To have fine, healthy grapes when it is time to pick means everything, or at least a lot, to the quality of the wine. And that means that you must ensure that both the vines
It is quite fun to be part of the jury in wine competitions. It is also very good blind tasting practice. And above all, it is very humbling. Blind tasting is very difficult. In a
They make wonderful wines in Alsace and the landscape is wonderfully beautiful. It has long been a popular wine region in Sweden (at least as long as I lived there) and in other countries but
Arrogant Frog and Fat Bastard are two rather unpleasant brand names for unpretentious French wines. And they happen to be big sellers on the export market. If the names show foreigners’ idea of the French
The usual infighting between French appellations… Renaming the French table wines to Vin de France was an ingenious move. They were formerly called vin de table, wines without geographical origin. “France” is a brand name
Jean-Hervé Chiquet talks about Jacquesson’s journey of liberating yourself from the non-vintage straight jacket in Champagne. Recently I was invited to a tasting with champagnes from Jacquesson Champagne. The tasting was organized by their Swedish
Cahors is in the wine region called South-West in France. A region well known for its duck and foie gras among other things. Château La Reyne l’Excellence is a powerful wine with a warm feeling
Best of Wine Tourism is a prestigious international competition that promotes wine tourism initiatives. One of the awards for this year has been given to Chateau Lestrille, one of the estates we often visit on
Bruno Paillard, in person, was recently in Stockholm for a tasting of his champagnes, organised by the wine importer Tryffelsvinet. It is always particularly interesting and exciting to taste wines together with the producer. You
The gastronomic meal of the French is something worth preserving. And this is also the opinion of UNESCO. Since 2010 it is on the world heritage list of intangibles assets. It is not, however, as
In France, people talk more frequently about wine than about football (the European soccer version of course). 72% of the French say they talk about wine with some regularity, but only 44% talk about of
Well, the world did not end last December as some thought it would. But perhaps it is the end of vintage wines as we know them? Some years the vines yield abundantly, other years they
There will be no 2012 vintage of Château d’Yquem, the most famous Sauternes chateau. The conditions for the development of noble rot was bad this year, and the chateau’s director Pierre Lurton would rather refrain
These are two high quality wines from the Languedoc. Both are elegant, complex and very drinkable. Faugères 2010 Les Premières JM & Vé Alquier (14 euro) Quite light in style, full of aromas, well made
The year is soon coming to its end (we wrote at the end of December) and it will soon be time to plan what drink to finish it and celebrate the new year with. Or
We love dry white Bordeaux wines and hope that more people will discover how delicious they are. This summer we had the opportunity to visit some of the Lurton chateaux (there are several) in Entre-deux-Mers
In late October we were invited by Bernard Magrez to a luxurious lunch at Le Cinq, star restaurant at the Hôtel Georges V in Paris. We were there to celebrate several things. Bernard Magrez’ Château
Bruno Paillard was recently in Stockholm for a tasting of his champagnes, organised by the wine importer Tryffelsvinet. Exciting wines, some unusual ones, and some absolutely delicious. BKWine’s Ulf Bengtsson reports on the champagnes. The
FranceAgriMer, a body linked to the French Ministry of Agriculture, has recently published statistics on how much still wine the French households buy and drink at home (sparkling wine not included). The French buy a
INAO (Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualité), the authority that controls all the French appellations, has recently approved two additional geographical add-ons for AOC Alsace. The two lucky ones are AOC Alsace Bergheim
Château Pontet-Canet in Pauillac was the first and Château Durfort-Vivens in Margaux will probably be the second Grand Cru Classé in Médoc to become biodynamically certified. Durfort-Vivens was made as second growth (deuxième grand cru
Les Découvertes en Vallée du Rhône is a travelling wine show that takes place every second year in the Rhone Valley. Every appellation organises a gargantuan tasting with all the producers (well, almost). The wine
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
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
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
The purchase is now said to have been officially approved and confirmed: For the first time a Chinese buyer has acquired a classed growth chateau in Saint Emilion. It is far from the first chateau
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
A tasting from the Roberson Wine’s selection Roberson Wine recently launched an internet based wine shop targeting the Swedish consumer market, as well as one in the UK. The Roberson selection is focused on top-level
To have fine, healthy grapes when it is time to pick means everything, or at least a lot, to the quality of the wine. And
It is quite fun to be part of the jury in wine competitions. It is also very good blind tasting practice. And above all, it
They make wonderful wines in Alsace and the landscape is wonderfully beautiful. It has long been a popular wine region in Sweden (at least as
Arrogant Frog and Fat Bastard are two rather unpleasant brand names for unpretentious French wines. And they happen to be big sellers on the export
The usual infighting between French appellations… Renaming the French table wines to Vin de France was an ingenious move. They were formerly called vin de
Jean-Hervé Chiquet talks about Jacquesson’s journey of liberating yourself from the non-vintage straight jacket in Champagne. Recently I was invited to a tasting with champagnes
Cahors is in the wine region called South-West in France. A region well known for its duck and foie gras among other things. Château La
Best of Wine Tourism is a prestigious international competition that promotes wine tourism initiatives. One of the awards for this year has been given to
Bruno Paillard, in person, was recently in Stockholm for a tasting of his champagnes, organised by the wine importer Tryffelsvinet. It is always particularly interesting
The gastronomic meal of the French is something worth preserving. And this is also the opinion of UNESCO. Since 2010 it is on the world
In France, people talk more frequently about wine than about football (the European soccer version of course). 72% of the French say they talk about
Well, the world did not end last December as some thought it would. But perhaps it is the end of vintage wines as we know
There will be no 2012 vintage of Château d’Yquem, the most famous Sauternes chateau. The conditions for the development of noble rot was bad this
These are two high quality wines from the Languedoc. Both are elegant, complex and very drinkable. Faugères 2010 Les Premières JM & Vé Alquier (14
The year is soon coming to its end (we wrote at the end of December) and it will soon be time to plan what drink
We love dry white Bordeaux wines and hope that more people will discover how delicious they are. This summer we had the opportunity to visit
In late October we were invited by Bernard Magrez to a luxurious lunch at Le Cinq, star restaurant at the Hôtel Georges V in Paris.
Bruno Paillard was recently in Stockholm for a tasting of his champagnes, organised by the wine importer Tryffelsvinet. Exciting wines, some unusual ones, and some
FranceAgriMer, a body linked to the French Ministry of Agriculture, has recently published statistics on how much still wine the French households buy and drink
INAO (Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualité), the authority that controls all the French appellations, has recently approved two additional geographical add-ons for
Château Pontet-Canet in Pauillac was the first and Château Durfort-Vivens in Margaux will probably be the second Grand Cru Classé in Médoc to become biodynamically
Les Découvertes en Vallée du Rhône is a travelling wine show that takes place every second year in the Rhone Valley. Every appellation organises a
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
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
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
The purchase is now said to have been officially approved and confirmed: For the first time a Chinese buyer has acquired a classed growth chateau
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
A tasting from the Roberson Wine’s selection Roberson Wine recently launched an internet based wine shop targeting the Swedish consumer market, as well as one
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