Les Violettes 2011 Domaine Montirius Vin de Pays de Vaucluse Les Violettes is a new wine from this excellent and biodynamic producer in the southern Rhone Valley. The wine is 100% syrah and has the
Petit Chablis 2010 Domaine Sainte Claire Jean-Marc Brocard Very pleasant Chablis with crispy freshness and aromas of citrus. Good length and more body than you would expect. Petit Chablis may be the lowest of the
We made a very pleasant discovery in the 20th arrondissement in Paris the other day. It is a wine shop/wine bar called Au Nouveau Nez (which is a play with words, the name means “
In the small village of Mareuil-sur-Aÿ a few kilometres east of Epernay, we find Champagne Philipponnat in a handsome house with a magnificent gate. Philipponnat is a small, high-quality champagne house. It owns 17 hectares
Nothing new under the sun… Or: Dusting off the clay pots for winemaking The amphora is back. The ancient way of making and storing wine in clay amphora, like the Greeks and the Romans did,
Speaking of Coteaux Bourguignons (see other news item yesterday) as a name for an appellation, the trend in recent years in France has rather been to get rid of words like “coteaux” and “côte”. Côtes
A new appellation has been born in Burgundy. Or rather, an old appellation has changed its name and its profile. The old name was AOC Bourgogne Grand Ordinaire, or BGO. A wonderful name, I have
On May 6, new rules were published for the labeling of wines in France. The rules come into force on 1st of July. The ministries involved, writes La Vigne, have taken quite some time to
The producers of the Languedoc has now received its long-awaited permission from the Ministry of Agriculture to start growing, on an experimental basis, new grape varieties that are developed to be resistant against powdery mildew
In this brief we write about several wine competitions. One is very special, almost a curiosity: A competition to nominate the wine with the most successful (or best) malolactic fermentation. I wonder how you judge
We heard about the Diam closure for the first time about five years ago. We attended a tasting with some Champagne producers who all had tried a natural cork called Mytik, which is Diams counterpart
“The vineyard is our bank savings so we must protect it,” says Giusto Occhipinti at COS winery in Sicily. He founded COS with two friends in the early 1980’s. “I had to go to school
In France, women buy the food and men the wine. Of course, with some generalization, but in La Vigne, we read of a survey conducted by the company SymphonyIRI showing that 55% of wine buyers
A vineyard in Provence that also traces its roots to Bordeaux recently organised a tasting with wines back to 1970: Chateau Vignelaure in Coteaux d’Aix en Provence. Here the first cabernet sauvignon was planted in
In the March Brief we said that Beaujolais needs promoting. And we would like to do our part. Because when a Beaujolais wine is of good quality it is really a very pleasant wine. One
Tenuta Regaleali, or Tasca d’Almerita makes some interesting Sicilian wines It is a dramatic, mountainous landscape. In the distance the sheep are grazing quietly and olive and almond trees mix beautifully with the vines. We
More on Bordeaux. They have been doing some interesting experiments at Château Margaux reveals The Wine Sleuth, an interesting wine blog. At a tasting in London Paul Pontallier, director and wine maker at the chateau,
Finca Flichman is one of the wine producers in Mendoza with active European involvement. Sogrape has continued to invest in the bodega since the acquisition in 1997 and focused on improving the quality of the
In early April journalists and wine merchants tasted the new vintage, the 2011, during one week in Bordeaux. This is called the primeur tastings. The wines are not ready to drink yet, of course, they
Two new appellations in the Loire Valley are born on May 1. They are located in Touraine, the large region in the beautiful part of the Loire where most of the big, famous Loire chateaux
We taste wines back to 1970 from one of the most famous Provence estates A vineyard in Provence that also traces its roots to Bordeaux recently organised a tasting with wines back to 1970: Chateau
Since 2008, France, Italy and Spain have pulled up vineyards and this has resulted in a European vineyard decrease of 4%, according to La Vigne. A total of 160 550 hectares of wine-growing land have
We read in Drink Business that alcoholic beverages are a frequent ingredient in the James Bond movies. No big news. However, maybe you would think that dry martini is the most frequent drink, seeing how
The family Coronica came from Friuli in Italy when Istria was still a part of Austria-Hungary. The 20 hectare plot around the winery is now meticulously looked after by Moreno Coronica. The vineyards are organic
Chenin blanc is one of my favourite grapes and it is a grape that is grown, at least to any great extent, only in the central Loire Valley and in South Africa. In South Africa
The use of sulphur to be banned? To disinfect oak barrels by burning sulphur inside is a century old tradition. Now the procedure could become illegal. According to the EU rules sulphur tablets is classified
