One of our favourites in South Africa is Rickety Bridge in Franschhoek, a winery that we always have on the itinerary for our SA wine tours. Their Foundation Stone White is made primarily from Chenin
Brunello di Montalcino in Tuscany has celebrated its fiftieth birthday as a DOC. It was in 1966 that the wine, as one of the first in Italy, received its denomination of origin. Brunello currently has
Britt’s Wines of the Month come from (another) one of our favourite chateaux in Bordeaux, Chateau Carsin in Rions in Entre-deux-Mers. The chateau is owned since the 1990s by Juha Berglund from Finland. He now
It has been a cold spring in northern France. For growers in Chablis and the Côte d’Or this turned into something really bad during the night between April 26 and 27. It was a frosty
The debate around glyphosate continues. The product is used as an herbicide, in for instance Roundup. It has been, since a while back, on EU’s list of unsafe products that maybe should be phased out.
Hailstorms have again, a little while back, destroyed a part of the future harvest 2016 for growers in Beaujolais and Mâconnais. It was on the 13th and 14th of April that some villages, including Solutré-Pouilly
Sweden has once again a world champion sommelier. The last time it was Andreas Larsson, who won in 2007. Now it was Arvid Rosengren who triumphed in Mendoza, Argentina, on 19th of April. Another Swede,
The wine grower has to take many decisions concerning the work in the vineyard. All decisions may affect the quality of the wine. So it is important that he makes the right decisions. Soon, the
The Champagne trade association Comité Champagne (CIVC) has recently published the 2015 export figures for champagne. Britain is still the country that imports the greatest volume of champagne while the United States is the number
One of our favourite chateaux in Bordeaux, the beautiful Château de la Dauphine in Fronsac, will be certified organic from vintage 2015, now resting in the chateau cellar. We have visited the chateau on a
France imports more wine than you might think. Last year the country imported a record amount of wine and most of it was cheap bulk wine from Spain. In total France imported 7.2 million hectolitres
Grenache is one of the world’s most widely grown grape varieties. And one of our favourite grapes.It is found mainly in southern France and in Spain (Garnacha), but also in several other countries such as
In last brief we wrote about how to describe a wine in a way that makes people understand what you mean. We have received some comments from readers that we would like to share with
The copper doses are a constant headache for organic growers. The French authority ANSES (a food and health authority) and the European Commission want to reduce the permitted level from 6 kilogram per hectare and
Rioja is slowly but surely making a comeback on the world market. However, for the comeback to be a success certain producers think that things must change. But the mills grind slowly in Rioja. Producers
Wine consumers love Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Shiraz, and Sauvignon Blanc. Or don’t they? There is a lot of talk nowadays about grapes that are forgotten, local, unusual, indigenous, you name it. Suddenly wine geeks are
Cairanne has finally been upgraded and has now its own appellation. This means that the producers can now put only Cairanne the label instead of the Cotes du Rhone Village Cairanne. Cairanne has long been
Do organic wines cost more than conventionally produced wines? This has never been an easy question to answer because it is difficult to compare the prices of wines. It is easier with tomatoes and eggs.
