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A MAILBAG COLUMN FROM AN ECCENTRIC SOMMELIER
News
Welcome, Lady Adelaide
Alas! The Quinta Do Vallado Adelaide 2015 is now available! Though my posts generally focus on a historical event related to the wine I’m writing about, today’s is all about NOW! There’s no time to look back because our latest IBO, an ultra-premium Douro Valley...
Thanks for the “New World,” Magellan!
When it comes to wine, oceanic influences are quite significant. Yet what happens in Casablanca, Chile is far different from Bordeaux, France. Sure, all oceans and seas are massive moderators, but think about coastal France, Portugal and Spain in comparison to...
Grapes are of the Essence
Every morning we wake up at a certain time on a certain day and we go about our routines. You probably have multiple clocks, from one hanging on the wall to your stove, your phone and on your wrist. But it hasn’t always been this way. For the majority of human...
Because Life Needs Good and Evil
Black and white. Chaos and order. Sinner. Sinless. Life is a constant search for the happy medium, the yin and the yang. It’s as renowned psychologist Jordan B. Peterson explains, “Order is not enough. You can’t just be stable, and secure, and unchanging, because...
Thank you, Lehman Brothers?
On this day, 13 years ago, the world broke out in a panic when Lehman Brothers filed for Ch. 11 bankruptcy. Still the largest bankruptcy filing in US history, it was the climax of the Great Recession of 2007-2009. Subprime mortgages were to blame, lending money to...
The Beginning and The End.
Alas, the sun has crossed the celestial equator from north to south. Summer is now quite uneasy, shifting into fall in the north, while life is springing into action down south. What a beautiful time of the year! When grapes are cut from the vine to create new wine,...
The Future of Wine
We humans are bold if nothing else. Unlike any other species (that we know of), only we have chosen time and again to go boldly where no other has gone before. This holds especially true to the modern European, the first to really “discover” ignorance. Though they...
Could Mozart Make Your Wine More Complex?
We usually do three things when drinking wine: look at it, smell it and taste it. We activate three of our five senses to understand what’s going on in the glass. I propose we go further by incorporating sound and touch. Surely what we’re listening to while...
“What’s My Next Question?” – Benjamin Kaplan
What’s My Next Question? On a random day like today 11 years ago, a legendary Harvard Law professor and lawyer, Benjamin Kaplan, died at 99 years of age. A rich, marked life that left an impact long after his last breathe. Apart from influencing the likes of Ruth...
Founder’s view | Financial insights outside the bottle
Luxury is far simpler than what we once thought it was
The pandemic shows that small things that were once taken for granted can simply vanish, in both our economic and social lives
On miscommunication and generational mismatches
Although frequently overlooked, communicating is an art that needs to be practiced and mastered at all levels.
A digital euro is coming. We should be worried
Beyond inflation on the horizon, the ECB plan paves a troubling control of our economic lives. We have to think through.
Prosperity is not automatic: a lesson from top wine producers
Longstanding winemaking families know how crucial it is to embrace foresight and invest in passion, diligence and uniqueness
A Great Reset to save democracy: rebooting the financial system
A reboot of the financial system is essential. For a sustainable future, with a plan that won’t leave citizens and responsibilities behind. Read part 3 of our view.
Reseting the monetary regime to achieve true freedom
A Great Reset solution has to simplify the banking structure’s relations to society, prioritizing people’s well-being. Read part 2 of our view.
A Mailbag Column from an Eccentric Sommelier
Would you bring your child to a winery?
DEAR READER, What a pleasure to be back! I admit it: these mailbags are now my favorite point of the week. Even during the contentious back-and-forth, I always enjoy opening my inbox to see words from you all. “Kind” ones, sometimes—but as you know from last week—I...
Our Sommeliers suggested wine
DEAR READER, I must be honest—I expected many more well wishes after posting that old journal entry. Everyone is modest when they say they don’t want well wishes, and so I expected there would be a few of you who saw through my “plea for privacy”. But, I forgive and I...
