New appellations don’t often appear in France. But sometimes, it happens. (Modifying existing ones happens more often.) On October 14, Vézelay in northern Burgundy became an Appellation d’Origine Protégée (AOP). From the beginning, Vézelay was
Some appellations only come in one colour, like Gigondas in the southern Rhône valley, which is always red (or rosé, but these are rarely seen). From 2023 however, Gigondas will also be able to be
Recent years have seen a record-breaking increase in organic wine acreage in France. Now you are up to 20% of the total vineyard area, which means 159,868 hectares that are organically certified or under conversion.
This year’s harvest was already finished when we arrived for our wine tour in Burgundy earlier this season. In many places, also the fermentation. The harvest started already on August 16 for the earliest plots
This year the harvest is very early in many places in France. At the beginning of August, some producers had already started in Languedoc-Roussillon. In Champagne, the first village to harvest was on August 20
Alsace now has its first grand cru wines made with pinot noir. Until now, the Alsatian red grape has been banned from grand cru wines. But not anymore. At least not from two of them.
The harvest in Champagne started early this year; the earliest villages already on August 20. I went to Champagne Chassenay d’Arce in the Côte des Bar, the southernmost part of Champagne, on the first of
Fitou is Languedoc’s southernmost appellation. In the past, this was the frontier between Languedoc and Spain. Today, it is the French region of Roussillon that is on the other side of the border. It is
LVMH, Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy, a large French luxury conglomerate, recently bought the well-known Joseph Phelps winery in Napa Valley. Joseph Phelps founded his estate in 1973 and the following year he launched the first
Vermouth has made a comeback. For us, it has never been out of date. We have had dry vermouth as our favourite aperitif for a long time. But perhaps some people considered it a bit
For certain people, the dream is to be able to buy a vineyard in France. In some regions, it takes many millions to do it, but not everywhere. Not surprisingly, prices vary vastly with prestige,
Today, 45 different “resistant” grape varieties are permitted to be planted in France. And so far, they have been planted on 1,200 hectares. There is an interest among winegrowers to plant these grape varieties that
Although Beaujolais is a reasonably strong brand in itself, it is still, for many people, associated with Beaujolais Nouveau, the super fresh wine that we drink only two months after the harvest. As consumers increasingly
This spring’s wine tours have taken us to Champagne, Chablis and Burgundy, among other places. And here we already saw, around the 20th of May, the beginning of the flowering, which is unusually early. It
If you care less for fame and more for the taste of the wine you will find gold nuggets in the wine regions that are a bit lesser-known. We have selected four producers that we
Beaujolais is one of the world’s most famous wine districts. There are “regular” beaujolais, beaujolais village, and beaujolais “cru”, from one of the ten villages with their own designation. But perhaps best known of all
More and more fungus-resistant grape varieties are allowed to be used in France. These grapes are hybrids but with a fair amount of Vitis vinifera blood, which guarantees a good taste. In January, an Italian
New grape varieties are regularly approved in France. First, they are preliminarily approved for a few years and then they are entered in the official French grape vine catalogue. Recently, these 8 grapes were enrolled,
On February 14-16, Wine Paris, a large wine fair, took place after two years of absence. We saw many happy faces. Exhibitors and visitors alike were glad to meet each other again in real life.
Malbec is a French grape variety, although people might be forgiven for thinking it is Argentinean. France has 6,000 hectares, Argentina 40,000 ha. Just like many of the other Bordeaux grapes, malbec has been adopted
Beaujolais wine is much more varied in style than one often thinks. It can be light and refreshing, but it can also be complex and subtle. It can be made with carbonic maceration but it
Just recently Wine Paris-Vinexpo took place in Paris. It is one of the world’s biggest wine shows, in competition with Vinitaly in Verona and ProWein in Düsseldorf. We were of course there. There were a
It will probably become common in the future for an appellation to require all their producers to have some sustainability label. AOP Côtes de Bourg in Bordeaux wants to go one step further. Here they
Côte de Nuits, the northern part of Côte d’Or in Burgundy, is dotted with wine villages, some more famous than others. One of the not so famous ones is Fixin (the x is pronounced “ss”),
Everyone who tastes wine knows that you learn more if you compare two, or more, wines at the same time. You will often discover things you wouldn’t find if you taste the wines separately. It
Julien and Sarah Launois are champagne producers in the small village of Mesnil-sur-Oger. They started only six years ago but they already export most of their production. We visited Julien and Sarah during the very
We are still in the peak of summer, even though the calendar says September 4th. Bandol, a small appellation in Provence, shows itself from its most magnificent side. The grapes are ripe. The harvest has
The red wines from the Languedoc, southern Rhône Valley and Provence often combine a delicious, dark fruit with good acidity, relatively soft tannins and a pleasant spiciness. Here are some of our favourites that we
The Rhône Valley is one of France’s great wine regions. The red wines dominate, but the white ones should not be ignored. There are many small growers in the Rhone region. But the Rhône Valley
Glass bottles play a significant role in the wine industry. The company Verallia is the largest producer of glass bottles in Europe. They have seven factories around the French wine regions and have close contact
New appellations don’t often appear in France. But sometimes, it happens. (Modifying existing ones happens more often.) On October 14, Vézelay in northern Burgundy became
Some appellations only come in one colour, like Gigondas in the southern Rhône valley, which is always red (or rosé, but these are rarely seen).
