Hello all,

It sure has been a while... 4 months.  Please say it ain't so!  I guess I have been so disrought after the abduction of Mr. Pinguino that I lost track of time.
As I travel all over, there are so many things that I want to share with the world but have not taken the time to write about them. 

I would like to start by mentioning a restaurant in Singapore which not only has a great wine list but the food is amazing too!  The Wine Arcade is certainly worth visiting!  Be sure to say 'Hi' to Jimmy and Alan and of course tell them that I sent you.

The PengWine team has been very busy in Chile, the USA and Singapore.  Many events, have led us to meet many people.  What fun it has been.  In December, Max poured PengWine to a wonderful crowd attending the Voluntarios de la Esperanza fund raiser.  We have been proud sponsors of VE Global for many years now. 
Bob has been pouring PengWine all over Seattle and how fitting that our wine has been poured in conjuction with the new Penguin exhibit, opening soon at the Woodland Park Zoo!?!
I have been introducing PengWine to the people of Singapore.  What an amazing place! 

And during all that.  PengWine has been awarded a few Bronze medals at Wine For Asia, Silver medal at Amex Tower Club and our Royal has received 89 pts. by the Wine Enthusiast! (upcoming May Issue) 

Me, I'll be in Chile soon.  So if anyone is heading that direction be sure to let me know.  After all it is such a small world!

I hope you all are well!

Chris

      

PengWine mascot abducted

Winery’s inflatable Mr. Pinguino, abducted at road side in Woodinville

On Saturday, November 1^{st the PengWine mascot, Mr. Pinguino, was abducted from in front of the PengWine Tasting Room in Woodinville, Washington. Bob Stanbary, US Operations Manager was at the tasting room at the time. With tears in his eyes Bob commented, "Mr. Pinguino has welcomed visitors to the tasting room since it opened several months ago. I’m sad that he’s gone, but hope that whoever kidnapped him is keeping him cool and well fed with his favorite shrimp."}

Mr Pinguino joined the team by welcoming guests into the Vinos Helping Ninos event in Ballard’s Shilshole Bay Yacht Club in October, 2006 when PengWine was first released in the United States. He has since invited passers-by to the Woodinville tasting room where visitors have been able to taste seven unique wines from Chile. He welcomed guests in to the Fairy rosé release party in June and the Jazz Fall Release Party in October of this year.

Mr. Pinguino was a beloved member of the team and is missed by all. If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of Mr. Penguin, please contact us at ^{info@pengwine.com. We will reward you anyone with information leading to the return of Mr. Pinguino to his family with wine, no questions asked.}

      

Hello Friends,

As many of you know, your favorite Chilean wine, PengWine is not sold in stores.  Well ok, there are a couple of stores in WA that do stock a couple of our wines.  And there are a few wine bars that have us on their wine lists.  And yes, you can taste our wines at our tasingroom in Woodinville, WA.  But for the rest of the USA the only way you can get PengWine is to have it delivered right to your door from www.PengWine.com. 

The BIG news is that as of Sept. 1, 2008, PengWine can now ship to 20 states! (see below) Selling wine online is not easy.  Not only due to the state by state laws...  It's very hard to experience the magnificent aromas and bursting flavors of our Fairy, rose.  I so love that wine.  And via your computer it's nearly impossible to marvel over the uniqueness of the King.  There are just no red wines out there like it. 

So, I'm asking those of you who know our wine to take a moment to share your PengWine experience with your friends, and especially to your friends and family that live in our new 'ship-to' states.  They won't find us in stores, so please send them to www.PengWine.com.

Remember, our tuxedo Wine Club is available to these new states too.  What a great gift idea for the Holidays!

Thank you for all for your support and Cheers to you!

~Chris

We now ship to: AK, CA, DC, FL, IL, IA, LA, MO, MN, NH, NM, NC, ND, NV, OH, OR, TX, WA, WI, and WY
Check out our home page this month for a 'Free Shipping' code!

      

I have heard many stories about wine giving people headaches.  Some say it's red wine.  Others, white wine.  Some say it's the sulfites. 

I say it's the quality of wine being drunk.  I've been drinking wine (professionally) for over 10 years and once in a while I get a headache from drinking wine.  And it always happens when I drink the cheap stuff.  I mean the really cheap stuff.  Cheap wine is to the head as junk food is to your waist line.  Not Good.

We all know that there is a difference in Top Shelf liquors.  Well the same goes for wine.

Anyway... the price of the wine generally dictates the way that the wine was made.  As in any industry there are many ways to take short cuts and many "knock-off" wines do exist.  Let's face it, we all buy our wine based on the label, once in a while.    And that is very OK!  How else would we randomly select the perfect bottle from a line up of thousands?  However you choose your wine, by price or label, if you like the wine you purchased then it's a good wine.  But if it gives you a headache, you may want to look on the back label and pay some attention to the producer of that product. 

Basically, the wines at the lower end of the cost spectrum are made to be drunk as fast as they are made.  You have all heard the expression "Fine wine takes time".  Well that time costs $.  And that is just one aspect of a fine wine that you pay for.  It takes time for a wine to evolve naturally.  And naturally is still best. 