Beer vs Wine, a timeless debate…
DEAR READER, Blah blah blah let’s get right to it! Dear Sommelier Ferdinand, You’ve dropped some hints that you look down on beer. Why is this, Sommelier Ferdinand? You have a growing fanbase—surely, you’re aware the effect that your insults have? And before you...
What would you do if you found an expensive wine in a cellar?
DEAR READER, Never in my life have I been happier to pontificate about wine than at my computer desk. In person is stimulating, sure, but they always talk back at some point. My lovely readers, however, only speak when I like! This internet thing has utility!...
Ever heard of a wine cocktail?
DEAR READER, I hope some of you learned from the reader letter last week [hyperlink to Week Ten post] and checked your attics! You never know how much wine sits above you, waiting to be uncorked and decanted—on someone else’s dime! Dear Sommelier Ferdinand, I have a...
What on earth is a ‘Wine Decanter’?
DEAR READER, It’s come to my attention that many of you are ill-informed, misinformed, and frankly, uninformed about how wine is to be consumed. Were I only a wine enthusiast, it would be wholly dispiriting. But—wine is my profession, and I’m obligated to recognize...
Wine Reviews
IOsonoDONATELLA: introducing a work-of-art Brunello di Montalcino by Donatella Cinelli Colombini
Everything you need to know about this prestigious all-women Tuscan appellation of Brunello di Montalcino, one of the most famous winemaking villages in Tuscany
Introducing Boërl & Kroff, perhaps the best Champagne in the world
Read the story of this rare, highly demanded, handcrafted jewel of a French sparkling wine and invest in it
Introducing JM Fonseca 1911 Moscatel de Setúbal
Alti Wine Exchange introduces an exclusive Initial Bottle Offering of 50 rare bottles of 1911 Moscatel de Setúbal by famous Portuguese producer, José Maria de Fonseca.
The First Ultra-Premium Chilean Syrah Wine: Montes Folly
This is the story of a rare red wine coming from a pioneering winery in Chile, the story a pioneer winemaker in the name of Aurelio Montes who dared to plant vines on extremely steep vineyards to produce the best red wine he could possibly make, giving birth to his ‘Folly’, the first Ultra-Premium Chilean Syrah.
Chateau Coutet IBO
Nestled among the most prestigious Grand Cru properties, on the limestone plateau of Saint-Emilion where some of the finest Bordeaux wines are extracted from a rare terroir, Chateau Coutet has been owned and operated by the same family of wine makers for over 400 years, since 1601.
Wine Trading Academy
How to ensure safety when investing in fine wine
Wine investment is great for your portfolio, especially if you make sure to go for age-worthy options with provenance and stored under the best conditions
In the ‘everything bubble’ era, we plan ahead with alternative investments
While stocks, bonds, real estate and other assets go for tipping points, ‘underdog’ real assets can safeguard you from their downfalls
The right time for the irrefutable law of supply and demand
Unprecedented monetary expansion is pushing more and more discerned investors towards consumer products as a strategy for a bumpy road ahead
A simple secret to seek financial freedom with less investment risks
Money is tricky, but prospering does not have to be the same. In the face of quantitative easing and depreciations, real assets of quality offer safety and returns
How fine wine can help you build a pension strategy
Monthly investments in rare bottles in face of currency devaluation will create you a strong long-term portfolio
The world’s most expensive wines – and what they have in common (updated 2021)
With highest prices still commanded by two French regions, the finest investment-grade wines have some interesting traits. Meet them.
Top 10: the wines with the largest price growth, January-May 2020
In a period marked by covid-19, fine vintages from Portugal, Argentina and the US featured on the Alti Wine Indexes enjoy double-digit figures
Inflation cannot be dismissed. Fine wine is a long-term haven
Likely progression into fiat currency collapse will lead people into tangible assets. And your bottles are valuable ones
Fine wine prices are holding steady during the covid-19 pandemic
Age-worthy vintages are suffering considerably less volatility under the economic stress than the global stock market