special Champagne.  Maurice Vendôme is now exclusively available in the United States (and in select LCBO’s and liquor stores in Ontario and Canada).

This offering furthers the company’s extraordinary and revered portfolio of premium ultra-grade adult beverage brands specifically tailored for the global luxury market to meet evolving consumer desires and tastes. What better way to celebrate New Year’s Eve?

“This rare Grand Cru Réserve Blanc de Blancs champagne represents over 100 years of combined experience, expertise and leadership by our team and the Maurice Vendôme wine grower,” notes Prodiguer Brands’ Managing Partner, Noel Shu—a self-made millionaire, Sommelier and entrepreneur. ” Housed within the beautiful village of Oger in the Côte des Blancs region, Champagne Maurice Vendôme has ancestral ties dating back to the French Revolution. It’s an exquisite champagne that benefits from Oger’s rich soils that provide the perfect setting for luxury winemaking.”
Using 100% rated rare Grand Cru grapes and a limited annual production, Maurice Vendôme offers an exquisite experience of luxurious quality and exclusivity. The caliber and excellence of this rare Grand Cru Réserve Blanc de Blancs champagne is uncompromised, further entrenching Maurice Vendôme as “A Timeless Luxury.”

Champagne Chapuy in Oger

The art of Champagne is created usually with the combination of three different types of grapes – Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir. Champagne Maurice Vendôme uses exclusively 100% Chardonnay to create a unique Blanc de Blancs luxury cuvée. Each Chardonnay grape is delicately handpicked  from only the finest vineyards in Champagne country and then pressed to release their first juice, premiér taille.
Tasting Notes:

  • Colour: Straw yellow appearance
  • Nose: Intense white fruits, sweet on the nose, slightly floral
  • Palate: Creamy smooth refreshing palate, full delicate flavor
  • Finish: Charming fresh finish
  • Premiér taille of 100% Grand Cru Chardonnay
  • Hand-picked, sorted and pressed within 24 hours Liqueur de dosage: Chardonnay wine with melted cane sugar at 12 g/liter, this champagne then rests for a further four months after disgorgement, resulting in a luxury aroma, taste, body, and finish
  • Formats: 75cl and Magnum 1.5l – larger sizes by special order

A Prestigious Pedigree: Makers of the World’s Most Expensive Champagne Prodiguer Brands gained much notoriety for developing and facilitating the record-breaking sale of the most expensive single bottle of Champagne in the world—a limited edition bottle of Goût de Diamants, Taste of Diamonds, which sold for a staggering $1.8 million usd / $2.4 million cad.
Made from 100% Grand Cru grapes, all Goût de Diamants Champagne—available as a brut, a rosé, a Blanc de Blancs and a vintage—is produced at the 8-hectare, family-owned, Champagne Chapuy in Oger. Each standard bottle of Goût de Diamants is a chic collector’s item that’s adorned with a brilliant cut Swarovski crystal in the center of a diamond-shaped pewter design resembling the Superman logo.

Goût de Diamants bottle

The Swarovski crystals are pink on the rosé bottles and clear on the Blanc de Blancs and the brut, which is aged for a minimum of 40 months before release including four months post disgorgement.  In addition, borrowing design cues from Armand de Brignac, the back of each bottle also boasts a hand-engraved pewter label featuring details of the blend inside. For its part, the bespoke multi-million dollar bottle saw the diamond logo crafted from 18-carat solid white gold while the Swarovski crystal was upgraded to a 19-carat flawless white diamond. The 18-carat white gold front label meanwhile, was engraved with the client’s name.

A Voraciously Vetted Vodka  Also in the Prodiguer Brands’ preeminent portfolio is JULIET Immaculate Vodka, which is the world’s first “Immaculate”-graded vodka—ranking it above other premium, super-premium and even ultra-premium brands. Notably, this “Immaculate” rank was actually incepted by Prodiguer Brands, itself, as was required to aptly classify this caliber of vodka, and is a grade now recognized and accepted by industry professionals worldwide.

Upon its official launch in Monte Carlo, Monaco in 2014 during the prestigious, Formula One Grand Prix weekend at the exclusive Ermanno Palace Penthouse, this luxury vodka subsequently appeared at a multitude of A-list events in key regions around the world, including New York City, Barcelona, Paris, Sweden and London. At that time, the brand released a range of Collector’s Edition bottles featuring artwork from renowned New York City based artist, Sue Tsai, based around the F1 and the Brazil World Cup 2014.

