[Event]

 

We headed over to SkyBar at Traders Hotel Kuala Lumpur for its 11th Year Anniversary Party on 8 July 2017. The party featured guest DJs taking turns on the decks, providing various tunes to keep guests entertained – from the chill tunes of DJ KC and Kiddo, to the hard EDM style of DJ Pennie, while DJ Mellissa Jo provided the final set of the night.

 

Photo credits: Andy Kho Photography (using his hobby cam)

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Wine Talk App Launch

 

The Wine Talk app is an addition to Wine Talk, Malaysia’s largest online wine shopping website. The app was created to allow users to always remember a good bottle, building a community of wine enthusiasts who can chat and share wines while keeping track of their personal favourites with various features of functions.

The CMO of Wine Talk said “The Wine Talk app is the app I’ve been waiting for. It’s a digital wine buddy that will tell me about the wine I’m drinking, keep a record of the ones I like and will allow me to talk to other wine drinkers. But most of all, it’ll let me buy wines on the go.”

 The Wine Talk app focuses on four main functions: Scan, Share, Social and Shop. The app comes with a built-in scanner that allows users to scan the label of a wine they enjoy and instantly get all the information available; including ratings, price and availability. Should the wine image not be listed, app users can add the image and eventually create a database of every wine available. The social aspect of the app will allow users to communicate with others and share their favourite wines, get opinions, food pairings, provide tasting notes, compare palates and simply discuss anything and everything about all alcohol beverages.

The app features a cellar that captures your wine drinking preference and builds a taste profile based on how well you’ve rated wines in the database. Once the wines are rated 3 stars and above, as well as the ones you mark as a favorite, the data is captured to create an easy-to-read wine profile that will help you understand your personal wine drinking style. This will act as a guide to help you pick out wines and eliminate confusion or difficulties that many wine drinkers face when it comes to purchasing wine in a store.

If you’ve found something you like, the Wine Talk app is connected to the web store and will allow you to make quick and easy purchases while enjoying all the same benefits of the webpage with a few extras. Users across Malaysia (East Malaysia included) can place their orders for doorstep delivery while those within the Klang Valley can enjoy extra fast delivery using the three (3) hour or same day delivery service.

The Wine Talk app is currently available for download on the Apple App Store and Android Play Store. The app is free and first purchases come with an incentive of RM35 off RM150 with code: MOBWTAPP

 

 

BEER and CHEESE SET (RM186)

 

Winetalk also has a beer and cheese set that can be delivered in 90 minutes and contains Asahi ‘Super Dry’ Beer (6 x 320ml can) and a Cheese Platter by La Bodega with a selection of four (4) imported European cheeses.

Asahi Super Dry is a premium lager beer from Japan and is distributed in Malaysia by Carlsberg Malaysia (read about the launch here – https://timchew.net/2011/12/22/asahi-draught-launch-at-double-tree-131211/). Asahi Super Dry is brewed in a unique karakuchi style to give a clean, crisp & refreshing taste with no bitterness.

 

 

The Cheese Platter is by La Bodega and comes with a selection of 4 imported European cheeses (varies according to stock):

·       70gm of iberico cheese in olive oil

·       90gm of camembert reo cheese

·       90gm of brie de meaux cheese

·       100gm of blue cheese  

·       Served with walnuts, dried apricot, fresh quince paste, Reganas Crackers and French Baguette

 

 

Apart from that, I also received a bottle of Domaine Emile & Rose – Languedoc, France (which you can order for RM82.00) which I thought went really well with the cheese platter!

The Domaine Emile & Rose winery is situated in the heart of the Languedoc, in the small village of Corneilhan just north of Beziers. Caroline and Marcel Gisclard, the actual owner, took over the family vineyard inherited from Caroline’s grandparents in 2004. To honour them, the estate was named Emile and Rose, corresponding to the names of family ancestors. The vineyard consists of low-production plots spread in small hills, where Carignan rub shoulders with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault, Grenache and the lesser-known Aramon or White Carignan grapes.

The estate is certified organic, so no chemicals are used in the vineyards, while any treatments in the estates are done using biodynamic methods; all harvest are done manually and parcel per parcel, vinified in micro-cuvees without any additives (yeast, enzymes, sulphur) and ageing is done within the estate in stainless steel, oak barrels, or even in ceramic jar – a century-old practice.

Domaine Emile & Rose an example of ‘boutique’ winery – small production of great wines with great characters, extremely friendly, accessible yet complex enough for any connoisseurs.

Domaine Emile & Rose ‘Les 5 Sceaux’ is made from 100% Cinsault which is an old, traditional grape varietal from the Languedoc. When they are young, the vines are extremely prolific, giving high yields of grape low in tannins and alcohol, so it used to be popular to produce basic table wines until a couple of decades ago when it fell out of favour and got progressively replaced by more popular grapes like Syrah. Meanwhile, for the past few years, it came back in popularity with great wines coming from old vines, like this one, sourced from the estate’s parcels of over 60 years old of age. The wine has a medium body, and on the palate it is fruity, with berries and cherries combined with fresh herbs and earthy touches. It is an easy drinking wine that is smooth and friendly.

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