|
| Wines France
Wine cautions.
Wine is not a cure-all and not everyone should drink wine. There are also circumstances when no one should drink any alcohol. When combined with certain prescription drugs, for example, alcohol in any form can produce an adverse reaction. Wine should not be given to people with inflammations of the digestive tract, peptic ulcers, liver disease, pancreatitis, kidney or urinary infections, prostate disorders, epilepsy, or alcoholism. As previously mentioned, pre-menopausal women with a family history of breast cancer should abstain from drinking any alcohol, including wine.
...
Burgundy saved from mildew threat
The mildew plague sweeping through French vineyards has not caught on in Burgundy due to the recent cold weather, say local growers.
Although there have been scattered reports of mildew affecting leaves in vineyards throughout the region, with the Cote Chalonnaise most affected, the incidents are rare and have not spread to the grapes where most damage occurs.
...
Barton defends Bordeaux pricing
Bordeaux proprietor Anthony Barton has said that high prices for the 2006 vintage are reasonable, comparing the campaign to that of the 1989 vintage.
Writing in the September issue of Decanter magazine, the head of Leoville- and Langoa-Barton said that prices were reasonable - 'when compared with the current prices of the 2005s'.
...
A tale of two Bordeaux
Aside from the top chateaux, the region's producers struggle to be relevant
Bordeaux, France --
Perusing the selection at a Cannes wine shop, I noticed a group of Japanese businessmen.
Among the shop's selection of upscale wines -- such as Cristal and grand cru Burgundies -- one gentleman selected two bottles of 1995 Cheval Blanc, one of Bordeaux's greatest wines (for just over $600 a bottle).
...
Tasting through Burgundy
Most of us know how to visit a winery, don't we? You walk into the tasting room and try to wangle a taste of as many of the producer's best wines as possible.
But in Burgundy, the business of visiting to taste is very different indeed. The places where Burgundy is made have in most significant cases remained virtually unchanged for centuries.
...
Riesling, The Great White Hope
Chardonnay is the buxom blond that catches everyone’s eye. Nipped and tucked and made ever more voluptuous by winemaking tricks of the trade like toasting barrel-heads and oaking the grapes for what seems like forever, Chardonnay is wine’s equivalent of the va-va-voom pin-up girl. Riesling, alas, is that girl next door you don’t seem to give a second look to.
...
An Alsatian at the Table
The word “Alsatian” can be either a noun – as in the dog – or an adjective; think “Alsatian wine.” This contrast may not seem worth mentioning, but this is actually a point of contention among wine geeks, some of whom argue that the phrase “Alsatian wine” is likely to be mistaken for “dog-now-commonly-called-a-German-Shepherd wine,” so one must use expressions like “the wines of Alsace” or “Alsace wine.”...
Bordeaux woodchip sales soar
Sales of woodchips to winemakers in Bordeaux have increased by as much as 200%.
The main driver for this increase is a legal vacuum. A text banning the use of woodchips in AOC winemaking was prepared last November (2006) by INAO, the French regulatory body for AOC wines, but it has not yet been signed into law.
...
Alsatian whites love a big entree
Except for late-harvest dessert wines, the white wines of Alsace are almost always very dry and medium- to full-bodied with palate-coating flavors. They have flowery aromas of apple, yellow plum, peach and citrus, coupled with deeper notes of mineral, petroleum, stone and chalk. ...
Sylvaner among the happy few ''grand cru'' grapes
The little-known Sylvaner grape can join the Pinot Gris and Riesling varietals as a grand cru, the French appellation authority INAO has ruled.
Though the designation only applies to one grand cru plot, the 14ha Zotzenberg vineyard, it is considered a major victory for winemakers in northern Alsace who have been fighting for some 15 years for the recognition of Sylvaner.
...
Burgundy 2005 sales as healthy as Bordeaux
As the annual round of Burgundy tastings kicks off in London, the 2005 vintage is shaping up to be as good a seller as Bordeaux - though less hyped.
While many offers haven't yet been released, merchants are already bullish.
...
Burgundy vintage 2006
The first impressions of the 2006 harvest in Burgundy are that it is a vintage which has favoured white wines more than red. However, there are some good reds, especially from the Côte de Nuits.
The chaotic and uncertain climatic conditions throughout 2006 presented a challenge even for the most experienced Burgundy winemakers.
...
The 2006 Alsace Vintage
The Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins d’Alsace (CIVA) describes 2006 as a year of sharp contrasts, but the region’s inter-professional wine body has given an upbeat summary of the vintage.
A relatively cool and rainy spring resulted in late budburst and slower than usual growth in the vineyards which, CIVA says, was followed by excellent weather conditions in June, in terms of sunshine and temperature, allowing the vines to make up for lost time and flower quickly at the usual date.
...
The 2004 Alsace Vintage
A Vintage That Brings Alsace Back To Reality
A rather mild winter with a lack of rain. Dry until spring, some growers start to worry about this drought. The flowering took place around mid June and was very successful on all grape-varieties. July was not too warm, August was rather normal much cooler than the previous year. September was nice, warm and dry which enabled all grapes to fully mature and to remain extremely healthy...
Kaefferkopf, the 51 st Alsace Grand Cru
Kaefferkopf is officially the 51 st Alsace Grand Cru. Located in Ammerschwihr in the heart of Alsace and its numerous high quality vineyards, this new Grand Cru stands on 71 hectares, one of the biggest in Alsace.
This decision didn't please everyone for the following reasons:
Some producers are not very happy about losing the right to use the appelation Kaefferkopf.
Others are not pleased that their concurrents gain new rights to use "Grand Cru " classification.
A bunch of them would have agreed to keep the Kaefferkopf name without meeting the Alsace Grand Cru production rules, especially the yield ones.
...
| | | | | |
|
•