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Associated Info: "THE GRAPEVINE"
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 SWINES with Umbrellas! |
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 The four ladies |
Although Friday started dismal and rainy, it looked as though the weather would burn off and be fine by lunchtime , so at midday two 4wd trucks made for the hills. |
 Henry in charge of scoring |
Joining for the first time was Henry Kaye from Phuket and two lovely Thai lasses, Sirita and Noongnood and as the Swines emerged on the ridgeline of Khao Yai, they became swallowed by cloud. |
 Under cover |
This was also the second durian harvest of the year, so during the ascent they were met by several trucks loaded with durian and at one confrontation, had to back up due to the belligerence of one driver. |
 Sylvia in charge of decanting |
Once at the site, the food and wines were laid out, when a light rain shower forced a transfer to the old abandoned restaurant. |
 Sirita and Nongnood |
The winning wine with 189 points from a possible 280 pts. was an Australian, Angus cab sav. correctly judged by only Andrea and Henry. 2nd and 3rd on 159 and 158 was the Italian Zinfandal Nearo Amaro and the Californian Epiphany resp with the Jacob's Creek Shiraz 1 pt. back with 157 pts. |
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Another Jacob's Creek scored lowest, correctly judged by Squall and Jacques.
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Three new faces, all Kiwis from Christchurch, joined SWINES for the 80th tasting which was held at our normal mountain ridge abandoned restaurant. |
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For the first time in over a year, it was decided to use the
old route which begins by the bridge in Lamai and while it was
shorter, the going was heavy and quite brutal on truck and
passengers, even resulting in a carefully wrapped broken glass, as
the truck came off a boulder and bounced those sitting in the back.
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This time the Countess was the only female and the gallant Kiwis made it known she was highly appreciated. |
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The scoring was conducted at the Coconut Bar on the beach at Lamai
with Trevor, Craig and Andrea picking the winner while Trevor, Craig
and Jacques correctly picked the loser.
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First was a Spanish red from Jacques scoring 173 points from a
possible 240 2nd............., 3rd........... last was Fat
Bastard from France. Oddly enough the winner was the cheapest at B499 and the last place cost B650
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Countess Andrea is furious with her neighbour Capt. Solley after she
hand carried a precious gift of select bottled olives from Europe
for the SWINES. Apparantly she passed them to Solley to give to
Cap'n Squall but they never arrived, Solley and his housekeeper Da,
scoffed the lot in a five day olive gutsing binge. Hmmmmmm !
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JULY 20 2010With most of the original SWINES in place, it was decided to hit the mountains and hold tasting no. 79 at altitude. |
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Lindsay and Estelle were back from Margaret River with some hand
carried wines and Alec brought another "yarpie" mate, Neill.
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Alien was back as was Countess Andrea, who thrived surrounded by mature males. After tasting bottle no. 4 some body language began to develop between Alec , Alien and the Countess, ending with the latter pair tumbling down the mountain. |
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Memorable quotes were Squall remarking "The Countess being the only
female present " when in actual fact Lindsay's wife Estelle was
present but was explained away with a Dame Edna quote how plain
people never stand out in a crowd., and the Countess with " The
longer I cum, the better the wine tastes " Well ! |
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Appropriately Lindsay's Flying Fish from Margaret River took first place with 190 points from 240 followed by Tyrone Estate and Zuccardi (Malbec from Argentina) on equal 176 pts then Rey de las Andes, Queen Adelaide with Jacques' Marquis du Chasse bringing up the rear scoring just 118 pts proving the frogs are selling all their crap wines to Asia. |
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Winetasting no.78 was special in that visiting professional chef Ralph prepared the lunch. |
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Three new Swines were inducted, Frankie and Ja from B1 villas and retired army specialist Warren (Wasser) from Oz and the nine tasters sampled five wines with the soups and the roast lamb. |
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Bob and Sylvia (Samui Mountain Village) offered a Californian Pinot Noir which was judged 2nd with 223 points from a possible 360. |
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The surprising winner was a Jacobs Creek Shiraz with 262 pts while another two Australian wines Deakin Estate and Lindemans on 219 and 218 pts resp. came 3rd and 4th. No mistake with wine no.5 which scored 110 (two abstentions) and was the Don Gallo house wine offered by Squall. |
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A stinking hot day so the SWINES decided to conduct Winetasting No.77 at the mountain sala which is now declared SWINES property. |
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With Neil back on the island and newbies Oliver and Warren joining Squall and Bill from Samui Mountain Village, this tour had three 4WD's to choose from. |
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It was while shopping for snacks on the way, Warren had to bail out and take his mate and girl to hospital having had a motor bike prang. |
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This time we opted for a short trip and scoring afterwards at Bikini Bar, so our mountain sala it was and after four samplings it was down to Lamai to sample wine no.5 and tab the scores. |
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Winning with 97 points from a possible 200 was a South African Two Oceans Cab Sauv., 2nd with 92 pts was the Oz Aspen Estate followed by the Argentinian Terralis then Alma de Chile with the awful Carlo Rossi on just 59 pts. |
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The Paradise girls having harassed SWINES for another outing, it was decided to hold a tasting at the popular Na Muang waterfall as it had a supply of somtam and BBQ chicken stalls thus not having to rely on Capt. Solley again. |
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Bill and Graham from Samui Mountain Village with Squall and Solley paired off and three excellent reds were offered. |
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The girls joined the tasting where one of them actually scored four 10's for wine No.2 which resulted in a tie on 93 points between a Hardys Merlot and Wyndham Estate Shiraz with the Argentine "Trivento" 3rd on 68 pts. |
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As usual the cool setting beneath the massive hardwoods was a nice
respite from the heat.
