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.
Interview with the founder, owner and winemaker of the winery Cortes de Cima: Hans Kristian Jorgensen, in the vineyards of the estate. Cortes de Cima is one of the leading wine estates in the Alentejo,
Interview with John Loubser, general manager at the Steenberg Vineyards Winery in Constantia on the Cape peninsula in South Africa. Steenberg means Stone Mountain. The reason is obvious when you come here: you are surrounded
Dottore Giorgio Colli gives a short introduction to truffles, what types of truffles there are and how you should prepare and serve them. Truffle is a type of mushroom. About a dozen truffle varieties are
Cortes de Cima: interview with winemaker Hamilton Reis. Cortes de Cima is a winery in the Alentejo region in Portugal, an hour an a half east of Lisbon. Their total range includes more than a
One of the things that contribute to the ageing of wine is oxygen. Aging is, partially, a slow oxidation of the wine. It leads to changes in the flavour and aromas and it also changes
There are many different types of microbes (minuscule organisms) that contribute to making the wine into what it is. Many of them are desirable and even essential to the making of a wine. some only
“Why don’t you use screw cap?” is a question that winemakers are often asked when people come and visit (especially if the visitors are Swedish! All Swedes – and many Britons – seem convinced of
Almost all wines (counted in volume) are filtered in one way or another. There are a few wine producers who do not filter their wines. There are also wine enthusiasts who are convinced that unfiltered
Austria has around 46,000 hectares of vineyards. That is roughly one third of Bordeaux (and some). There are four main regions: Burgenland, Niederösterriech, Steiermark and Wien. Niederösterriech is by far the biggest region with 60%
In our last Brief we wrote about the most popular grape varieties grown in Germany. The figures came from a print magazine but after looking at them a little more closely we thought they looked
It is common practice to add cultured (sometimes called artificial) yeast to the must to control the fermentation of wine. Just like for “natural” fermentation it is Saccharomyses Cerevisiae that converts the sugar to alcohol
For organic wine farmers the only permitted products are copper and sulphur, it is often said. That is not quite correct, since in organic farming you are allowed to use other products – if they
Gum Arabic is, technically, a polysaccharide and a resin like substance from an Arabic acacia tree. Its use is permitted in winemaker. Nothing particularly strange about that. It is a regular food additive with the
Chenin blanc is not so often called steen, as it used to be, but it is still South Africa’s most grown grape variety, albeit decreasing. Quite a lot of it goes to making the very
Much have changed in South African wine production over a few decades. Today they use a classification system called Wines of Origin (WO) based on three levels: regions, districts, and wards. There are four regions,
“Can a Swedish resident import wine for personal consumption, without having to go through the monopoly, or is it completely out of the question?” This is a question that pops up quite often, both from
Diluted wine or fruity wine? Must concentration – what should or should you not do? Boil the must in a vacuum? If it rains just before the harvest you risk getting a diluted must. The
There is a (very small) trend today among certain wine makers not to use any sulphur at all during the winemaking. Sulphur is used by virtually all wine producers, for example to stabilise the wine
What’s new in Mendoza? With the snow capped Andes in the background and an extremely blue sky, Mendoza, the largest wine region in Argentina, is a magnificent sight. The climate is nice and warm. It
Interview (part 2) with Denis Dubourdieu. Denis Dubourdieu is a wine consultant and wine maker, as well as a professor in oenology at the University of Bordeaux. Part 2 of a two part interview. We
Denis Dubourdieu is one of the world’s best known wine consultants. He is perhaps to modest to call himself ‘flying winemaker’ and does not really boast his various assignments. BKWine met with him at one
In the last Brief we noted that it is really not a big issue if you don’t remember all the 13 permitted grape varieties in Châteauneuf. Or is it 15? Well, it all depends on
Here’s the second part of the interview with Cesar Compadre on the future of Bordeaux. The video is in French. (Part 1 of the interview with Cesar Compadre on the Future of Bordeaux is here.)
