A Celebratory Round is Called For

(4/22/2012)

The Bali-based winery - Hatten Wines has recently won a silver medal and a bronze medal at Wine & Spirits Asia Wine Challenge in Singapore.

At the 2012 Wine & Spirits Asia Wine Challenge in Singapore, Hatten’s dry white wine Aga White claimed a silver medal and Alexandria, the winery’s semi-sweet Muscat,wine won a bronze.

Aga a name meaning “original” in Balinese language secured second place in its dry white category. Alexandria won its latest bronze medal after winning the silver at the Wine for Asia competition in October 2011.

Announced on Wednesday April 18th during the FHA trade show at Singapore Expo, the award ceremony recognized wines from around the world that entered in this 12th edition of the competition.

The Singapore Wine Challenge is a well-established competition in Asia where wine are evaluated by a distinguished panel of judges representing the characteristics of the Asian palate. The previous edition, held in 2010, saw labels from 17 wine-producing countries and regions take part.
This competition adopted a 100-point rating system to allow for simplicity and consistency in the evaluation process, and it is applied to all entries. The rating covers 1) visual aspect of the Wine, 2) aroma and bouquet, 3) flavour and finish, 4) overall expression and quality. For the judging, bottles were coded and bagged, and all capsules and corks were removed. The tasters could only see the code that matched the bag covering the wine tasted. All the wines were blind tasted within their category – the same type of wines are tasted per category and price range.

Defying the popular notion that growing grapes and producing quality wine in the Asian tropics is near impossible, Hatten Wines has managed to establish a successful wine trade while gathering some international recognition. Founded in 1994 by Ida Bagus Rai Budarsa, the first Balinese winery, Hatten Wines has been voted in the top 10 for fastest improving producers in Asia.

Hatten Wines’ range includes a semi-dry Rosé; dry, award-winning Aga White; light Aga Red and an award-winning floral Muscat Alexandria. The range also includes a white and rosé sparkling, Tunjung and Jepun - named after Bali’s water lily and frangipani flowers.

A Pineau des Charentes method result in sweet fortified wines Pino de Bali - red or white – that has been aged for 5 years providing a sweet dessert wine for Bali’s tables.