The wine of the month
Every month, NJ Wines presents the wine of the month. NJ Wines tastes hundreds of wines every month and among them, the wine of the month is chosen. The criteria that a wine will qualify as the wine of the month is that it has got at least 3,5 NJP in rating and that it stands out both by its quality and its aroma/flavour complexity. The wine shall also be available on the wine market.
March 2026: Bodega La Ermita, Ribera del Duero, 2019 (25 EUR/29 USD, when ordering 6 bottles, in Sweden) red dry wine, Castile and León, Spain, 5,0 of 5,0 NJP (24-03-2026 by Dr Nenad Jelisic)
Bodega La Ermita Ribera del Duero 2019 is a fruity, nuanced, complex, tannin rich, tartaric acid rich and spicy wine. It has a wonderful, nuanced, fruity and sweetish aroma of ripe dark cherries (morello cherries), ripe prunes, sweet spices, charcuterie, cocoa, cedar, leather and sweet tobacco. It has a wonderful, nuanced and fruity ... Read more
News and other things about wine
DID YOU KNOW THAT, PART 5 OF 100 (By Dr Nenad Jelisic)
Here, NJ Wines will present brief wine news and wine facts every month.
Absolutely crazy, in 2018, Colombian-American billionaire Alejandro Santo Domingo paid 200 million EUR (2 billion SEK) for 20% ownership of the legendary Pétrus wine house. The entire Pétrus estate is valued at over 1 billion EUR (10,7 billion SEK). (08-03-2026)
Australian wine regions, Australia as wine country is divided into 65 wine regions: Adelaide Hills, Adelaide Plains, Alpine Valleys, Barossa Valley, Beechworth, Bendigo, Blackwood Valley, Canberra District, Clare Valley, Coonawarra, Cowra, Currency Creek, Eden Valley, Geelong, Geographe, Gippsland, Glenrowan, Goulburn Valley, Grampians wineries, Granite Belt wineries, Great Southern wineries, Gundagai, Hastings River, Heathcote wineries, Henty, Hilltops wineries, Hunter Valley wineries, Kangaroo Island, King Valley wineries, Langhorne Creek wineries, Macedon Ranges wineries, Manjimup, Margaret River, McLaren Vale, Mornington Peninsula, Mount Benson, Mount Gambier, Mudgee, Murray Darling, New England Australia, Orange, Padthaway, Peel, Pemberton, Perricoota, Perth Hills, Pyrenees, Riverina, Riverland, Robe, Rutherglen, Shoalhaven Coast, South Burnett, Southern Fleurieu, Southern Flinders Ranges, Southern Highlands, Strathbogie Ranges, Sunbury, Swan District, Swan Hill, Tasmanian, Tumbarumba, Upper Goulburn, Wrattonbully and Yarra Valley. (08-03-2026)
Austrian wine regions, Austria as wine country consists of 19 wine regions: Burgenland, Carnuntum, Eisenberg and Südburgenland, Kamptal, Kremstal, Leithaberg and Neusiedlersee-Hügelland, Mittelburgenland, Niederösterreich, Neusiedlersee, Steiermark, Südoststeiermark, Südsteiermark, Thermen, Traisental, Wachau, Wagram, Weststeiermark, Wien and Weinviertel. Of these 19 wine regions, 3 wine regions are so-called main regions: Burgenland, Niederösterreich and Steiermark. The 19 regions cover 45,820 ha planted with vines. (08-03-2026)
Austrian grapes, of the white wine grapes dominate Grüner Veltliner (29,4%) followed by Welschriesling (7,8%), Müller Thurgau (4,6%), Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc) (4,3%), Riesling (4,1%) and Chardonnay (3,1%). Of the red wine grapes dominate Zweigelt (13,9%) followed by Blaufränkisch (7%), Blauer Portugieser (3,5%), Blauburger (2%), St Laurent (1,7%) and Blauburgunder (Pinot Noir) (1,4%). (08-03-2026)
NEW WINES IN REGULAR ASSORTMENT MARCH 2026 (10-03-2026 by Dr Nenad Jelisic)
