FYI - since y’all have access to Costco, I thought I’d bring this up. Wine Spectator has just released the Kirkland Signature Bordeaux Supérieur 2009 in its 31-March advance newsletter. WS rates the wine as very good and one of its best Bordeaux buys at US$8/75cl. 16,000 cases were produced, and I guess I’m assuming these are distributed within Costco on a basis other than a don’t-try-to-sell-Bordeaux-in-Taiwan basis (probably a reasonable assumption). WS recommends drink this now. In general, Bordeaux’s 2009 vintage is rated very highly. At US$96 per case, this might be a good value. WS is fairly stuffy/conservative when it comes to recommending wine. I pay a couple bucks a month for their opinion - for what that’s worth. I don’t have a membership to Costco, so I haven’t tasted this.
Point of reference, in the same newsletter WS recommends another Bordeaux, Château Léoville Las Cases St.-Julien 2009, as collectible at US$350/75cl or US$4,140 per case; best through 2020-2035 (98/100). That’s way out of my league, but surely it’s a sign this Kirkland is keeping pretty good company.
In a somewhat related matter, I was reading yesterday about the Chinese money buying up lesser known vineyards in Bordeaux.
They now own/control several of the lesser-known, but well regarded marques. They are shipping entire year bottling straight back to China. None is going to local or outside markets.
They are putting needed money into older wineries, so that is a good thing. But they are removing the product from its usual market completely.
Anyway, weird things in the world. Thanks again for the info.
(also read some good reviews of the CostCo boutique beer brews - not tried them yet)
Also somewhat related, I was reading on the Dept of Agriculture website that the government will be licensing and promoting local wine- and beer-making as part of it’s “rural regeneration” campaign.
[quote=“finley”]Also somewhat related, I was reading on the Dept of Agriculture website that the government will be licensing and promoting local wine- and beer-making as part of it’s “rural regeneration” campaign. [/quote]
Always good, to an extent, to hear of an initiative like this.
Right here in Taiwan. I agree, it’s a nice idea, and I await the results with … interest. They might develop whole new techniques that produce something completely unique. Taiwan has a lot of different microclimates, and it seems to me that certain locales might emerge as ideal for growing and brewing. I can imagine european-style (bottom-fermented) lagers coming from cool high mountain regions, for instance.
On the other hand, they might just plonk down vast, ugly, gas-sucking refrigerated breweries on what used to be farmland in Gaoshiung (“hello mate don’t I know your brother the mayor how’s the wife here’s a little hong bao for you”) that churn out that sweet, red stuff you get in 7-11 for NT$129.
The Chinese have been doing the same with Australian vineyards, buying then up to establish a brand in China, it also helps that they can get residency visas.
There are some vineyards making their own wine in Taiwan but it is that terrible sweetened stuff, I have no doubt that one day somebody will get their act together to produce some decent wine. Grapes grown in Taiwan are pretty tasty though!
[quote=“finley”]Also somewhat related, I was reading on the Dept of Agriculture website that the government will be licensing and promoting local wine- and beer-making as part of it’s “rural regeneration” campaign.
[/quote]
Have a link for that (even if in chinese)?
Would be interesting to read it.
If the government would promote microbreweries (and get rid of that antiquated law in Taipei that says no brewer but Taiwan Beer can brew in city limits), then they actually might be onto something!
[quote=“CTaitung”]Have a link for that (even if in chinese)?
Would be interesting to read it.
If the government would promote microbreweries (and get rid of that antiquated law in Taipei that says no brewer but Taiwan Beer can brew in city limits), then they actually might be onto something![/quote]
Sorry, I didn’t pay much attention - the article was generally about the rural regeneration programme and the licensed-brewery part was just a one-liner. No details. You may be able to find by searching the COA for “rural regeneration”.
But yeah - the TTL’s ongoing monopoly on brewing is just ridiculous. I understand the laws have been relaxed somewhat, and Taiwan is an ideal place for microbreweries. I’d quite like to get into that myself in the future.
Sadly, from what I’ve observed of the rural regeneration programme so far, it’s just a thinly-veiled excuse to allow rich people to buy up large tracts of land and put ugly buildings on them. You never know, though. It might actually work out.
I don’t think the new buildings could be any uglier than the old buildings, in fact most of the new buildings are pretty decent looking IMHO. When I mean old I mean the concrete box shape structure favoured on this island.
I’ve got no objection to them building nice houses (and yes, some of them are not bad). What bothers me is that the rural regeneration programme was supposed to be, well, regeneration, while remaining, um, rural. AFAIK the law was carefully framed to allow farmers to acquire nice houses while operating a farm. Excellent plan. That’s exactly the sort of environment that would foster microbrewery startups and boutique wineries. In practice, 95% of the buildings going up are illegal - what is supposed to be farmland gets concreted over and used for a car park. This is going to disastrous for the country because productive agricultural land is being essentially vapourized, while precious capital that might be invested productively is simply being consumed, to pay the hyperinflated prices that farmers can now charge for (nominally) agricultural land. No new wealth is being created to make up for these dual losses. That’s NOT regeneration. I think the loopholes are now being closed, but thoughts of stable doors and bolted horses spring to mind.
Anyway, this is a bit OT so I’ll get off my soapbox now