In the wine market... you get what you pay for.  And it's ONLY thanks to the Sommeliers, wine shop owners, good wine bloggers and restaurateurs around the world.  Oh, and a few magazines.  (readers beware)


Thanks for reading!
~Cheers

      

It never ceases to amaze me, the number of new labels I see around the world.  I travel quite a bit and I’ve worked in the wine industry for quite a while on 4 continents.  I’ve seen many different wines and wine labels. 

It’s nearly impossible for me to walk past a wine shop without going in for a little browse.  And that I did just recently on the amazing island of Phuket in Thailand.  I just had to see what the tourists were being offered outside the hotel scene.  The selection was good.  Not great, but certainly worthy of being a recommended wine shop.  There was at least 200 wines to choose from.  And every wine producing country was represented.  Including Thailand. 

Next door to the wine shop was a convenience store.  And in this store,,, right next to the banana chips they had about 50 different bottles of wine to choose from.  Fifty wines which were not in the store right next door.  There was something different about these wines though.  It was the obvious condition of many of the wines and the vintages.

Now I love to browse obscure markets, searching for a rare gem that may lie un-detected by the novice wine drinker.  But here in Thailand.. Where it’s always hot and air-conditioning is a luxury… even if I found that gem, I’d have to seriously look at the storage conditions. 

I was standing in the new convenience store with Air-conditioning.  They had some older vintages of wine from around the world.  And the prices were great for the wines being offered.  In fact the price tags looked to be older than the wine.  The bottles were still priced from 8+ years ago.  What a bargain right?   I stopped for a moment,  I looked at the great storage conditions and realized that the store I was in was much newer than the wines in front of me.  So I decided to get a little chatty with the store owner.  She told me how happy she was in her new store of 2 months.  And it’s so much larger and cleaner and of course cooler.  AH .. Ha… So these wines were not stored here for long.  And as I took a closer look I could see that the Chardonnays of recent were already turning a dark yellow and some of them were getting a brown tinge to them.    How unfortunate.  So it was time to go back to the wine shop.

Then I got to thinking about how truly unfortunate this really was.  Because one day someone will by those wines.  And likely it will be someone new to wine and they will not be impressed with their experience of drinking wine.  It’s this kind of situation that can ruin a potential wine drinker for life. 

I thought about going back and talking with the shop owner to explain to her the issue of the potentially bad bottles of wine sitting on her shelf.  Would she really care?  Would her suppliers support her?  Already her suppliers must know that what she has on her shelf is not good or they would have purchased it themselves.    So in the end, the suppliers of wines in these parts of the world are hurting themselves in the long run by allowing stores to sell wines that are simply abused and actually spoiled.  It is up to the industry to uphold the integrity of wine quality. 

Thus far, all the wines I’ve had at the hotels and resorts have been of good quality.  That’s a good sign.

Cheers.

      

The presentation of a bottle of wine has a few purposes.

• The first is to allow the patron of the restaurant to confirm that the bottle of wine is indeed the bottle ordered.  It is then up to the customer to evaluate the Winery, the Grape Variety, the Vintage and the Region.  After the green light is given the waiter or sommelier will proceed to open the wine.
• Traditionally the cork is then placed before the customer for his approval.  Smelling the cork is not recommended.  There is not too much to tell by smelling the cork and if it's a red wine you don't want to rub it on your nose.  A quick evaluation of the cork will suffice.  And if the cork is old or broken this does not mean the wine is bad.  Though it may be a prelude to the condition of the wine.
• After a small taste size portion is poured into the glass a 3 step evaluation should be conducted
• Proceed to swirl the wine in the glass gently to incorporate some air.  Air does help a wine show it's true characteristics.
• Appearance:  Is the wine the correct color?  Unless the wine is older, 5+ years,  a white wine should not be dark yellow or brown and a red wine should be a bright red or purplish color.
• Smell:  It's easier to look for what a wine shouldn't smell like rather than what a wine should smell like.  A wine should not smell like vinegar, nail polish remover or wet cardboard.  These are initial signs that a wine is not in proper condition.
• Taste:  A wine should not have the taste of any of the previously mentioned aromas.  It should be pleasant

Once the wine is approved the wine should be poured to the patrons, women first and  finishing with the evaluator of the wine.  Please keep in mind, the evaluation of the wine is not simply to decide if you like the wine.  It is to decide if the wine has a fault.  Only if the wine has a fault should it be replaced at the expense of the restaurant.
*It is important to note that 1 bottle out of every 12-bottle case is believed to have a wine fault so it is not so uncommon to come across a wine that is unsatisfactory. 

If you have any questions or comments please feel free to leave a comment here on the PengWine Blog!

      

The PengWine Summer Launch Party was great fun!  I was very happy to be in town to pour the new PengWine Fairy - Rose and the Royal wines for all of our guests that on Saturday.  Thank you to all of you that came out to say hi!  Below are some pics from the event.  Enjoy!

         


 

      

Enjoy this fun story about a woman's attraction for a great wine from Chile, the PengWine King. Meanwhile her husband senses something in the air.  This short film is 5 minutes long, so grab a glass of wine and enjoy!  And be sure to visit PengWine after the show!