Complicated wine names may be good for sales I have always thought that a complicated name on the wine label made the bottle harder to sell. But maybe it’s just the opposite. On www.lavigne-mag.fr we
Le Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins de Bordeaux , CIVB, has recently published the 2011 export figures for Bordeaux. And the figures are impressive and actually the highest ever. 2.16 million hectolitres of Bordeaux were exported
We read on vitisphere that the European Union has published figures concerning the EU wine production in 2011. Total volume produced within the union in 2011 was 165 million hectolitres (an increase by 1.5 %
The grape gamay needs to be promoted. That is the opinion of Inter Beaujolais, which, according to www.thedrinksbusiness.com, now encourages the producers to mention the name of the grape on the back label. Gamay is
Les Violettes 2011 Domaine Montirius Vin de Pays de Vaucluse Les Violettes is a new wine from this excellent and biodynamic producer in the southern
Petit Chablis 2010 Domaine Sainte Claire Jean-Marc Brocard Very pleasant Chablis with crispy freshness and aromas of citrus. Good length and more body than you
We made a very pleasant discovery in the 20th arrondissement in Paris the other day. It is a wine shop/wine bar called Au Nouveau Nez
In the small village of Mareuil-sur-Aÿ a few kilometres east of Epernay, we find Champagne Philipponnat in a handsome house with a magnificent gate. Philipponnat
Nothing new under the sun… Or: Dusting off the clay pots for winemaking The amphora is back. The ancient way of making and storing wine
Speaking of Coteaux Bourguignons (see other news item yesterday) as a name for an appellation, the trend in recent years in France has rather been
A new appellation has been born in Burgundy. Or rather, an old appellation has changed its name and its profile. The old name was AOC
On May 6, new rules were published for the labeling of wines in France. The rules come into force on 1st of July. The ministries
The producers of the Languedoc has now received its long-awaited permission from the Ministry of Agriculture to start growing, on an experimental basis, new grape
In this brief we write about several wine competitions. One is very special, almost a curiosity: A competition to nominate the wine with the most
We heard about the Diam closure for the first time about five years ago. We attended a tasting with some Champagne producers who all had
“The vineyard is our bank savings so we must protect it,” says Giusto Occhipinti at COS winery in Sicily. He founded COS with two friends
In France, women buy the food and men the wine. Of course, with some generalization, but in La Vigne, we read of a survey conducted
A vineyard in Provence that also traces its roots to Bordeaux recently organised a tasting with wines back to 1970: Chateau Vignelaure in Coteaux d’Aix
In the March Brief we said that Beaujolais needs promoting. And we would like to do our part. Because when a Beaujolais wine is of
Tenuta Regaleali, or Tasca d’Almerita makes some interesting Sicilian wines It is a dramatic, mountainous landscape. In the distance the sheep are grazing quietly and
More on Bordeaux. They have been doing some interesting experiments at Château Margaux reveals The Wine Sleuth, an interesting wine blog. At a tasting in
Finca Flichman is one of the wine producers in Mendoza with active European involvement. Sogrape has continued to invest in the bodega since the acquisition
In early April journalists and wine merchants tasted the new vintage, the 2011, during one week in Bordeaux. This is called the primeur tastings. The
Two new appellations in the Loire Valley are born on May 1. They are located in Touraine, the large region in the beautiful part of
We taste wines back to 1970 from one of the most famous Provence estates A vineyard in Provence that also traces its roots to Bordeaux
Since 2008, France, Italy and Spain have pulled up vineyards and this has resulted in a European vineyard decrease of 4%, according to La Vigne.
We read in Drink Business that alcoholic beverages are a frequent ingredient in the James Bond movies. No big news. However, maybe you would think
The family Coronica came from Friuli in Italy when Istria was still a part of Austria-Hungary. The 20 hectare plot around the winery is now
Chenin blanc is one of my favourite grapes and it is a grape that is grown, at least to any great extent, only in the
The use of sulphur to be banned? To disinfect oak barrels by burning sulphur inside is a century old tradition. Now the procedure could become
Complicated wine names may be good for sales I have always thought that a complicated name on the wine label made the bottle harder to
Le Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins de Bordeaux , CIVB, has recently published the 2011 export figures for Bordeaux. And the figures are impressive and actually
We read on vitisphere that the European Union has published figures concerning the EU wine production in 2011. Total volume produced within the union in
The grape gamay needs to be promoted. That is the opinion of Inter Beaujolais, which, according to www.thedrinksbusiness.com, now encourages the producers to mention the
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