Discovering a special vineyard during a recent trip to Italy still has an excited Curtis Marsh salivating.

Having just returned from Tuscany, the current issue of Wine Spectator caught my immediate attention. Its front cover – emblazoned with the words “Brunello di Montalcino, best wines, restaurants, hotels” – had an evocative picture of the medieval hill-top village that brought back a spontaneous flood of experiences and gastronomic elation.

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Red Bordeaux en primeur 2007, an underappreciated, early drinking, mid-term cellaring vintage for devotees, not investors.

En Primeur or wine futures has its logic, after all we are dealing with the most collectable wine in the world, the consumer pays upfront, supposedly at a discount to the projected market price, taking title of an unfinished wine that they will receive in two or three year’s time, the Bordelaise château proprietors achieve a contingent source of finance in an industry that is inordinately capital intensive.

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Our wandering palate cruises down the Margaret River, discovers the pleasures of sin.

The chardonnay crusade continues with a stunner from Peccavi vineyard, raising the stakes among the heavyweights and proven form of Margaret River, Western Australia.

There is a certain expectation of Margaret River chardonnays, both in terms of a fleshy, juicy, intense style and reputation for exemplary quality with the bar set high by well-established icon producers such as Brookland Valley, Cullen, Leeuwin Estate, Moss Wood and Pierro.

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Cold beer is always good but there are several more sophisticated ways to partner this most popular of Asian cuisines, writes Curtis Marsh.

There is a great deal more complexity and flavor in Thai cooking than many other Asian cuisines and, contrary to perception, it can be paired successfully with wine.

I can fully relate to an ice-cold beer if you are eating at a stall in the sweltering heat of Bangkok. However, beer does not appease the chilli factor and, as the locals suggest, warm green tea is a better solution to extinguish the fire.

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Within the steep slopes and valleys of Sancerre, Sauvignon Blanc reflects the individual soils and microclimates of its terroirs, and is a world apart from the popular New Zealand wines of the Marlborough region.

The entire world seems to be producing Sauvignon Blanc and the whole world willingly drink it. But wine consumers tend to identify Sauvignon Blanc with the New World rather than the time-honored names of Sancerre or Pouilly Fume in France.

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When buying wine in Asia, the first question you should be asking your merchant is: How do you transport and store your wine?

Many consumers are unaware that wine is a perishable product, a ‘living thing’ that undergoes a delicate, continuous transformation of chemistry and integration of organisms. Even those who are acquainted with wine often disregard these facts, believing that it is resilient in its youth and that the glass bottle it lives in provides sufficient robust protection. In actuality, wine is almost as fragile and spoilable as any other fresh produce and it requires specialised handling in every step from production to the point of consumption.

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Curtis Marsh confesses he cannot get enough Nebbiolo, indeed more than just a passing phase, it is becoming an obsession.

It is not often that I have a preoccupation for a single variety; after all, I do purport to have a ‘wandering palate’. I was for a period last year, fixated with Sangiovese or Chianti Classico to be more precise, having been to Tuscany twice in three months and totally besotted in the idyllic countryside and indigenous produce. Although I remain an advocate, this infatuation has diminished somewhat with the passage of time.

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The noble sweet wines from Sauternes and Barsac in Bordeaux, France are not only underappreciated for their extraordinary complexity but are also misunderstood as being less than versatile!

One of nature’s miracles and an aberration in viticulture is a peculiar mould that transforms the otherwise tart and shy white grape, Semillon, to nectar of unparalleled concentration of exotic fruits, honeyed sweetness, sumptuous richness and a creamy viscous texture, yet with a harmonious marmalade-like piquancy, pleasant bitterness and powerful natural acidity that imparts a perceived dryness.

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The Wandering Palate’s UK correspondent, Alistair Scott considers the gratifyingly tangible aspects of a good old fashion,, family-run local wine merchant.

So, what makes a great wine shop…or off-licence or bottle shop if you prefer? What is it that works best for you as a wine buyer? When the door bell pings and you look inside the store, what excites you and where are the best examples of the species to be found?

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Indelible purity of fruit, fresh acidity and minerally redolent, texturally seamless with exhilarating tension – 2007 is clearly a harmonious vintage augmenting the stellar evolution of Sugarloaf Ridge.

To the frustration of many a wine enthusiast, wine Intel travels a lot easier than the bottles and invariably one finds themselves drooling over the prose of a sublime wine of miniscule production only to realize it is practically unobtainable in these parts.

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