Wine Maker - John Davis; Pepper Tree Wines

' Pepper Tree ' wines is in Singapore. My first encounter with Pepper Tree Wines was during Wine for Asia 2007, together with me in the tasting round was the owner of 'Pepper Tree' himself; John Davis & some of the local distributor.

Today, the owner himself is in town & I have the great honour to meet up with him at my place. Togeher with him is Alick & Hesley from Delfi Singapore. The Singapore agent for Pepper Tree Wines.

Is an remarkable outstanding wines, both red and whites. Their prices might be along the $30 bands but is definately worth trying.

We were discussing about the drought situation in Australia and how some wineries has to pay additional taxes to the govt for tapping water from the river for vineyard irrigation. Indeed is really straining in terms of overheads. Remarkably to take note of, is that, the size of the grape is as small as that of a pea.

It may give you a more robust character but definately the yield is much less. Let's see how things you turn out for them this harvest. Given the fact that the harvest is getting earlier and earlier.

Army life

The time of the year has come for me to serve my due to the Nation or fondly known by our neighbours as "Little Red Dot". Is 3 months from my hatch day in July and there is qualifying period to come for this IPT then to opt in for RT(Remedial Trg).

And here I am to keep myself fit by attending IPT(IPPT Preparatory Trg). hey it save alot of time! I rather come for 8 sessions of training then a 20 sessions training.

Whereby, I will turn up at designated army camp for a 8 session of physical training. Today is the first day of training, was with my navy buddy John at a eastern side camp. All was fine except for a very long winded young man..other then that, we have to jog on roads rather on tracks. The reason?, the tracks is used for National Day Parade rehearsal...

Tired, and burning out soon from work and training..why all these training, since we are talking about 3rd generation soldiers..why can't we press buttons and let technology do the rest.

I am keeping mum, is my 7th ICT year, 3 years and I will R.O.D.(Run out date) and hope they don't place me in SCDF. . . :x

Signing off... Tired Tired Tired!

How many grape Varietals are there?

What's your guess? 1000s? 100s? 10s?

The correct answer is 1000s of them. Most varietals are used for dessert grapes, raisins or are rarely grown. Only a handful of about 30s are of International relevance.



Ever wonder the species name of the grapes that is used for wine making?

The species name used for making wine is known as ' Vitis vinifera ' and it is just one of the many species under the Vine family. Others for example are, Vitis amurensis, Vitis cariboa, Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia and Vitis berlandieri. Ultimately we only need to remember the wine that we are drinking comes from the species ' Vitis vinifera '.

Reds	Whites
Cabernet Franc Cabernet Sauvignon Carménère Garnache Grenache Malbec Merlot Nebbiolo Pinot Noir Sangiovese Syrah / Shiraz Tempranillo Zinfandel	Chardonnay Chenin Blanc Colombard Gewurztraminer (Traminer) Frontignac (Muscat) Macabeo Marsanne Pinot Gris (Pinot Grigo) Riesling Roussanne Sauvignon Blanc Semillon Viognier

The above are just some of the more commonly known grapes. Each and very varietal has it own characteristic and most need specified climate to allow it to grow to it’s fullest potential, this leads to why certain varietal is best grown in certain country, eg. Malbec is to Argentina, Carménère is to Chile.

Wine prices going North

A report in the local papers, The Straits Time, reported on 25th march '08. That the cost of Australia Wines is expected to go up.

This is not something new though but long expected by many in the industry, during my visit in Apr 2007, Australia has been facing drought for a long time. In the 25 march report states, ' The cost of 1megaliter of water in Australia cost $AUD300 has increased to $AUD1000 per megaliter, that is more then 3 times in increment.


The cost of water is one issue, the other issue is the of currency exchange rate, at one time $SGD1.35 will get you $AUD$1.oo. Good thing is that it has come down to $SGD1.25 to $AUD1.00.


Many has thought that wine is a very lucrative business which in fact is not true.

See below on the breakdown:

Take for example an bottle of yellowtail; the selling price is at $19.50 during promotion. At $19.50, $7.65 goes to duties(provided alcohol content is below 13.5%, duties will be higher if alcohol content is above 13.5%).
With that you are left with $11.85, don't forget about the cost of land freight from vineyard to port and the sea freight that follows..

Upon reach the shore of destination, other hidden cost like, eg. Trucking cost to warehouse and warehousing cost. Oh.. don't forget we need to pay a $SGD40.00 for permit, the permit is a piece of paper that indicates what are the wines you are retrieving out from the warehouse.

