Taking the world one wine at a time.
Grapes 100% Pinot Blanc Facts Bubbles from Alsace! Who knew!?!? Well, me…but that’s only because I’m a nerd for this stuff. Seriously though, Alsace barely gets a look-in on most restaurant wine lists and even less on retailers’ shelves. Shame really, since they tend to be some of my favorite white wines coming out of France. Petition your local Sommelier, I say!!! The Helfrich family, even though they’re “old school Alsace,” and farming from some…
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Grapes 80% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 5% Mourvedre, and 5% Cinsault Facts It’s been a little-while since I last had/reviewed a bottle of CdP (what the cool kids call it…or at least…what I call it). Chateauneuf-du-Pape isn’t for everyone – its intensity and “tertiary” flavors certainly take some getting use to – but I’d probably put it up there as my overall all-time favorite French wine region. Seven generations of winegrowers have tended to the…
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Even though Bordeaux remains the Old World wine of choice for many with new money to burn, their tastes are no-doubt changing. When people think of Bordeaux, sweet wine is more than likely the LAST thing on their mind! Sauternes and Barsac, in the Bordeaux region of France, make a very different kind of wine than people have come to know Bordeaux for; namely, sweet and white. But growers in the region have slowly started…
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Grapes 100% Chardonnay Facts The Domaine de Bernier is a wine from the Couillaud brothers, who’ve had winemaking in their blood for six generations. I’m also envious when I read things like that! My wife for example, has U.S President Ulysses S. Grant as one of her ancestors.My family tree? Nonexistent! I mean it’s there (obviously), but I’ve got no “cool dead relatives” on my side of the family! I guess the…
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Grapes Grenache, Syrah, Carignan Facts If you’re looking to slowly step into France, but aren’t sure where to start, wines from Ventoux might be right up your alley! I speak to a great number of people who tell me that when they buy red wine from France, it’s always so earthy, tannic and dry. The bonus with wines from Ventoux is they tend to skew a little more juicy/jammy, certainly more than their neighboring…
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Chateau d’Yquem the world’s most famous and expensive dessert wine will not be made this year, due to heavy rains preventing the grapes from reaching their necessary sugar levels. The unfortunate weather is expected to cost the winery “tens of millions of euros” in lost sales. This isn’t the first time Chateau D’Yquem has had to skip a vintage. Similar decisions were also made in ‘’52, ‘72 and ‘92. “It is as if there was…
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What is Beaujolais? Beaujolais [Boe-zjoh-lay] is a red wine made from a grape called Gamay. Yup! That’s where we already hit our first hurdle! There is no Beaujolais grape, contrary to what most people assume Beaujolais to be made from. This is always where consumers get confused, not just with Beaujolais, but with French wines in general i.e. between the grape and the region the wine comes from. By French law, Beaujolais Nouveau is…
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Grapes 100% Pinot Noir Facts When is a French Pinot not a French Pinot? When it’s the Vincent Girardin “Emotion,” of course! I consider a wine like this a timid step forward for those looking to ever-so-slowly “get their wine-drinking into France,” when they used to drinking mainly Cali Pinot.The problem I have found is that when people start out their wine drinking lives by starting with New World Pinot Noir and then try…
Read MoreRally driver Petter Solberg clearly must be more of a beer drinker, as is shown in these two videos by his blatant disregard for the delicate grapes of Alsace! The Norwegian Solberg started the day in 4th place, narrowly missed spectators when he careened off the road on the opening stage, through a vineyard, over the same road again, into another vineyard and then for a grand finale he took out an electrical pylon….
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French winemakers have their over the possibility the EU may allow US imported wines to be called “Chateau” or “Clos.” Currently in France, both these terms must only refer to an AOC wine coming only from grapes that are harvested and vinified on a single estate. In the US there is no regulation and any winery can call itself a Chateau even if it is buying in grapes from other growers in different regions. French…
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Michel Chapoutier of Maison Chapoutier has vowed to fight Chinese forgers who have launched a brand of clothing using his name. This isn’t the first time Chapoutier has fallen victim to counterfeiters. His wine has been faked before, but this is the first time a clothing brand has used his name. Advertised under the ‘M Chapoutier’ label, the fake was first spotted by Michel’s daughter, Mathilde Chapoutier, who happens to be spending three years studying…
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