Do you feel cultural (or perhaps cultured?) when you sit down to a beautifully set table to enjoy a gastronomic meal? You should. Even though it is the French gastronomic meal that has been recognized
A new kind of insurance for the wine producer: “The individual supplementary volume” Many things can happen in a vineyard. Weather problems are frequent. Diseases can reduce quantity and destroy quality. A small harvest could
Is there a risk of lack of wine? We know a lot of you love figures so here are a few to savour. International Organisation of Vine and Wine, based in Paris, presented end of
74% of the gastronomic restaurants (which means that the bill, without wine, is at least 45 euro) in France have organic wines on their wine list. Many of them are also planning to expand its
An interesting research report concerning the yeast that can be found on the grape skins was published recently. Italian and French researchers believe they have discovered how this yeast on the grape skin has gotten
An island of wine, olives, food and sunshine in the Mediterranean Sicily, the island, the sun, the wines, the olive oil, the food… The largest island of the Mediterranean Sea has many charms, much to
Château de Chantegrive is one of the few really big chateaux in AC Graves (the other big ones are in Pessac-Leognan), with 90 hectares of vines. This is also the star of the Graves appellation
A meeting with Sandra Tavares da Silva at her winery in the Douro Valley Far up the river Douro in northern Portugal, in a small village perching on a cliff overlooking the winding river and
During one of our wine tour trips recently we met for the first time a producer (not the one on the photo) who rents his oak barrels instead of buying them. Buying French oak barrels
The cooperatives produce almost 50% of all French wines so their opinion matters. They have recently, according to La Vigne, sent a letter to the French Minister of Agriculture with demands relating to the production
Britt’s Wine of the Month: Domaine Pierre Chauvin 2008, Cuvée La Fontaine des Bois, AOP Anjou, Loire Valley In the heart of sweet wine appellation Coteaux du Layon in the region of Anjou (Loire), we
7% of all wine produced in the world is sparkling, according to Vitisphere. This is an increase of 2% since 2002. 65% of the sparkling wines come from France, followed by Italy, Germany, Spain and
As many as a quarter of all Beaujolais growers (ie 500 growers) will possibly go bankrupt before the year is over. So great is the crisis in the region, according to La Vigne. The harvest
This is a small and beautiful estate, situated very close to the pretty town of Saint Emilion. The wines here, made with merlot as the main grape variety, are classic Bordeaux wines that age beautifully
This is a very pleasant viognier from well known Rhône Valley producer Michel Chapoutier. He is based in Tain l’Hermitage but for this wine he has moved over to the other side of the river
More and more producers are rebuilding their cellars and are replacing stainless steel vats with concrete fermentation vats. And some of those who couldn’t afford to buy stainless steel vats and had to make do
Gute Winery’s gold medal winning grappa plays role in Swedish crime book I was sitting lazily reading a Swedish crime novel on the balcony the other day. The book was “The Alchemy’s Eternal Fire” by
Le Conte des Floris is a small, high quality estate in Languedoc, in the village of Caux, close to Pezenas. Daniel Le Conte des Floris is a relative newcomer to the business, he started his
In our March Brief we wrote that the habit of burning sulphur inside oak barrels to disinfect them is in danger of being banned. Because sulphur tablets are classified as biocides you need an authorization
Wine cooperatives are strong in France and especially in Languedoc-Roussillon where you find 70 % of them. Here are some interesting figures from the Fédération des Vignerons Coopérateurs Languedoc-Roussillon (Languedoc-Roussillon accounts for approximately 35 %
To have a “coup de cœur” in French means that you instantly fall in love with something, it could be anything, for instance a wine. In the wine competition “Coup de Cœur des femmes journalistes”
Rosé – the Provence speciality: People drink rosé in the summer, preferably well chilled and sitting on a shaded terrace overlooking the Mediterranean. What is in your glass is really not that important. This is
Confédération française des vins de pays (CFVDP, an association for French Vin de Pays-producers) had a congress earlier this June and they discussed among other things the discontinuing of subsidies to enrich wines with concentrated
This winter was harsh in many parts of France. The vines can handle quite cold temperatures in winter time and it is rare that it gets so cold in France that they do not survive.
