Learn more about wine with our fact-filled articles under the heading ”wine school”. On how to make wine, on wine regions, on grape varieties, on tasting wine and much, much more. Facts about the wonderful world of wine. Everything from in-depth technical articles on viticulture and winemaking to tasting tips to learn more about flavours and characters.
There is a lot of talk about fungus resistant grapes (sometimes called PIWI, from German pilzwiderstandsfähige). But the descriptor is maybe poorly chosen. The “fungus resistant” grapes used today are hybrids, in other words crosses
FranceAgriMer, under the French Ministry of Agriculture, publishes interesting figures on agriculture, including viticulture in France. Sometimes, they also publish figures for wine countries outside of France, such as how much of some wine countries’
Observations made in the departments of Gard and Vaucluse in southern France show a high level of symptoms of downy mildew, a severe fungal disease, on several supposedly fungus-resistant grape varieties, sometimes called piwi grapes.
Are wine competition medals a useful buying indicator for consumers? Or are wine competitions a scam where producers buy medals to make their bottles look impressive? This article explains (in quite a lot of detail)
Languedoc in southern France has become a dynamic and exciting wine region. The region has an incredible variety of wines, including red, rosé, white, and sparkling. The warm climate produces wines with generous fruit but
It should be pretty straightforward to check the alcohol level in your wine. You just look at the label. But it is not that simple. Maybe there is more than the label states. Or less.
No, it is not the title of a new thriller novel. “Good wine is made in the cellar, but exceptional wine is made in the vineyard,” Stellios Boutaris of Greece’s Kir-Yanni Estate told us back
Le Marche on the Italian Adriatic coast does not have Ponte Vecchio, the Verona Arena or the Forum. But it does have spectacular Italian landscapes, beautiful beaches and, above all, fantastic food and wine. It
Many people are familiar with cava, and many have gotten used to the fact that it is affordable bubbles, good to have when money is tight or the number of guests is large. But the
Vranec, or vranac, is a grape that almost only exists in the Balkans. It has an intense colour, intense fruit with blackberries and other dark fruit and very present tannins. Wines made from vranec are
Mousiness, or a mousy wine, is a relatively “new” wine fault. Going back a decade or a bit more, it was rarely talked about. Maybe it didn’t even exist. Today, it is more common, partly
Nebbiolo has changed over the years, not least in the last 40 years. Its world fame is rather recent. Its most famous wines, Barolo and Barbaresco, triumphed on the export market from the 1980’s. Before
Biodynamic viticulture is a topic that often stirs up emotions. Sometimes positive, it’s a trendy segment today. Sometimes negative, especially for those trying to understand how it works. Whatever one thinks, there is no doubt
You’ve probably heard it before. “How do you make a small fortune in wine? You start with a big fortune.” Looking at the list of France’s riches people, this seems to be only partially true.
Gamay is the grape in Beaujolais. It is a charming grape, easy to recognise with a fruitiness that few other grapes can beat. Gamay produces an easy-drinking, berry-like wine, sometimes a little spicy, often unpretentious,
A wine grower always keeps an eye on the weather report. As we now enter the month of May, you would think that the risk of spring frost is over for the winegrowers in France.
At what point can you be considered a wine expert? Is it when you have such good “theoretical” knowledge that you can place Bordeaux chateaux on a blind map and know which river flows through
The organic wine producers spray with copper to combat the fungal disease downy mildew, mildiou. (Many conventional—not organic—also spray with copper, but they may also use synthetic pesticides.) But, of course, they want to use
We missed an important anniversary by a few months. In 2022, it was 200 years ago that Louis Pasteur was born. Pasteur is a person that every wine lover must honour. His importance to the
The Old World and The New World. The wine industry has lived with these expressions for quite a few years. And it is convenient. It was natural to call the countries outside Europe The New
Last autumn, our wine tours took us to a number of wine regions and wine countries, including France, Italy, Portugal, and Austria. We took the occasion to ask some of the winemakers what they thought
In 2016, the Pessac-Léognan appellation in northern Graves in Bordeaux changed its rules to allow irrigation during severe drought. Irrigation is a much-discussed topic in France today, and as the hot and dry summers continue,
The Michelangelo International Wine and Spirits Awards is one of the big wine competitions in South Africa with a few thousand entries. I was part of the jury, the people tasting and judging the wines,
Virtually all appellations in Europe have rules that limit the yield, such as “the maximum yield is 45 hectolitres per hectare”. The theory behind this is often said to be that “a high yield gives
There is a lot of talk about which grape varieties will best adapt to climate change. However, less is said about the (“American”) rootstocks, although they do all the work in the soil. Whenever a
When we travel through wine regions these days, we often see grass/weeds growing in the vineyard. And if you look at the statistics, the use of herbicides, i.e. chemical weed control, has decreased. But wine
Old grape varieties, more or less forgotten, are now being honoured again. A variety called lignage was grown before the phylloxera around the city of Blois in the Loire Valley and produced wines with high
Prosecco is today the world’s most-sold and most-consumed sparkling wine, with some 700 million bottles. It is made in the north-eastern corner of Italy in a region called Prosecco. Most of it is a light,
By using the new genetic technology CRISPR-CAS, Chilean scientists have produced a grape that is resistant to oidium, a fungal disease. The grape in question is Thompson seedless, a table grape, so not relevant 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. But not anymore. At least not from two of them.
