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Albert Bichot: an important Bourgogne negociant and land-owner, currently...
Website: www.albert-bichot.com Most people think of Albert Bichot as a negociant, but this isn’t doing the full justice. While negociant activity is an important part of its business, accounting for...
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Transmission: an exciting new wine project in Portugal’s Bairrada wine region
Transmission is an exciting new wine project from Bairrada. It’s a partnership between TAP pilot and wine lover Vitor Bento and Niepoort/Quinta do Baixo winemaker Miguel Silva, and began with the 2019...
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In Niagara (9) Lailey Winery and Stonebridge
Website: https://laileywines.com/ Lailey is one of the important wineries in Niagara’s recent history, but it has been through some recent difficulties. But now it is on the way back, and is under the...
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Organic spraying: a quick case study
While I was in the Dobbin vineyard in Niagara, Canada, a tractor went by with a spray recovery system. I asked Ann Sperling, consultant winemaker here, what was being sprayed. The answer: a mix of...
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Exploring Cairanne (4) Domaine Roche
Romain Roche came back to the family domaine in 2009. The vineyards had been in the family for seven generations, but the crop was sold to the cooperative. ‘It’s a classic story in the Rhône Valley,’...
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Exploring Cairanne (1) a large tasting of the 2022 wines
For a long time, Cairanne was part of Côtes de Rhône Villages, but it became a cru in 2015, after an eight-year process. As part of becoming a Cru, the INAO required them to reduce the area included...
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Exploring Cairanne (3) Domaine Boisson, with Bruno Boisson and a terroir tour
I took a tour of some of the Cairanne terroirs with Bruno Boisson. He explained that Cairanne has freshness with the river moderating the warmth of the summer. It’s in the west of the southern Rhône,...
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Exploring Cairanne (6) Domaine Brusset
Website: https://www.domainebrusset.fr/en/ This domaine dates back to 1947, and was based on a small 3 hectare vineyard in Cairanne. It was established by André Brusset, the grandfather of the current...
View ArticleExploring Cairanne (5) Boutinot
Boutinot are a major UK wine importer and wholesaler, but they also own vineyards in South Africa, England and France. One of their projects is in Cairanne. Paul Boutinot fell in love with the region,...
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Exploring Cairanne (2) tasting with the youngsters – Serre-Blanc, Rabasse...
Tasting with the young vignerons of Cairanne Cairanne is a dynamic appellation and there are quite a few young winegrowers operating here. I met with a few of them at Serre-Blanc, a recently acquired...
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In Niagara (10) York Vineyards, an exciting new sparkling wine specialist
It’s often said that if you want to make traditional-method sparkling wine well, you have to specialise in it. And in York Vineyards, we have Canada’s first sparkling wine specialist focusing solely...
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Discovering the Mâconnais (1) the southern outpost of Bourgogne
I’ve spent the last few days in the Mâconnais, the southern outpost of Bourgogne (or Burgundy as it is known widely in English). Like many discovering wine in the late 1990s, for a long time I...
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Alsace adventure (4) the wines of domaine Justin Boxler
Website: www.vinsboxler.fr We visited Domaine Justin Boxler with Charlotte Boxler (pictured above), who now runs the domaine with her cousin Florent Wiss. They are based in Niedermorschwihr and have...
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Alsace adventure (5) heading north to see Mochel, Pfister and Loew
On a rainy October day in Alsace, Lars Daniels and I headed up to meet three producers working in the north of the region. We dodged heavy showers to look round the vineyards then did a joint tasting,...
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The wines of Dugat Py, a leading domaine in Gevrey-Chambertin, Bourgogne
Website: http://www.dugat-py.com Things are changing in Burgundy (or Bourgogne, as the region now likes to be called). A new generation are coming into family domaines and are open-minded about doing...
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Discovering the Mâconnais (2) Terres Secrètes
Website: https://terres-secretes.com/en/ The wine world needs good, affordable wine, and when cooperatives are well run, they can help provide it. Terres Secrètes, based in Prissé in the south of the...
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Discovering the Mâconnais (3) Château de la Greffière
Website: https://chateaudelagreffiere.com/en/ Greffière is an exciting producer in the Mâconnais, based in La Roche Vineuse, and they also have a bit of history. The Grezuard family has been here...
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Russian River Valley, Sonoma, California (1): exploring the neighbourhoods...
Back in 2003 the Russian River Pinot Forum was first established. The goal was to educate wine buyers about what makes this Sonoma County wine region a special place for growing Pinot Noir, and this...
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Russian River Valley, Sonoma, California (2) Beyond Pinot Noir
The Russian River Valley’s fame is largely due to its excellence with Pinot Noir, but there is more to this region than just Pinot. Part of this is because when the boundaries of the AVA were drawn...
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Highlights: Weyborne, a new-ish English sparkling wine producer tilting at...
Owner Nick Clarke to purchased the historic Blackdown Park estate in 2010 (near Haslemere, Surrey), and has planted 25 acres of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier vines located in five plots....
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