踏入六月，天氣明顯轉熱，是時候喝帶甜味的紅酒了!
今個端午節長假期的試酒, 我們為您帶來在意大利有上千年釀造歷史的「乾葡萄酒」。
這種稱為Amarone的意大利獨特酒種，釀造的過程繁複, 通常需時3至5年。每年初秋，農民把葡萄採收後，會先閣在室內的棚架上風乾三至四個月，直到下年二月，葡萄的水份會揮發掉大半，而留在乾葡萄體內的，盡是糖份和葡萄的精華。酒更會在橡木桶內陳釀3 到5年，可以說一點一滴都是釀酒師時間和心血的結晶。
由於果肉高度濃縮， Amarone帶有明顯的乾果香甜，酒體豐厚，濃郁有勁。而且殘糖的含量比較高，令酒體帶甜味，非常吸引討好。加上經過長時間的木桶熟成，酒質更細緻柔滑，重木香並深具架構。而提起Amarone，很多人都會立即想起著名品牌Masi。
這次試酒我們為您帶來Masi Amarone 的兄弟，Masi Campofiorin, 一款以相似手法釀造的甜味葡萄酒。Campofiorin 是市面少有採用二次發酵方式 ” Double Fermentation” 釀造的紅酒。以新鮮葡萄，混合風乾葡萄釀造而成，味道討好獨特，比一般紅酒豐厚，而更具深度。酒體帶Amarone的香甜，香氣澎湃。如果您還未嚐過Amarone，不妨以Campofiorin作為意大利酒之旅的好開始。
到時我們還會試Masi 旗下的白酒Masianco, 一款帶有點點芒果香味的清新白酒，很適合配端午節的晚飯呢。
A True Discovery of Italian Wine – Masi Wine Tasting at Noble Wine Cellar
Dear Friends,
In this week’s wine tasting, we will bring you Masi, one of the few recognized names for Amarone!
Amarone is a traditional rich Italian dry red wine made from the partially dried grapes. The making process is a bit different from ordinary red wine. In Amarone, grapes harvested in October were kept on straw mats for 4 months to dry. This process is called appassimento or rasinate (to dry and shrivel) in Italian. This concentrates the remaining sugars and flavours. Since the residual sugar is higher than ordinary dry wine, more than 4 grams of sugar per litre, the resulting wine is sweeter, much condense in aromas and has a dry fruit taste.
In Amarone, the quality of the grape skin is a primary concern as that component brings the tannins, colour, and intensity of flavours to the wine. The process of desiccation not only concentrates the juices within the grape but also increases the skin contact of the grapes. The drying process further metabolizes the acids within the grape and contributes to the overall balance of the finished wine. Among the few brand names of Amarone available in Hong Kong, Masi may consider as one of the most famous ones.
In this week’s tasting (June 4th to 6th), we are going to introduce you to Masi Campofiorin, a special wine using similar way as for the Amarone, freshly picked grapes and a percentage of semi-dried grapes were used to make the wine. This double fermentation technique gives wines greater concentrations of colour and aromas with a bigger structure and a longer life. It is truly the wine that you should not miss! During the tasting, we will also try Masi Masianco, a delicious white wine with mango flavour.
See you this weekend!