There is a lot of talk about fungus resistant grapes (sometimes called PIWI, from German pilzwiderstandsfähige). But the descriptor is maybe poorly chosen. The “fungus
FranceAgriMer, under the French Ministry of Agriculture, publishes interesting figures on agriculture, including viticulture in France. Sometimes, they also publish figures for wine countries outside
Observations made in the departments of Gard and Vaucluse in southern France show a high level of symptoms of downy mildew, a severe fungal disease,
Are wine competition medals a useful buying indicator for consumers? Or are wine competitions a scam where producers buy medals to make their bottles look
Languedoc in southern France has become a dynamic and exciting wine region. The region has an incredible variety of wines, including red, rosé, white, and
It should be pretty straightforward to check the alcohol level in your wine. You just look at the label. But it is not that simple.
No, it is not the title of a new thriller novel. “Good wine is made in the cellar, but exceptional wine is made in the
Le Marche on the Italian Adriatic coast does not have Ponte Vecchio, the Verona Arena or the Forum. But it does have spectacular Italian landscapes,
Many people are familiar with cava, and many have gotten used to the fact that it is affordable bubbles, good to have when money is
Vranec, or vranac, is a grape that almost only exists in the Balkans. It has an intense colour, intense fruit with blackberries and other dark
Mousiness, or a mousy wine, is a relatively “new” wine fault. Going back a decade or a bit more, it was rarely talked about. Maybe
Nebbiolo has changed over the years, not least in the last 40 years. Its world fame is rather recent. Its most famous wines, Barolo and
Biodynamic viticulture is a topic that often stirs up emotions. Sometimes positive, it’s a trendy segment today. Sometimes negative, especially for those trying to understand
You’ve probably heard it before. “How do you make a small fortune in wine? You start with a big fortune.” Looking at the list of
Gamay is the grape in Beaujolais. It is a charming grape, easy to recognise with a fruitiness that few other grapes can beat. Gamay produces
A wine grower always keeps an eye on the weather report. As we now enter the month of May, you would think that the risk
At what point can you be considered a wine expert? Is it when you have such good “theoretical” knowledge that you can place Bordeaux chateaux
The organic wine producers spray with copper to combat the fungal disease downy mildew, mildiou. (Many conventional—not organic—also spray with copper, but they may also
We missed an important anniversary by a few months. In 2022, it was 200 years ago that Louis Pasteur was born. Pasteur is a person
The Old World and The New World. The wine industry has lived with these expressions for quite a few years. And it is convenient. It
Last autumn, our wine tours took us to a number of wine regions and wine countries, including France, Italy, Portugal, and Austria. We took the
In 2016, the Pessac-Léognan appellation in northern Graves in Bordeaux changed its rules to allow irrigation during severe drought. Irrigation is a much-discussed topic in
The Michelangelo International Wine and Spirits Awards is one of the big wine competitions in South Africa with a few thousand entries. I was part
Virtually all appellations in Europe have rules that limit the yield, such as “the maximum yield is 45 hectolitres per hectare”. The theory behind this
There is a lot of talk about which grape varieties will best adapt to climate change. However, less is said about the (“American”) rootstocks, although
When we travel through wine regions these days, we often see grass/weeds growing in the vineyard. And if you look at the statistics, the use
Old grape varieties, more or less forgotten, are now being honoured again. A variety called lignage was grown before the phylloxera around the city of
Prosecco is today the world’s most-sold and most-consumed sparkling wine, with some 700 million bottles. It is made in the north-eastern corner of Italy in
By using the new genetic technology CRISPR-CAS, Chilean scientists have produced a grape that is resistant to oidium, a fungal disease. The grape in question
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.
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