BKWine Blog
One of the best estates in Madiran, owned by Patrick Ducournau. Ducourneau is also known for being the person who invented micro-oxygenation – a method widely used today to make tannins softer. His best cuvée,
Framed by the majestic Pic Saint Loup and Montagne de l’Hortus, this vineyard is less than an hour’s drive north of Montpellier. Jean Orliac and his wife bought a small piece of land here 25
Michel Bettane and Thierry Desseauve were two of the leading names at La Revue des Vins de France (France’s leading wine magazine). They left the magazine when it was acquired by the Marie Claire Group.
Alain Voge is one of the very best producers in Cornas, just south of Hermitage. He is one of the persons that have led the renaissance of the Cornas appellation bringing it from quasi-obscurity 20
Quote from an interview in La Revue des Vins de France: “We [the wine trade] are going through a crisis. There’s been excess everywhere. In the New World too, but there they are much more
On April 16 and 17 (seems like ages ago now) Hermitage had, very unexpectedly, heavy snow fall. For two days we had (we happened to be there that week-end) five centimetres of snow on the
Oak chips in Bordeaux wine is not permitted today. The new boss of CIVB (the Bordeaux producers’ association) has proposed that it should be allowed in the future (but not for all wines). But we
As we have mentioned previously in the Brief the process has started to change the classification in Graves/Pessac-Léognan. La Revue des Vins de France has taken this as an occasion to do a big tasting
I was recently part of the jury for the twelfth edition of the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, one of the many wine competitions around the world. This was the biggest edition ever: almost 200 tasters
A nice little Italian restaurant with a very good brochette de scampi and home made pasta. Original and clever strategy with the first courses: add 2€ and they’ll make it into a (bigger) main course.
Drink champagne and eat salmon – that’s what you should do at Trëma! Go for a brunch on Sundays for example (18-25 €). On week-days you can get a good lunch with two courses for
In the middle of the little village Chateaubourg, just behind the church, in the southern part of the appellation Saint Joseph you find the two brothers Durand – Eric and Joël. They used to sell
Decanter reports that a study shows that wines that get a rating from Parker on average gains 3€ (equivalent to 15% for the wines studied) compared to a wine that is not rated by Parker.
INAO made positive noises towards allowing irrigation in French vineyards. The proposal means that it would be OK to water vineyards under special circumstances, as for instance the extremely hot summer in 2003.
INAO has introduced some new or changed rules for Alsace wines: Planting density must be at least 4500 vines per hectare, training must be in simple Guyot with at the most 8-10 “eyes”. Alsace Grand
China Drinks, China’s main wine and spirits magazine, organised a competition in January: the 2005 Beijing International Wine & Spirits Competition. BKWine was on-site and participated in the jury for the Chinese wines and spirits.
Calvados is making progress on the export market. This excellent digestif can help you digest a big meal as no other and is also an excellent ingredient in the kitchen (and for the cook): e.g.
We had a very interesting discussion this morning with one of the “blogging gurus” in France – Loic Le Meur. (Thank you Susan for organising it!) It convinced me that we should see if we
L’Avant Goût 26, rue Bobillot, 75013 Paris (M. Place d’Italie), tel 01 53 80 24 00. Booking essential evenings. Good wine list with many organic wines. Set menu 12€ (lunch) to 32€. Mavrommatis 42, rue
For the ninth year in a row Absolut Vodka recorded growing sales. Total sales in 2004 was 76 million litres, up 5% from 2003. Absolut is produced by V&S Vin & Sprit that is owned
Wines full of character, in particular the cuvée prestige called Gaby. Florent Viale is a master at making wines from the Syrah grape. Until 1992 Florent and his father sold all the wines to a
A small Bordeaux company called Authenticwine has developed a clever system to prevent wine forgeries. It uses a complicated (and difficult to forge) label that is put on the bottle (in addition to the usual
Twenty years ago there was nothing – not a vine – here at Château Puech-Haut in Saint-Drézery. Now it is one of the most successful wine estates in Languedoc, much thanks to the dynamic Gerard
”Nordlund” is a wine grown and produced in Denmark. The producer (Danskt Vin-Center) has now signed a contract with a French importer. We must of course add that Nordlund first came to France in February
Sideways is the second film in a short time that has wine as a major theme. This time it is not so seriously intended though. It is more a comedy that takes place in Santa
In earlier Briefs we have talked about the conflict between Bronco Wine Co. and the Napa Valley Vintners. Bronco is selling a wine that is labelled “Napa” but does not contain any grapes from Napa.