The group then drove to Lamai's Bikini Bar to do the unwrapping and scoring while ogling the bevy of ladyboys playing beach volleyball below |
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Winetasting No. 75 Addendum
The SWINES have asked to have the Tasting No.75 amended to include a mention of our illustrious newbie first time taster "Stash". Stash speaks fluent French and English and apparently belongs to Polish nobility being the son of Poland's greatest painter Balthus (Google him and check out the painting "Teaching young girl guitar") and resides in Switzerland and cruises the world on his restored schooner. We learned he is a friend of the deposed Laotian royal family and several Thai Royals who reside in Switzerland.
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 In full swing |
Winetasting No. 75 saw twelve SWINES including five lucky ladies from Chaweng's Paradise Bar, escaping the lowland hot spell and heading for the full mountain traverse South to North. Once again Capt Solley under performed by neglecting to purchase the somtam and chicken, claiming his favourite vendor had gone up country for Songkran. |
 Gifts from the mountain |
Squall then went into a depression worrying how we would get through the day with five hungry girls. With two 4WD pick ups, newbie Bill from Samui Mountain Village brought three friends for their first SWINES tour in his truck while Squall carried the others including visitor H.K. banker Chris Pooley. |
 Chili champs |
By 1330 we were in place at the abandoned peak restaurant and set up the food with the girls tucking into the cheeses and hams also much to Solley's relief. We were into bottle no. 4 where we were plunged into a fierce debate on the meaning of the word "pooley" with the frog speakers arguing that the word meant chicken or a hooker or even deluxe hooker. |
 Ladies separate please |
The next stop at Woodlands we tasted the last bottle, had some palate cleansing ales and bought lunch for the girls. The last stop at The Ghost House, another beer while Loong the owner presented the girls with a dozen of his mountain "Dara" flower stems. |
 Stash's tail |
Tasting results had Duet naked range, a 2006 Merlot from Australia clear winner with 210 points. 2nd was the French Grand Saint Andre on 187 pts and 3rd Georgian red Teliani with 170 pts, 4th was a Jacob Creek Shiraz with 169 pts and 5th the French Vin de table Plaisir 165 pts |
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Wednesday 17 March was St. Patrick's Day, so three SWINES, Squall, Neil and Capt. Solley decided to do a shorty, i.e. up and down by 4 pm. |
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This time new, Samui arrivals from the Paradise Bar were invited by Alan for their first trip outside Chaweng. A splendid spread of pasta,hams and cheeses with chook and somtam and sticky rice for the girls, was loaded in the chillers and it was on and up out of the heat at sea level. |
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The good paved road opposite the Mukurram temple is now the easiest route to the top and this time everyone was looking for a suitable site to stop. Then, almost at the top, just before the turnoff to the viewpoint restaurant (with the gibbons), an abandoned all wood sala sprang into view with panoramic views over Lamai and to the South. |
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As this was just a recce and not a sampling, two bottles of wine and some beer were sufficient to enjoy some good food and company. Mission accomplished, the sala has now been requisitioned by the SWINES. |
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Winetasting 73 began in controversy
with the introduction of Brian's new score sheet.
Comments like " This the first time I've seen Legs on a scoresheet " (Neil), "What does Legs mean"? (Andrea), "So how do we judge Colour now"? (Squall), "Does Legs replace Colour now"? (Alec). Another first was a winetasting accompanied with music, thanks to the new toy from Russia (gotta get one).
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It was a superhot day as the seven SWINES headed for the cool of the
mountains for Winetasting No.73 in a pair of 4WD trucks, stopping
first at Il Muilino's for the snacks and then picking up Countess
Andrea on the way.
Our Russian guests Maximilian and Czarina Nashkina rounded out the international group that SWINES has become. |
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Off to a bad start as we wound our way up the mountain trails as
Squall's passengers began complaining of dizziness and headaches.
This was traced to Countess Andrea's sickening mass dollops of perfume and it definitely was NOT Chanel according to the Czarina. At the first beer stop at Viewpoint, Max and Shashkina began hamming it for the camera and Squall had to explain to a couple waiting to take a photograph " Look they're like this because they are Russian, completely loopy" to which the couple replied " But we're Russian also ". Ahem.