Recent years have seen a record-breaking increase in organic wine acreage in France. Now you are up to 20% of the total vineyard area, which
This year’s harvest was already finished when we arrived for our wine tour in Burgundy earlier this season. In many places, also the fermentation. The
This year the harvest is very early in many places in France. At the beginning of August, some producers had already started in Languedoc-Roussillon. In
Alsace now has its first grand cru wines made with pinot noir. Until now, the Alsatian red grape has been banned from grand cru wines.
The harvest in Champagne started early this year; the earliest villages already on August 20. I went to Champagne Chassenay d’Arce in the Côte des
Fitou is Languedoc’s southernmost appellation. In the past, this was the frontier between Languedoc and Spain. Today, it is the French region of Roussillon that
LVMH, Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy, a large French luxury conglomerate, recently bought the well-known Joseph Phelps winery in Napa Valley. Joseph Phelps founded his estate
Vermouth has made a comeback. For us, it has never been out of date. We have had dry vermouth as our favourite aperitif for a
For certain people, the dream is to be able to buy a vineyard in France. In some regions, it takes many millions to do it,
Today, 45 different “resistant” grape varieties are permitted to be planted in France. And so far, they have been planted on 1,200 hectares. There is
Although Beaujolais is a reasonably strong brand in itself, it is still, for many people, associated with Beaujolais Nouveau, the super fresh wine that we
This spring’s wine tours have taken us to Champagne, Chablis and Burgundy, among other places. And here we already saw, around the 20th of May,
If you care less for fame and more for the taste of the wine you will find gold nuggets in the wine regions that are
Beaujolais is one of the world’s most famous wine districts. There are “regular” beaujolais, beaujolais village, and beaujolais “cru”, from one of the ten villages
More and more fungus-resistant grape varieties are allowed to be used in France. These grapes are hybrids but with a fair amount of Vitis vinifera
New grape varieties are regularly approved in France. First, they are preliminarily approved for a few years and then they are entered in the official
On February 14-16, Wine Paris, a large wine fair, took place after two years of absence. We saw many happy faces. Exhibitors and visitors alike
Malbec is a French grape variety, although people might be forgiven for thinking it is Argentinean. France has 6,000 hectares, Argentina 40,000 ha. Just like
Beaujolais wine is much more varied in style than one often thinks. It can be light and refreshing, but it can also be complex and
Just recently Wine Paris-Vinexpo took place in Paris. It is one of the world’s biggest wine shows, in competition with Vinitaly in Verona and ProWein
It will probably become common in the future for an appellation to require all their producers to have some sustainability label. AOP Côtes de Bourg
Côte de Nuits, the northern part of Côte d’Or in Burgundy, is dotted with wine villages, some more famous than others. One of the not
Everyone who tastes wine knows that you learn more if you compare two, or more, wines at the same time. You will often discover things
Julien and Sarah Launois are champagne producers in the small village of Mesnil-sur-Oger. They started only six years ago but they already export most of
We are still in the peak of summer, even though the calendar says September 4th. Bandol, a small appellation in Provence, shows itself from its
The red wines from the Languedoc, southern Rhône Valley and Provence often combine a delicious, dark fruit with good acidity, relatively soft tannins and a
The Rhône Valley is one of France’s great wine regions. The red wines dominate, but the white ones should not be ignored. There are many
Glass bottles play a significant role in the wine industry. The company Verallia is the largest producer of glass bottles in Europe. They have seven
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