NJ Wines has tasted all Systembolaget's new wines in regular assortment March 2026. The wines got the following points (Note that the wines are arranged in alphabetical order, that the wines that have got more than 3,0 NJP, if any, are presented or will be presented under "Make sure to try these wines, wines that have got at least 3,5 NJP of possible 5,0 NJP", that NV = non-vintage wine, that Systembolaget = a government owned chain of all liquor stores in Sweden and that NJ Wines does not taste wines from Boxes, Paper-packaging and PET-bottles because NJ Wines believes that these types of packaging destroy the wonderful wine culture. The Boxes also make people drink much more than they should.):
1. Adega de Monção, Alvarinho, 2024 (9 EUR/11 USD in Sweden) white dry wine, Portugal, 1,5 NJP, 2. Almodí, Especial, Garnatxa Peluda, 2023 (12 EUR/14 USD in Sweden) red dry wine, Spain, 1,0 NJP, 3. Brown & Co, Chardonnay, 2024 (12 EUR/14 USD in Sweden) white dry wine, Australia, 1,0 NJP, 4. Casa de Cambres, Reserva, Red, 2021 (12 EUR/14 USD in Sweden) red dry blend wine, Portugal, 0,5 NJP, 5. Castello di Ama, San Lorenzo, Gran Selezione, 2022 (28 EUR/32 USD in Sweden) red dry blend wine, Italy, 4,0 NJP, 6. Christina, Carnuntum, Organic, 2024 (11 EUR/13 USD in Sweden) red dry blend wine, Austria, 1,5 NJP, 7. Domaine Helena, Mount St Helena Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2023 (23 EUR/27 USD in Sweden) red dry wine, USA, 2,0 NJP, 8. Emily, Blanc de Blancs, NV (8 EUR/9 USD in Sweden) white semi-dry blend sparkling wine, Spain, 0,0 NJP, 9. Fonseca, Crusted Port, NV (23 EUR/27 USD in Sweden) port wine, Portugal, 2,0 NJP, 10. Grower's Club, Malbec, 2025 (7 EUR/9 USD in Sweden) red dry wine, South Africa, 0,0 NJP.
NEW WINES IN REGULAR ASSORTMENT DECEMBER 2025 (11-01-2026 by Dr Nenad Jelisic)
NJ Wines has tasted all Systembolaget's new wines in regular assortment December 2025. The wines got the following points (Note that the wines are arranged in alphabetical order, that the wines that have got more than 3,0 NJP, if any, are presented or will be presented under "Make sure to try these wines, wines that have got at least 3,5 NJP of possible 5,0 NJP", that NV = non-vintage wine, that Systembolaget = a government owned chain of all liquor stores in Sweden and that NJ Wines does not taste wines from Boxes, Paper-packaging and PET-bottles because NJ Wines believes that these types of packaging destroy the wonderful wine culture. The Boxes also make people drink much more than they should.):
1. Adega de Monção, Alvarinho, 2024 (9 EUR/11 USD in Sweden) white dry wine, Portugal, 1,5 NJP, 2. Almodí, Especial, Garnatxa Peluda, 2023 (12 EUR/14 USD in Sweden) red dry wine, Spain, 1,0 NJP, 3. Brown & Co, Chardonnay, 2024 (12 EUR/14 USD in Sweden) white dry wine, Australia, 1,0 NJP, 4. Casa de Cambres, Reserva, Red, 2021 (12 EUR/14 USD in Sweden) red dry blend wine, Portugal, 0,5 NJP, 5. Castello di Ama, San Lorenzo, Gran Selezione, 2022 (28 EUR/32 USD in Sweden) red dry blend wine, Italy, 4,0 NJP, 6. Christina, Carnuntum, Organic, 2024 (11 EUR/13 USD in Sweden) red dry blend wine, Austria, 1,5 NJP, 7. Domaine Helena, Mount St Helena Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2023 (23 EUR/27 USD in Sweden) red dry wine, USA, 2,0 NJP, 8. Emily, Blanc de Blancs, NV (8 EUR/9 USD in Sweden) white semi-dry blend sparkling wine, Spain, 0,0 NJP, 9. Fonseca, Crusted Port, NV (23 EUR/27 USD in Sweden) port wine, Portugal, 2,0 NJP, 10. Grower's Club, Malbec, 2025 (7 EUR/9 USD in Sweden) red dry wine, South Africa, 0,0 NJP.