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Once at the site, five wines were partly tasted, except for Capt.
Solley who again pleaded altitude and wine don't agree with him.
Next stop was at Woodlands where the remaining wine in the bottles
were finished and scoring begun.
First place was Remole a Merlot hand carried from Europe by the Countess and priced at 10 euros. Second was Squall's Aussie Treeline and third Alec's Kookaburra from Oz mysteriously labelled "Red Wine". Aptly, last place went to the awful Thai made Monsoon Valley, most of which went into the slops bucket, which then Capt. Solley tried. Last stop was at The Ghost House where some cleansing ales were despatched and the owner generously donated some papaya and bananas to take home.
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 Wines Decanted |
Winetasting Number 72 saw our largest group of SWINES ever, numbering ten tasters and including returner "Alien" Weber and brother Mike, three newbies from the Pirates Bikers Club and the vivacious Countess Andrea of Lichenstein. |
 Countess Andrea |
The host Ken Quertermass kindly offered his new villa at Pangka for the tastings and also provided a sumptuous buffet of cold cuts and home made breads. |
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Ken also proposed that the wines be de cantered
and then presented and this proved very successful and also hid the
identity of the winre to be sampled. The SWINES responded to the task with relish and soon small red stains began to appear on people's shirts and the score sheets covered in red blotches. |
 Stained Scoresheet
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The final scores were First Santa Loretto Chile 260 points, Second The Pump, Australia and Third Entres Valle also from Chile on 250 pts. |
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Write up of Winetasting No.72 by Alien "All of the many participants were confused by the date on the score sheets November 2010 and only six spaces for six wines (we had ten), so consequently Squall has been shunted aside and Brian appointed to draw up a new score sheet by the Ombudsman Alien. Mike was overheard to remark "this wine has no after tang" Could this be a new criteria ? "Youv'e been tanged" Time was taken to decide if Neil was wearing again the same shirt as he wore in November's winetasting. Scroll down Grapevines records and yes there he is with that very same shirt ! Ken suggested we now decanter the wines and donated two decanters to the Society. Alien poured some of wine No.6 into Squalls wine No.5 and the result brought toys and prams to mind. A great day and location and special thanks to Ken's wife's freshly baked bread"
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 Monsieur Jaques |
Winetasting No.71 featured just Four SWINES including newbie Hawaiin Max. |
 Cap'n Solley's Ghaddafi Bodygaurds |
Once again the girls let us down and we were left with three of the third category and only one lady. |
 Swines, safe and alone |
Never mind, on up the mountain to the rest house where we swiftly knocked over three reds instead of four, because Captain Solley did not contribute as "he gets too pissed at altitude". |
 Khun Paywa |
Winner was Big Red from Hillstone Grove, 2nd Sydney One also from Hillstone Grove and 3rd Domaine Du Grand Saint Andre. |
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With the return of Bon Vivant adman Rob Sherlock and his son Zac;
SWINES winetasting no.70 was held on the Khao Yai mountain ridge and the lucky winners of The SWINES Humanitarian Award were three lasses from Lamai's Bernie's Bar who were invited to join. |
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Capt. Solley got the dates wrong again so it was just a full truck load that headed out after picking up the usual som tam and grilled chicken for the girls. |
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On the ascent we were met by a never ending stream of pickups heading down loaded with newly picked durians, making for a lot of tight passes, but once on the ridgeline, the going was easier. |
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SWINES outing No.69 was the last of the year and was held at Na Muang Waterfall with guest sampler from Singapore Paul Lancaster. . |
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Newly arrived pixies from Barnies Bar enjoyed their first visit to the waterfall |
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The SWINES decided to celebrate Thanksgiving Day with a winetasting
beside the sea, so five members gathered at Tradewinds where Capt.
Solley prepared the canapes,
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Tradewinds a full roast turkey and newcomer Yank Jim, the
desserts.Big Roy the other Seppo was in full swing and sank the
wines with barely a swallow.
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| Just three reds were sampled and from a possible 160 points, the Jacobs Creek Shiraz was an easy winner with 121 pts. from a Carlo Rossi with 114 and a Mathew Lang Shiraz scoring only 113. |
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Winetasting 66
With the NE Monsoon settled in at last and 3 m. waves rolling up
to the steps, four SWINES decided on a tasting of three reds with
the host sponsoring a lamb shoulder lunch.
This time all agreed and gave top points to the Jacobs Creek Greenach Shiraz 2008 with 114 points from a possible 160, then second was an Alma De Chile Cab Sav. and third a Santa Helena Merlot. Cheers to the Tradewinds chefs for a superb lunch and Roger for the dessert. |
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Coming
to Koh Samui?
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advance here
and benefit from
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