According to the UN agency UNWTO 88% of all travellers consider that the gastronomy plays a major role on the trip. It comes as no surprise. We know that many participants on our wine tours
France makes serious (?) attempts to cut down its large state and municipal administration. One step has been to merge a number of regions. This merger took effect on January 1st, 2016. France had previously
There is much you can do with a bottle of champagne if you don’t want to drink it. You can baptise a ship, you can pour it down the sink (apparently a habit of young
Folk is a vegetarian restaurant in Gothenburg situated inside the theatre with the same name at Olof Palme Square. The wine list is full of interesting natural wines. Not a bad combination, vegetarian food and
Danish company Chr. Hansen, with headquarters on the outskirts of Copenhagen, is one of the major suppliers to the wine industry. The vast majority of wines ferment with cultured yeast (or “selected”) and often this
Where do all the vines come from? In most cases they are purchased from nurseries. Some wine growers take cuttings from their own vineyard, but it is unusual. In France, nurseries have a total of
The saga of the 2012 (2006?) classification in Saint Emilion continues. Maybe. Three chateaux, Croque-Michotte, La Tour du Pin Figeac and Corbin Michotte, disputed the classification because they felt they had been treated unfairly and
Natural wines are still a hot subject of debate. Some like them some loath them. In fact, natural wines can be both good or bad, just like any other wine. But it is true that
Wine descriptions… How should a wine writer describe a wine so that everyone understands what he/she means? “Excellent” is of course a good word in this context which cannot easily be misunderstood. Possibly it is
The figure has to be approved by the Minister of Agriculture at the end of December but everything indicates that France’s vineyards will increase with 8,057 hectares next year. This represents 1 % of the
A new IGP (Indication Géographique Protégée, the category that has replaced vin de pays) will soon be launched in the south of France. It will be an IGP that brings together the departments of Aude,
All champagnes from Champagne Duval Leroy will shortly be vegan friendly. This means that the champagne house will not use fining agents such as milk protein, gelatine or egg whites. Instead their wines are clarified
One of our favourites in South Africa is Rickety Bridge in Franschhoek, a winery that we always have on the itinerary for our SA wine
Brunello di Montalcino in Tuscany has celebrated its fiftieth birthday as a DOC. It was in 1966 that the wine, as one of the first
Britt’s Wines of the Month come from (another) one of our favourite chateaux in Bordeaux, Chateau Carsin in Rions in Entre-deux-Mers. The chateau is owned
It has been a cold spring in northern France. For growers in Chablis and the Côte d’Or this turned into something really bad during the
The debate around glyphosate continues. The product is used as an herbicide, in for instance Roundup. It has been, since a while back, on EU’s
Hailstorms have again, a little while back, destroyed a part of the future harvest 2016 for growers in Beaujolais and Mâconnais. It was on the
Sweden has once again a world champion sommelier. The last time it was Andreas Larsson, who won in 2007. Now it was Arvid Rosengren who
The wine grower has to take many decisions concerning the work in the vineyard. All decisions may affect the quality of the wine. So it
The Champagne trade association Comité Champagne (CIVC) has recently published the 2015 export figures for champagne. Britain is still the country that imports the greatest
One of our favourite chateaux in Bordeaux, the beautiful Château de la Dauphine in Fronsac, will be certified organic from vintage 2015, now resting in
France imports more wine than you might think. Last year the country imported a record amount of wine and most of it was cheap bulk
Grenache is one of the world’s most widely grown grape varieties. And one of our favourite grapes.It is found mainly in southern France and in
In last brief we wrote about how to describe a wine in a way that makes people understand what you mean. We have received some
The copper doses are a constant headache for organic growers. The French authority ANSES (a food and health authority) and the European Commission want to
Rioja is slowly but surely making a comeback on the world market. However, for the comeback to be a success certain producers think that things
Wine consumers love Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Shiraz, and Sauvignon Blanc. Or don’t they? There is a lot of talk nowadays about grapes that are forgotten,
Cairanne has finally been upgraded and has now its own appellation. This means that the producers can now put only Cairanne the label instead of
Do organic wines cost more than conventionally produced wines? This has never been an easy question to answer because it is difficult to compare the
According to the UN agency UNWTO 88% of all travellers consider that the gastronomy plays a major role on the trip. It comes as no
France makes serious (?) attempts to cut down its large state and municipal administration. One step has been to merge a number of regions. This
There is much you can do with a bottle of champagne if you don’t want to drink it. You can baptise a ship, you can
Folk is a vegetarian restaurant in Gothenburg situated inside the theatre with the same name at Olof Palme Square. The wine list is full of
Danish company Chr. Hansen, with headquarters on the outskirts of Copenhagen, is one of the major suppliers to the wine industry. The vast majority of
Where do all the vines come from? In most cases they are purchased from nurseries. Some wine growers take cuttings from their own vineyard, but
The saga of the 2012 (2006?) classification in Saint Emilion continues. Maybe. Three chateaux, Croque-Michotte, La Tour du Pin Figeac and Corbin Michotte, disputed the
Natural wines are still a hot subject of debate. Some like them some loath them. In fact, natural wines can be both good or bad,
Wine descriptions… How should a wine writer describe a wine so that everyone understands what he/she means? “Excellent” is of course a good word in
The figure has to be approved by the Minister of Agriculture at the end of December but everything indicates that France’s vineyards will increase with
A new IGP (Indication Géographique Protégée, the category that has replaced vin de pays) will soon be launched in the south of France. It will
All champagnes from Champagne Duval Leroy will shortly be vegan friendly. This means that the champagne house will not use fining agents such as milk
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