Wine @ Cambodge

When I was invited to attend a spa opening in Cambodge (Cambodia written in French), I thought it is a great opportunity to practice my limited French after 15 weeks of elementary lessons. We (my husband too!) went onto the plane with my everyday French handbook and an intense curiosity since it is our first trip to this ex-French colony.

Our stop is Phnom Penh which is the capital city of Cambodge with about 2 million people. It is known for its French influenced architecture. Indeed, we saw a number of French styled buildings along the way from the airport to the hotel. It is a busy city - the traffic is heavy, populated by MPVs intertwined with motorcyclists carrying 3 to 4 piller riders. People are busy going about their everyday business. The preferred currency is US dollars for all forms of transactions, including buying food from the wet market.

We have a great host who filled our schedule with various site seeing and lots of great food. There are a number of French eateries in Phnom Penh but they are not exactly in authentic French style. I think it is due to the lack of suitable ingredients and the need to make it affordable. Service is great and unpretentious. We had almost non-stop dining throughout the 2 days of stay. As most of the guests in this trip do not drink wine, I have to settle with the wine-by-glass menu available.

Since I wanted to practice French, I decided to speak to a waitress with my ‘elementary’ accent to order my meal. It is probably my most interesting experience because she made it a point to correct my pronunciation and grammar! I did get my food right and she took the order with due diligence. Finally, when I wanted to ask for the label of the wine-by-glass menu, I realized I have run out of vocabulary. So, I just settled for a glass of white wine without knowing where it comes from.

To my relief, the wine turns out to be of reasonable quality. It is a blend of Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay, probably from South Africa. The chardonnay adds body to the wine which is rather short in length. However, it is a nice aperitif, especially after much hard work in getting my order pronounced properly. The dinner concluded with much laughter and joy.

C’est des vacances fantastiques!

Copyright of Wine Treasures Pte Ltd

By Cher Lim
Wine Treasures Pte Ltd
Website: http://www.wine-treasures.com/
Email: limce@singnet.com.sg

Why are there rose bushes in vineyards?

We just came back from a vacation in Margaret River and as usual, there are so many locations to visit with great food & wine awaiting us.

A friend of mine commented on the beautiful rose bushes that appeared at the end of vineyard rows while looking through my photographs. They are planted not just for aesthetic reason though. Both roses and grape vines are susceptible to the same diseases. Indeed, roses act as early warning of mildew which is a fungal disease. There are two main kinds of mildews: Powdery mildew (Oidium) which develops on all green parts of the vine. We can see white powdery growth of spores on the surfaces. If this mildew sets on the grapes, the fruit will not grow properly and will eventually split and rot. This fungus likes warm and shady environment and does not need a damp condition to survive.

The second deadly mildew is called Downy mildew which was brought over from American to Europe in the 19th century. It attacks all the green parts of the vine and leave behind patches of oily stains on the surface. Once attacked, the leaves will drop and photosynthesis inhibited. This fungus likes damp condition unlike that of Oidium.

Both fungus diseases can be treated by sprays of sulphur (for powdery mildew) and copper sulphate + lime solution (for downy mildew) once detected. Rose bushes help the vineyard team to catch sights of the fungus disease in its early stage to apply the proper treatment. Systemic application of fungicides is quite commonly used these days to keep the vines from such diseases. Rose bushes in such cases serve a greater aesthetic function.

Also on the photo, the nesting over the vines is used to protect the plants from birds and other animal attacks. Birds like to eat ripe grapes and they have learned to ignore bird-scarers. Animals like deer, boar also like ripe grapes. Young vines are very attractive food for them too. Therefore, the nesting is used often as a form of protection.

Copyright of Wine Treasures Pte Ltd

By Cher Lim
Wine Treasures Pte Ltd
Website: http://www.wine-treasures.com/
Email: limce@singnet.com.sg