Ascension Wine Estate in Matakana New Zealand - Darryl Soljan's blog

Archive for the ‘Wine’ Category

The Magic Wine Consumption Formula

By Darryl Soljan | Wine | Thursday 5th August 2010

Planning a wedding? Got a staff Christmas function to arrange later in the year? Family birthday celebration or christening to arrange?

Whatever the event, there will be a bunch of people there who will need feeding and watering to some extent.

I am regularly asked how much wine to buy for a party, wedding, function, event… and how much of each type.

Now of course every situation and group of people is different but below is my ’magic formula’ for working out how much wine to serve – magic because it is usually pretty accurate!

(more…)

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I’ve Been Drinking

By Darryl Soljan | Wine | Thursday 29th April 2010

Richard Prebble wrote a book called “I’ve Been Thinking”. I haven’t read it but I am guessing it is quite a short book.

I have decided that from time to time I will write a short Blog entry called “I’ve Been Drinking”. It will be shorter even than Richard’s book and way more interesting!

I do drink a fair amount of wine. Let’s call it ‘work’ because that’s what I call it. I am always happy to do overtime!

I drink mainly non-Ascension wine to benchmark where we are at, to learn what is happening elsewhere, and of course I do get a wee bit of enjoyment from this ‘work’ as well.

Lots of people ask me what I drink, which are my favourite wines. Well, I am actually (more…)

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Roussanne is not a Greek opera singer and Aspiran is not a painkiller

By Darryl Soljan | Wine | Monday 22nd February 2010

Why do so many people drink only Pinot Noir or Shiraz as reds and Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay as whites? Or all their reds from Australia and all their whites from NZ?

Why haven’t they tried a Gruner Veltiner, let alone a Plavic Mali or a Pedro Ximinez?

Why would most people consider Roussanne to be a Greek opera singer or that Aspiran was a painkiller when in fact they are grape varieties?

When was the last time you bought a wine that came from Portugal, Austria or Croatia?

How is it that wine, a simple beverage created to make life a bit more enjoyable, has the ability to cause angst, increase heart rates and generally paralyze some people in certain situations?

It’s fear people, fear! What we don’t know or understand can make us fearful.

I am going to provide the ‘secret’ – the key that will unlock your fear & open the wide, wide world of wine… (more…)

Posted in Wine | 29 Comments »

Great Legs and Old Age

By Darryl Soljan | Wine | Wednesday 14th October 2009

One of the things I love about working with wine is its ‘mystery’.

Wine is even more mysterious to those who don’t grow it and make it, and as a result I get asked a lot of questions.

Here are three of the most frequently asked questions, and some answers…

1. What are ‘legs’?

I am a ‘leg man’. Of course, legs are the lower limbs of a biped such as a human being, or any of the paired limbs of an animal, that support and move the body! Duh!

Betty Grable, Marlene Dietrich, Angie Dickinson and Jamie Lee Curtis all had great legs that were insured for millions!

However wine “legs” are the streaks of liquid that slide down the inside of the glass after (more…)

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How sticky hands can save you from ever washing dishes again!

By Darryl Soljan | Wine | Monday 30th March 2009

I am multi-tasking.

Seriously.

I am writing this Blog in between loading bins of Malbec & Cabernet Franc into the crusher. Awesome grapes! I have to keep washing the grape juice from my hands to prevent my keyboard going sticky!

However, my ‘multi-tasking’ capabilities, which are substantial (at the gym I catch up with my reading while at maximum pace on the ’step machine’ – see, getting fit AND learning at the same time) are not the subject of this Blog. My sticky hands are. (more…)

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