Prodiguer Brands expressly separated JULIET from competitors by creating a vodka using a boutique production process to ensure the highest quality vodka that boasts seven distinct unique selling propositions. For one, the vodka weighs in at 43% alcohol volume (is 86 proof), and is only distilled a single time. As the vodka is handcrafted in small batches and great care is taken to prevent impurities from entering at any point in the process, the result is an impeccably pure vodka that does not need to be distilled multiple times. In addition, the vodka is gluten free as, by using high quality sugar beet that the brand ferments in-house, gluten is avoided entirely. The sweetness of the sugar beet also levels out the strong 43% alcohol volume, leaving pleasant smooth vanilla notes. Moreover, the vodka does not require any additional filtration as it is purified in copper pot stills during the distillation process and, packaging-wise, it uses wood top natural corks and tin foil capsules to exemplify the brand’s approach to using natural, non-toxic and renewable materials. JULIET Immaculate Vodka is 100% British, created at its own dedicated distillery based in the South of England, United Kingdom.

French Champagne Grapes
Expertise Aplenty:
About Noel Shu, Prodiguer Brands’ Managing Partner Internationally-regarded sommelier Noel Shu, Managing Partner for the ultra-luxe, award-winning wine and spirts purveyor Prodiguer Brands, is a self-made millionaire since his early 20s, entrepreneur and author of the upcoming title, “China Through a Glass of Wine.”  With impeccable panache and style, Shu, has already accomplished more than many do in an entire lifetime. Shu has personally designed and sold extraordinary multi-million dollar timepieces and necklaces to China’s elite through his ancillary, highly successful luxury jewelry business.  Always striving for growth and self-improvement and with a reverence for continuing education, despite his busy schedule Shu is currently pursuing an Ivy League Master’s degree at Columbia University. As a globally-minded business practitioner, Shu understands commerce on both sides of the Pacific and brings that expertise to bear with his various ventures, including the highly anticipated upcoming release of “Regale”—an exclusive wine brand expressly developed for the Chinese marketplace, which will be exported to the region in early 2016.  Shu may be reached at www.prodiguerbrands.com.
About Prodiguer Brands Prodiguer Brands privately creates and owns some of the world’s finest wines and spirits.  With a growing portfolio, Prodiguer Brands prides themselves in creating luxury brands for the global luxury market that meet new consumer desires and tastes.  In 2016 the company will be releasing one of the world’s finest red wine offerings in the U.S. market: the highly anticipated SIA Cabernet Sauvignon. Led by Shammi Shinh, the company is predicated on strong dedication, wise investment, and offering the best consumption experiences.

Shinh has been commissioned by the likes of Hugo Boss and Christian Louboutin to ideate and help create engagement opportunities in the luxury marketplace.

Learn more about Prodiguer Brands online at www.prodiguerbrands.com.

Q And A With Self Made Millionaire And Luxury Sommelier Noel Shu

For the high end market, there are often many different brands of similar products and services vying for attention. What are some effective ways luxury consumers can stay abreast of the newest, highest quality products and services?

This can actually be the done the good ol’ fashioned way and that’s simply to read a lot. Everything that you can possibly be looking for, think you might be looking for or not even know you’re looking for is on the Internet. Every day when I wake up, I spend a good 30 minutes and go through literally everything while I’m drinking my coffee—from international news to gossip to anything I can find that’s different from what I read before. People are out there doing everything they can to appease the people.

You are a member of a network called, “The Billionaires Club.”  What are some of the luxury brands you and your inner circle are paying attention to and what draws these brands apart?

I would say these days quite a few people have moved away from just so called “big purchases.” Everything is now more about personal touches. For instance, many people own a Rolex, Audemars Piguet or Hublot. More often than not, some of these are one out of however many but how many people really have something that’s one of kind? Not too many. The other point is that the watch may suit you but it doesn’t reflect your own personality, likes and dislikes. So what’s actually becoming quite popular is engraving one’s watches. I’ve seen some crazy designs that really add some character to a person’s wrist such as koi fish, skull heads and zodiac signs.

So back to the main question and one particular brand that has stood out is Golden Concept. Again, it’s all about personal touches these days and being unique. Golden Concept specializes in luxury cases for your phone. They have gold, snakeskin and gator cases just to name a few. All done to the highest of quality and many are customizable. So if you’re looking to stand out, make sure to check them out.

Another brand which has seen quite a bit of press and accolades is JetSmarter, one of the more successful private aviation companies. For many entrepreneurs, meetings take place in different cities, different continents and in different time zones. JetSmarter offers these services in an easy-to-maneuver application that makes flying private relatively affordable and easy.

World’s most expensive ‘whatever’: click me

What are the top three luxury items or brands that have captivated your own attention right now?

Right now there are three top brands that are top-of-mind for me right now. These are Emperada Cigar Humidor by Imperiali Geneve; Astonomia Tourbillion by Jacob & Co; and Bentley EXP 10 Speed 6 Concept car.

Not everyone can afford luxury brands. What would you suggest for those who have the desire to appear high end but not necessarily the means?

There’s actually been a lot of hype surrounding brands that cater specifically to people who enjoy the “finer things” but are limited by what’s in their wallet. Many bloggers, for instance, are always writing about the newest gadget, accessory or clothing. I would recommend finding a few that fit your style and follow them on Instagram to see what it is that they’re rocking on a day to day basis. Many people have to understand that your average blogger is there to inform the public on some of the newest fashion do’s and don’ts, and these are all done with new brands or affordable pre-existing brands.