Alternatively, if you find Australian costly, you may want to venture out to try Chilean wine, wines are good and price competitive then their Australian counterpart.

This increment is inevitable, I believed the Australians are reluctant to increase the prices but due to the cost of production and the yield, has given them no other alternative.

I am, also quite reluctant to increase the price too. My opinion is, Australia is not the only wine producing country, unlike crude oil, the prices are fixed. In wine, if you feel the prices is not right, venture out, be adventurous! there are up and coming wine producing countries like; Chile, Argentina, South Africa..they are worth giving a try.

Pinot Noir Grapes from Rochford Estate




Sales Manager, Rochford: Rob O'Connell and myself (2007)




Wine from Rochford Estate

Vino~!

Sense of Boredom

Boredom seems to be setting in on me lately, I don't have such feeling before, something seems to be missing.

I used to go out with friends to have our teh-tarik session till he was busy with someone, and other mate of my is facing some life-crisis lately and he has been asking me to chill out with him, someone to accompany him for drinking, which I have turn down all of it. ( I did promised him that I will join him at least for one, so i better make good my promise!) What are friends for right?

I guess another factor could be a buddy of my that we get along very well with is away for an internship, miss those chats and times we had together.

I think I need to do some adjustment and refocus of life issues, some many things in hand for me to handle, but at least on the Church front i can lower my pace maybe till August, where I will be busy again for Ministry work.

Didn't really have a good sleep, slept past midnight, waking up at 5.30am for Easter Sunrise Service and it was back to Church for Easter Combined Service.

Something with regards to my cousin-sister cropped up and she has pressed the panic button, so got to go to her rescue. orh...and need to wake up to do recoding from History Channel at 3am.


*Blurred*

Quotes

'Living a Life of Endless Hope'

or

'A Life of Hopeless End'

Maundy Thursday...Holy Week

Just in time for Maundy Thursday Service, Service was by Pastor. Lee Yam Kai,(hi folks!). A short one, with Communion all in, we ended before 9.30pm.

Sleep time, tomorrow is Good Friday!

My Experience with 'Tui Na' - TCM

Well..today is my 2nd session of Tui Na with Eu Yan Sheng . Tui Na itself has a history that dates back to the Shang Dynasty of China, as early as 1700 B.C. Much has improved for my back problem, though the markings by "cupping" also known as "Ba Guan".

Ba Guan is known as Cupping, La Guan is know as Gliding Cupping. You may want to view a clip I found: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cdm8BVVf3mA&feature=related .

So remember, when you see me, don't smack on my back ya? =) for the time being la..

Are you wasting your Talents?

Matthew 25:14-30

The Parable of the Talents

In context, the most precious talents we have is time. So are we using out time wisely? & Why not consider doing the things you know and do best at?

Recently, I attended a meeting and the talent of time was not well used. We spent more time then we needed. . . .I shall stop here and not disclose so much.

Cost of time? : Priceless

Moving Foward!

Morning has broken...with bright sunlight

Alas, there was sunlight for today and it lasted the whole day, a good break from the wet weather we had for the past week.

It was really good to be able to wake up and see the sunlight, i was so worried that I might be bitten by snakes, since my mum spotted one last night. Phew~!

Just got back from gym and having Bak Kut Teh now. Sleeping soon~ got to help out my brother in his beancurd shop.

Cold weather and Snakes

A near missed for me, as I came home and walk up the stairs my mum let out a loud scream from behind me, a snake dropped from behind and fell onto the floor.. it was a really big commotion. hysterical!!

Dad was just behind, quickly he told a bloom and use the handle portion to wack hard at the snake, it is a small one though, measuring 15 to 20cm, girth that the size of you last finger. phew..close shave..


Argh..just hate the rain, been raining since noon till now! all thanks to La Nina phenomenon. Yes, at least no need for air-conditioning or fan.

The wet weather must have caused the snake to migrate into my house.

Alpha Worhsip

Tiring Times

It has been raining for the past 1 week; wet and humid, hardly do you see the sunlight. I managed to call in the repairman to service the water-pump for my pond at least the water in the pond will be clean for the time being.

Other issue that is worrying me is my dad, the pain in his neck is getting worst after he got back from his hong Kong trip. I have to massage his neck twice a day with "Deep Heating Rub" . That really lessen his pain by more then half.

He tried going down to Eu Yan Sang today but those Tui Na Master are all on off-duty. So we have to go down again tomorrow morning. Let's hope after the Tui Na session will help to relieve his pain for good, of cos, he need a few session of Tui Na to be effective.

