Sunday, November 22, 2009

Return of the Prodigal Blogger



No promises.......

However, I should be updating again soon with news of Christmas drinking.
Absence has been due somewhat to work but largely due to a complete and utter disillusionment with wine in Korea. No excitement or bargains were forthcoming and going into wine shops just led to a feeling of 'seen it all before'.

This feeling has not really changed but Christmas demands cheer and cheer requires alcohol and one cannot toast the birth of baby jesus with Prime Max and London Pride alone.

On the radar is Champagne, Sauternes, Port, a big bastard red, something old world and civilised and a depressingly over priced white Burgundy. Also there is talk of making mulled wine, something which I like the idea of more than I like the reality of.

Possible changes on the blog in the new year with a move away from just wine to more of a Seoul luxury guide. Please bear in mind that I consider a fried egg on toast one of life's greatest luxuries.

Merry November, get your livers in training.

3 comments:

Steve Bachmann said...

Wouldn't the US-Korean free trade agreement eliminate all wine duties on wine from the U.S. if the Congress ever gets it ratified? I would think that could cause an explosion of interest in fine wine given how high the duties are now. Look at the upsurge in interest in Hong Kong if you'd like any example of what a lower duty can create.

squirrelandgman said...

One would hope so.

However, we are not exactly awash with 'fine' Chilean wine and that deal has been in place for some time. Also, I don't know where you are from but in the UK we get very little in the way of good US wine. We get the bulk crap and the overpriced cult wines and all the good, well priced stuff seems to stay in the US. And fair play to them for that.

I am more hopeful that the EU free trade deal will improve things here but I am not confident that anything will sate the greed of the importers.

Steve Bachmann said...

I am in San Francisco. Many US producers have had the luxury of selling out their full production domestically so historically had little need to cultivate export markets. That's changed now in this economy.