Second, which I have seen quite a bit, is on Kickstarter or similar sites that are always offering “perks” for those who invest early in their brands. Without naming names, a few brands offered a discounted handmade Italian leather, skeleton movement watches for a fraction of the cost to the first “so many” number of investors.

Just keep in mind for everything high-end there is always a cheaper counterpart. Don’t worry just about name brand or high end. All that matters is that it looks good and makes you feel great.

For those who focus on products that are affordable luxury, who are some of the brands doing the best and what are the keys to success?

One of the biggest and most successful brands that I have seen that caters more towards the everyday luxury is Tory Burch. Although TB is for women, I have on many occasions bought it for family, friends and clients so I can safely say I have quite a bit of exposure to this brand and can thus speak with some confidence. Obviously, price point for TB is well within the means of many. Besides that, what is it that has led TB to such success? I would say three main factors: relate-ability, professionalism and seamlessness. Relate-ability in that walking through the concrete jungle that is New York, TB products have always caught my eye in their simplicity but also how stylish it is, whether on a working woman running into Starbucks or that beautiful lady going to brunch. Second, professionalism – although many brands always stress the attentiveness of the staff, it pales in comparison to TB. People have to understand that often times upper tier luxury items are for a certain group and employees are naturally prejudiced to people who they perceive not to be at that level. There have been times where I would walk into a Rolex store unattended for 15 minutes and the instant my AP peaks out from under my shirt, someone is there to help. This just doesn’t happen at TB and for that I am quite appreciative. Seamlessness in TB’s product, in that it offers just the right amount “je ne sais quoi.” Most of their products can be matched with a variety of other brands. This has all led to the tremendous success that TB has experienced over these past few years.

What are the top three factors that truly set an ultra-premium wine, champagne or spirit brand apart from less costly luxury beverage counterparts, wine and otherwise?

Marketing wine for the luxury market is a really tough job to do. Quite frankly it’s because you’re trying to appease a group of people who have seen it all. People always say when you do something for long enough, whether you want to or not you will become a bit of a connoisseur. That’s especially true for those in the wine industry. Most are well educated, well informed and have a true passion towards exploring the finer points of what’s in a wine bottle. If we were to say that all wines in the luxury market were of the same caliber, there would still be so many factors in play, the first being accessibility and quantity. Many luxury wines are such because there is a limited supply. You can’t expect a brand to sell at the same price point when there are only 10,000 bottles as compared to 100,000 bottles. However, although there are still 10,000 bottles that were produced, that doesn’t mean your everyday Joe would be able to get his hands on them even if he’s willing to dish out the necessary cash. Thus, there’s another added premium to an already sky high price.

Another example is time and care. For those who are only there to turn a quick profit, the longer time they spend on making a wine, the more money that needs to be invested. That in itself increases cost and decreases profit. This is why sometimes you have wineries that will actually keep the wine in their cellars for years after bottling to ensure that the wine has at least matured to a passable level. By care, I mean winemakers are very passionate about their craft and thus hate having their name associated with sub-par wine. Thus, you have some years where there is little to no wine produced by a certain grower because only a small amount of the grapes harvested passed the standard or none at all.

Never one to rest on his laurels and even amid a diversity of endeavors, Shu continues to raise the bar for himself professionally and personally. Whether it be as an active investor looking for the latest innovation in the luxury and tech space or, despite his jam-packed schedule, his current pursuit of an Ivy League Master’s degree at Columbia University. Clearly this good life connoisseur turned luxe market mogul will continue making an impact on the numerous high-end industries for many years to come. For the Silo, Merilee Kern. Merilee is an influential media voice and lauded communications strategist.

 

CNBC’s “Secret Lives of the Super Rich”

Secret Lives Of The Super Rich

CNBC’s half-hour primetime series “Secret Lives of the Super Rich,” premiered Tuesday, June 10th at 10PM & hour episodes began airing each Tuesday for four consecutive weeks.

Reported by CNBC’s Robert Frank and featuring New York City super broker Dolly Lenz, “Secret Lives of the Super Rich” unlocks the mansion gates and gives you rare access to a world inhabited by the wealthiest people on the planet. Here’s a sneak peek courtesy of The Silo:
http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000236913.

Dolly Lenz
Dolly Lenz

In the first episode, we met a man who’s taken his lifelong Lamborghini obsession from land to water. Also, “Secret Lives of the Super Rich” gets a rare invite on a luxury safari where there’s no shortage of wild life, or champagne. And, an exclusive look inside a Star Trek mega-mansion that may have you wondering if it’s actually the Starship Enterprise (video: http://www.cnbc.com/id/101735785 also see Star Trek Home Theater profiled here at the Silo: https://www.thesilo.ca/beam-me-up-35000000-usd-home-theater-for-sale-in-boca-raton/)

 

Dover Cheese Shop