Cavas can be inexpensive, easy-going bubbly, but it can also be more than that. It’s worth checking out the higher-end cuvées from good producers to get a sense of that : far from being strictly creamy, with substantial pastry notes, they can also offer freshness, fine bubbles and a crisp
In the world of marketing and sales, it's always good when you can keep things simple. Of course, this can be quite a challenge for an industry like the wine industry, where realities of place, grapes, vintages, styles, and terroir add up as so many variables to take into account—enough
Celestino Gaspari, the late Giuseppe Quintarelli’s son-in-law, was also seen as his heir apparent in the winery, before he struck on his own and openend Zymé, his own estate, in 2003. One can imagine that the obligatory reference to the former master of the Veneto will fade away with time,
Elisabetta Foradori is a darling of the biodynamic/natural wine community. Renowned for her Granato, a remarkable cuvée made from the Teroldego grape, she converted to biodynamics in 2000 and gradually changed her winemaking to a more minimalist, "natural" approach. This is apparent in the 2010 Fontanasanta, made from a vinifera
If you think pinot noir from South America is inevitably too rich, too extracted and too ripe, you really need to get yourself a bottle of this subtle, balanced gem from Bodega Chacra, founded by Piero Incisa, scion of the family who brought you a little Tuscan wine called… Sassicaia.
It’s interesting to see just how loosely terms like “cool climate” can be used sometimes in today’s wine world. For instance, take this Kingston Family syrah from the Casablanca Valley, supposedly one of Chile’s coolest areas. The owners of the winery certainly insist that they are “cool climate,” even though
Yesterday, the European Union published a press release saying it had reached agreement on rules governing organic wine, meaning that instead of just saying "made with organic grapes," wines made under these rules will now be able to bear the official appellation of "organic wine" on their labels. Starting with
2008 was a tough vintage in Ontario: a rainy spring and early summer and, after a bit of a sunny reprieve in July and August, more grey and rainy weather for most of the fall. Obtaining full ripeness and balance in red wines, even for the early ripening pinot noir,