Not just football There’s a lot of talk about South Africa these days (but less and less in some countries perhaps…) with the World Cup in full spin. But disregarding if we’re watching football or
Tales from a recent trip Chile is a wine country in transformation. For twenty years it has been delivering reliable but quite basic wines but now many wine producers think it is time to show
– There are 60 different appellations(AOC / AOP) in total in the Bordeaux region – 118,000 hectares of vines in total (2009) – 5.7 million hl wine produced, which is +20 compared to 2008 but
Every once in a while we read about how good and how safe wine is as an investment. Not seldom it is written by someone who is offering services to potential “investors”. Felix Salmon, financial
Grape harvest with a harvest machine (tractor) A winegrower can either harvest manually with people in the vineyard, or do mechanical harvest with a machine. Mechanical harvest is done with a dedicated harvester or with
Extracting more by spraying the cap — “Pumping over” (called remontage in French) is a technology used in the winery to increase extraction. The winemaker performs it by emptying fermenting must from the bottom of
Noble rot is what makes some sweet wines what they are. Noble rot, or botrytis cinerea (or pourriture noble in French), is a kind of fungus, a mushroom, which can develop on the grapes in
Interview with the founder, owner and winemaker of the winery Cortes de Cima: Hans Kristian Jorgensen, in the vineyards of the estate. Cortes de Cima
Interview with John Loubser, general manager at the Steenberg Vineyards Winery in Constantia on the Cape peninsula in South Africa. Steenberg means Stone Mountain. The
Dottore Giorgio Colli gives a short introduction to truffles, what types of truffles there are and how you should prepare and serve them. Truffle is
Cortes de Cima: interview with winemaker Hamilton Reis. Cortes de Cima is a winery in the Alentejo region in Portugal, an hour an a half
One of the things that contribute to the ageing of wine is oxygen. Aging is, partially, a slow oxidation of the wine. It leads to
There are many different types of microbes (minuscule organisms) that contribute to making the wine into what it is. Many of them are desirable and
“Why don’t you use screw cap?” is a question that winemakers are often asked when people come and visit (especially if the visitors are Swedish!
Almost all wines (counted in volume) are filtered in one way or another. There are a few wine producers who do not filter their wines.
Austria has around 46,000 hectares of vineyards. That is roughly one third of Bordeaux (and some). There are four main regions: Burgenland, Niederösterriech, Steiermark and
In our last Brief we wrote about the most popular grape varieties grown in Germany. The figures came from a print magazine but after looking
It is common practice to add cultured (sometimes called artificial) yeast to the must to control the fermentation of wine. Just like for “natural” fermentation
For organic wine farmers the only permitted products are copper and sulphur, it is often said. That is not quite correct, since in organic farming
Gum Arabic is, technically, a polysaccharide and a resin like substance from an Arabic acacia tree. Its use is permitted in winemaker. Nothing particularly strange
Chenin blanc is not so often called steen, as it used to be, but it is still South Africa’s most grown grape variety, albeit decreasing.
Much have changed in South African wine production over a few decades. Today they use a classification system called Wines of Origin (WO) based on
“Can a Swedish resident import wine for personal consumption, without having to go through the monopoly, or is it completely out of the question?” This
Diluted wine or fruity wine? Must concentration – what should or should you not do? Boil the must in a vacuum? If it rains just
There is a (very small) trend today among certain wine makers not to use any sulphur at all during the winemaking. Sulphur is used by
What’s new in Mendoza? With the snow capped Andes in the background and an extremely blue sky, Mendoza, the largest wine region in Argentina, is
Interview (part 2) with Denis Dubourdieu. Denis Dubourdieu is a wine consultant and wine maker, as well as a professor in oenology at the University
Denis Dubourdieu is one of the world’s best known wine consultants. He is perhaps to modest to call himself ‘flying winemaker’ and does not really
In the last Brief we noted that it is really not a big issue if you don’t remember all the 13 permitted grape varieties in
Here’s the second part of the interview with Cesar Compadre on the future of Bordeaux. The video is in French. (Part 1 of the interview
Not just football There’s a lot of talk about South Africa these days (but less and less in some countries perhaps…) with the World Cup
Tales from a recent trip Chile is a wine country in transformation. For twenty years it has been delivering reliable but quite basic wines but
– There are 60 different appellations(AOC / AOP) in total in the Bordeaux region – 118,000 hectares of vines in total (2009) – 5.7 million
Every once in a while we read about how good and how safe wine is as an investment. Not seldom it is written by someone
Grape harvest with a harvest machine (tractor) A winegrower can either harvest manually with people in the vineyard, or do mechanical harvest with a machine.
Extracting more by spraying the cap — “Pumping over” (called remontage in French) is a technology used in the winery to increase extraction. The winemaker
Noble rot is what makes some sweet wines what they are. Noble rot, or botrytis cinerea (or pourriture noble in French), is a kind of
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