Another health issue again, that of my mum, she has been coughing badly since her return from Hong Kong trip(i suspect is the cold weather there). She complained that the cought has caused her to feel pain in her abdominal area. Already bought her cough syrup, with plenty of water and abstaining from spicy food should help.

Sigh... hopefully all these will be over soon.. .. I need some peace & tranquility (for entertainment, I am watching Discovery Channel "Race to Mars")

Flu With No Symptom

Doctor told me recently during my ENT checkup that i could have flu, which I said I am not aware of it..cos there was no running nose except for the block nose which i still have every morning i wake up.

Prior to that, in the month of January, I experienced muffed hearing on the right ear & ringing or tinnitus on the left..that last almost 2weeks and towards the end of that 2 weeks i experienced vertigo.

I remember waking up seeing the ceiling spinning an a terrible headache follows. I thought to myself is this going to be with me for the rest of my life? you can see the fear in me. I actually affect my mood badly.

And just yesterday this block nose got worst, both nostril was blocked and i could hardly breath and need the aid of my Nasal Spray to clear the congestion. And the 'Desloratadine Tab' as standby in case it get worst, which in fact it did the day before.

So I am just hoping everything will be fine, 4mths later will be my next review, a sound test will be done from there, Doctor will determine whether do I need to go for a scan.

Been wanting to hit to the pool or the gym, blamed it on the bad weather here..it has been raining for the whole week & I am glad I managed to make it to the gym on friday nite =) right after my gym and threadmill rotuine it is off to the airport to fetch my parents from HK.

Feeling tired and sore. . . .

Sweet Spanish wine to unwind



Much needed medication

Retreat. . . A time of silent

Away on a Church Retreat to JB, we left at the hours where secuirty was not tighten to it's max. Friends that came the next day need their fingerprint imprint to clear custom.

This retreat is slightly different from the past that I attendend, this is my 1st "Silent Retreat" and it is really silent.. no communications with your room-mates, I didn't even watch TV, went straightto bed after my quiet time at 11pm.

Sleeping at 11pm is considered early for me as I am a late-owl. It was an early sunrise for me the next day, managed to wake up by 6am to prepare for Sunrise Service followed by breakfast.

The session at 4pm with Holy Communion. We clear custom easily on our way back home..coming in from Second Link and all the way to the Eastern part of Singapore where i stay. Thanks for the ride Dairus.

Pity those that are entering JB.

Changi Terminal 3 T3

Another week of home alone..Ha ha reminds me of the movie "Home Alone". My parents travel quite frequently on the average of at least once a month, mainly on Cruise.

This time round they are on a fly-cruise tour, their second time. The first was last year, where they flew to Italy and went on cruise. This year they are off to Hong Kong and cruise around to places like China, Macau, Vietnam . . . . .

I am looking forward to my Beijing trip in June.. just 2 months ahead of Beijing Olypmic 2008. Meeting up with J and touring around the different proviences =)

Is this the $800 Chair??

1st Day Alpha Course 5

An eventful start to the new season of Alpha. More participants then we expected. Everything started off well.. and let's continue praying and uphold our participants and facilitators.

The first Session ended with facilitators kneeling down in prayers. Another moment when God demonstrate his sovereignty our me. Been a long time since i last kneel down in prayers.

Kneeling has it meaning, it reminds us of our servanthood and God's Lordship over us. It also teaches us to be humble and submit to authority. The last time when i was on my knees was during Holy Communion..nevertheless... is a nice experience.

Washing of Feet & Alpha 5 Training

The Church just conducted it's Alpha Season 5 leaders training session. We had this washing of feet session. My very first experience in this Ministry. I came out spiritually different. Learn to humble myself as a servant to serve with joy and obedience.

I am thankful for those that came forward to offer themselves to the Lord. Is not easy, it involved sacrifices of your time from family, work, friends.. is 13 weeks long. Is not something anyone can commit to willingly.

Let us all receive the participants with God's love..pray pray pray. May you all love them and be blessed in return.






Ben Ho conducting the training.





Mock-up group.

Crazy Pilots!

Since the Singapore Airshow is running over at Changi, I am curious to know how and jet-fighter power up it's turbine. I did a search but nothing fruitful. But however found some interesting stuff at YouTube instead.

Alrite..sharing of the clips I found.. enjoy! =)





I bet those passanger inside..if ever will frighten the daylight out of them.