Make sure to try these wines, wines that have got at least 3,5 NJP of possible 5,0 NJP
Steyer, Gewurztraminer, 2024 (approx. 14 EUR/16 USD; selling price on the internet excluding delivery costs) white semi-dry wine, Štajerska, Slovenia, 5,0 NJP of 5,0 NJP (28-02-2026 by Dr Nenad Jelisic)
With this wine, one of the world's best winemakers of Gewurztraminer-wines (if not the best) confirms that he (Danilo Steyer) is, after that had been in the Twilight Zone for a long time and had produced mediocre Alsace-like sweet and uninspiring Gewurztraminer-wines, definitely on the way back. Back to absolutely brilliant dry ... Read more
Churchill's, Late Bottled Vintage, 2020 (23 EUR/27 USD in Sweden) port wine, Porto, Douro, Portugal, 5,0 NJP of 5,0 NJP (100 points of 100 points) (31-01-2026 by Dr Nenad Jelisic)
There is the fairy tale The Lord of the Rings, but there is also the fairy tale of the Churchill's Late Bottled Vintage, and this fairy tale seems never ending. It is extremely fascinating that a winery manages to produce a wine that seven years in a row receives 5,0 NJP of 5,0 NJP (100 points of 100 points). In my 43 years as ... Read more
Vinogradi Nuić, Trnjak, 2021 (approx. 21 EUR/25 USD; selling price on the internet excluding delivery costs) red dry wine, Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 5,0 of 5,0 NJP (100 points of 100 points) (14-12-2025 by Dr Nenad Jelisic)
Vinogradi Nuić Trnjak 2021 is a big, complex, powerful, spicy and tannin rich wine. In the aroma one can feel dried black cherries, dried prunes, milk chocolate, bay leaves, sweet tobacco, white pepper and crème de cassis. In the flavour one can feel black cherries, red oranges, cocoa-rich dark chocolate, coffee and black pepper. ... Read more
Everything you need to know about Alsace (01-05-2026 by Dr Nenad Jelisic)
The text excerpts from NJ Wines' extensive wine dictionary are presented here. The text excerpts will be changed one to four times a month. You can read about exciting wines, appellations, wine districts, wine regions, etc. by clicking above on the "Wine glossary and wine facts".
Alsace, a French wine region that is known for its white wines made from Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris and Muscat. The wine from Alsace must keep a natural alcoholic strength by volume of 8,5%. It is allowed to chaptalize, i.e. improve the sugar content (increase the alcohol content) by adding sugar or concentrated grape must to the must before fermentation.. The purpose of the chaptalization is to increase the alcoholic strength. The wine region has 50 Grand Crus. The maximum yield is as much as 80 hl/ha. For Grand Crus, the maximum yield is limited to 66 hl/ha.
Alsace grapes, dominate Pinot Blanc (23,2%), Riesling (21,1%), Gewurztraminer (16%) and Pinot Gris (13,8%). The strange thing is that Muscat (2,3%), which belongs to the grapes that "make Alsace famous for its white wines" (see above), is grown less than Sylvaner and Pinot Noir.
Alsace soils, limestone, silica mixed soil and clay.
Alsace the best vintages, 1971, 1976, 1983, 1989, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2020.
Alsace types of wines, Crémant d' Alsace, Edelzwicker, Grand Cru, Sélection de Grains Nobles and Vendange Tardive.
Alsace type of wine Crémant d' Alsace, a sparkling dry white wine made from several grape varieties according to the champagne method.
Alsace type of wine Edelzwicker, a white wine of simpler quality made of several grape varieties.
Alsace type of wine Grand Cru, a white wine from the best locations (vineyards) that has to be made of some of the following grapes: Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris and Muscat. If the label indicates a vineyard designation, 100% of the grapes must come from that vineyard. Otherwise, it is allowed to mix grapes from several Grand Crus (vineyards).
Alsace type of wine: Sélection de Grains Nobles, a white wine made from late harvested, affected by Botrytis cinerea (Noble rot) grapes.
Alsace type of wine: Vendange Tardive, a white wine made from late harvested, not affected by Botrytis cinerea (Noble rot) grapes.
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