Irrigation has long been prohibited in French vineyards. The reasoning being that with water the growers could inflate the grapes, increase production but lower the quality. There is currently a proposal on the table, likely
Chateauonline, probably the most successful European internet wine shop, has been bought by CL Financial. The value of the transaction has not been made public. They control today eg. Hine and Monier cognac and Angostura
Päivittäistavarakauppa ry, an organisation representing Finnish retailers, has requested that the EU investigate the Finnish monopoly (Alko). They want that the monopoly should be disbanded since it no longer serves it purpose for “public health”.
Henrik Matsson is a Swedish writer who has spent 2 years working on an ambitious venture. He has single handed written, typeset and designed what is in effect the first real book (as far as
One of the best estates in Madiran, owned by Patrick Ducournau. Ducourneau is also known for being the person who invented micro-oxygenation – a method
Framed by the majestic Pic Saint Loup and Montagne de l’Hortus, this vineyard is less than an hour’s drive north of Montpellier. Jean Orliac and
Michel Bettane and Thierry Desseauve were two of the leading names at La Revue des Vins de France (France’s leading wine magazine). They left the
Alain Voge is one of the very best producers in Cornas, just south of Hermitage. He is one of the persons that have led the
Quote from an interview in La Revue des Vins de France: “We [the wine trade] are going through a crisis. There’s been excess everywhere. In
On April 16 and 17 (seems like ages ago now) Hermitage had, very unexpectedly, heavy snow fall. For two days we had (we happened to
Oak chips in Bordeaux wine is not permitted today. The new boss of CIVB (the Bordeaux producers’ association) has proposed that it should be allowed
As we have mentioned previously in the Brief the process has started to change the classification in Graves/Pessac-Léognan. La Revue des Vins de France has
I was recently part of the jury for the twelfth edition of the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, one of the many wine competitions around the
A nice little Italian restaurant with a very good brochette de scampi and home made pasta. Original and clever strategy with the first courses: add
Drink champagne and eat salmon – that’s what you should do at Trëma! Go for a brunch on Sundays for example (18-25 €). On week-days
In the middle of the little village Chateaubourg, just behind the church, in the southern part of the appellation Saint Joseph you find the two
Decanter reports that a study shows that wines that get a rating from Parker on average gains 3€ (equivalent to 15% for the wines studied)
INAO made positive noises towards allowing irrigation in French vineyards. The proposal means that it would be OK to water vineyards under special circumstances, as
INAO has introduced some new or changed rules for Alsace wines: Planting density must be at least 4500 vines per hectare, training must be in
China Drinks, China’s main wine and spirits magazine, organised a competition in January: the 2005 Beijing International Wine & Spirits Competition. BKWine was on-site and
Calvados is making progress on the export market. This excellent digestif can help you digest a big meal as no other and is also an
We had a very interesting discussion this morning with one of the “blogging gurus” in France – Loic Le Meur. (Thank you Susan for organising
L’Avant Goût 26, rue Bobillot, 75013 Paris (M. Place d’Italie), tel 01 53 80 24 00. Booking essential evenings. Good wine list with many organic
For the ninth year in a row Absolut Vodka recorded growing sales. Total sales in 2004 was 76 million litres, up 5% from 2003. Absolut
Wines full of character, in particular the cuvée prestige called Gaby. Florent Viale is a master at making wines from the Syrah grape. Until 1992
A small Bordeaux company called Authenticwine has developed a clever system to prevent wine forgeries. It uses a complicated (and difficult to forge) label that
Twenty years ago there was nothing – not a vine – here at Château Puech-Haut in Saint-Drézery. Now it is one of the most successful
”Nordlund” is a wine grown and produced in Denmark. The producer (Danskt Vin-Center) has now signed a contract with a French importer. We must of
Sideways is the second film in a short time that has wine as a major theme. This time it is not so seriously intended though.
In earlier Briefs we have talked about the conflict between Bronco Wine Co. and the Napa Valley Vintners. Bronco is selling a wine that is
Irrigation has long been prohibited in French vineyards. The reasoning being that with water the growers could inflate the grapes, increase production but lower the
Chateauonline, probably the most successful European internet wine shop, has been bought by CL Financial. The value of the transaction has not been made public.
Päivittäistavarakauppa ry, an organisation representing Finnish retailers, has requested that the EU investigate the Finnish monopoly (Alko). They want that the monopoly should be disbanded
Henrik Matsson is a Swedish writer who has spent 2 years working on an ambitious venture. He has single handed written, typeset and designed what
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