Coulure has been a problem in the French vineyards this year. But a bigger problem is probably the downy mildew. According to La Vigne, the mildew attacks started early this year in Burgundy, already at
From this year EU countries as well as Canada require that wine labels provide information about contents in the wine that can cause allergic reactions (allergens). It is already compulsory to mention on the label
After a hard winter the wine growers had hoped for a nice spring and early summer. But instead, diseases have spread in the vineyards. La Vigne informs about cool and rainy weather during flowering, which
I could not help but to nominate an “olive of the month” after having tasted the green olive “Lucques” by the cooperative L’Oulibo in Bize-Minervois. Lucques has a characteristic, elongated shape and should preferably be
Château St Jacques d’Albas in Laure-Minervois is run by Englishman Graham Nutter and his French wife Beatrice. They came here a few years ago, “when everything was in ruins” and now they have a beautifully
“The Lallemand Malolactic Fermentation Wine Competition 2012″ – This is probably the most original wine competition that we have heard of. It was organized for the second time by chemical company Lallemand in Madrid in
Do you feel cultural (or perhaps cultured?) when you sit down to a beautifully set table to enjoy a gastronomic meal? You should. Even though
A new kind of insurance for the wine producer: “The individual supplementary volume” Many things can happen in a vineyard. Weather problems are frequent. Diseases
Is there a risk of lack of wine? We know a lot of you love figures so here are a few to savour. International Organisation
74% of the gastronomic restaurants (which means that the bill, without wine, is at least 45 euro) in France have organic wines on their wine
An interesting research report concerning the yeast that can be found on the grape skins was published recently. Italian and French researchers believe they have
An island of wine, olives, food and sunshine in the Mediterranean Sicily, the island, the sun, the wines, the olive oil, the food… The largest
Château de Chantegrive is one of the few really big chateaux in AC Graves (the other big ones are in Pessac-Leognan), with 90 hectares of
A meeting with Sandra Tavares da Silva at her winery in the Douro Valley Far up the river Douro in northern Portugal, in a small
During one of our wine tour trips recently we met for the first time a producer (not the one on the photo) who rents his
The cooperatives produce almost 50% of all French wines so their opinion matters. They have recently, according to La Vigne, sent a letter to the
Britt’s Wine of the Month: Domaine Pierre Chauvin 2008, Cuvée La Fontaine des Bois, AOP Anjou, Loire Valley In the heart of sweet wine appellation
7% of all wine produced in the world is sparkling, according to Vitisphere. This is an increase of 2% since 2002. 65% of the sparkling
As many as a quarter of all Beaujolais growers (ie 500 growers) will possibly go bankrupt before the year is over. So great is the
This is a small and beautiful estate, situated very close to the pretty town of Saint Emilion. The wines here, made with merlot as the
This is a very pleasant viognier from well known Rhône Valley producer Michel Chapoutier. He is based in Tain l’Hermitage but for this wine he
More and more producers are rebuilding their cellars and are replacing stainless steel vats with concrete fermentation vats. And some of those who couldn’t afford
Gute Winery’s gold medal winning grappa plays role in Swedish crime book I was sitting lazily reading a Swedish crime novel on the balcony the
Le Conte des Floris is a small, high quality estate in Languedoc, in the village of Caux, close to Pezenas. Daniel Le Conte des Floris
In our March Brief we wrote that the habit of burning sulphur inside oak barrels to disinfect them is in danger of being banned. Because
Wine cooperatives are strong in France and especially in Languedoc-Roussillon where you find 70 % of them. Here are some interesting figures from the Fédération
To have a “coup de cœur” in French means that you instantly fall in love with something, it could be anything, for instance a wine.
Rosé – the Provence speciality: People drink rosé in the summer, preferably well chilled and sitting on a shaded terrace overlooking the Mediterranean. What is
Confédération française des vins de pays (CFVDP, an association for French Vin de Pays-producers) had a congress earlier this June and they discussed among other
This winter was harsh in many parts of France. The vines can handle quite cold temperatures in winter time and it is rare that it
Coulure has been a problem in the French vineyards this year. But a bigger problem is probably the downy mildew. According to La Vigne, the
From this year EU countries as well as Canada require that wine labels provide information about contents in the wine that can cause allergic reactions
After a hard winter the wine growers had hoped for a nice spring and early summer. But instead, diseases have spread in the vineyards. La
I could not help but to nominate an “olive of the month” after having tasted the green olive “Lucques” by the cooperative L’Oulibo in Bize-Minervois.
Château St Jacques d’Albas in Laure-Minervois is run by Englishman Graham Nutter and his French wife Beatrice. They came here a few years ago, “when
“The Lallemand Malolactic Fermentation Wine Competition 2012″ – This is probably the most original wine competition that we have heard of. It was organized for
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