By LINCOLN SILIAKUS

Months after my Solex finished its journey from Chablis to Sablet* I am still writing up the final version of the book which will elucidate for all time the notion of terroir. Or not. While I was writing up a section on Beaujolais yesterday, I was struck by yet another example of the difficulty of marketing French wine internationally…

This next passage follows a wonderful visit to the Domaine J.-A. Ferret at Fuissé. Read More »

COMMUNIQUÉ

Des chercheurs d’Angers (Unité mixte Inserm 771 — Université d’Angers-Biologie Neurovasculaire Intégrée) viennent de décrypter le mécanisme qui lie consommation modérée des polyphénols contenus dans le vin rouge et réduction du risque de maladies cardiovasculaires, plus connu sous le nom de French Paradox. Read More »

LUIS VICENTE ELIAS PASTOR

Este trabajo de Gonzalo Gómez Alcántara sobre los últimos años del siglo XIX en Haro La Rioja, está en la línea de otras obras de ficción que sobre el fenómeno de la vitivinicultura se han publicado desde aquella novela de Blasco Ibáñez.

En este caso el autor nos sitúa en la capital de la Rioja Alta en la época en la que “los negociants” bordeleses vivían y comercializaban con los vinos riojanos hacia su país.

Interesante obra para los aficionados a la historia del vino de Rioja y para los amantes de la novela histórica.

Read More »

By JANE ANSON

As 2010 gets underway, Bordeaux is already thinking about the en primeur week in early April. I thought I would kick off the year with an interview I had with Nick Pegna, managing director Berrys Hong Kong. I did this interview in October 2009, but have just got round to writing it up in its entirety, as it is relevant to an article I am currently writing on wine storage. Sorry for the delay Nick!

The 09 vintage. ‘My first reaction after hearing reports of the quality was not dismay, but concern. Of course we all want great wine, but is the market ready? There is a difference between the perception of quality and the reality of market conditions.’ Read more

By DEAN TUDOR

The Event: APVSA tasting (Association pour la Promotion des Vins et Spiritueux en Amérique du nord).
The Time and Date: Monday, December 7, 2009, 10AM to 4PM
The Venue: Delta Chelsea Inn, 33 Gerrard Street West, Toronto.
The Target Audience: wine agents.
The Availability/Catalogue: no wines are currently available in Ontario. The group is here to try to get some agents to agree to rep the principal. Some of the wines are available in Quebec and Alberta.
Most of the wines were French, and there were sales staff available to comment on the prices and production.
The Wines: The problem I had with the wines, and one that must be acknowledged, is that they were no better than the wines that we already have here in Ontario. There really did not seem to be any price advantages, either. These 60 or so wines could be made available through Vintages or Consignment. In the past, many have been picked up for sale in Ontario. Here were my faves, regardless of price (in euro): Read More »

By LINCOLN SILIAKUS

The snow storms that jammed freeways in northern France have moved down to the South.
It has snowed all night in Sablet, and continues.

The wind has just picked up a minute ago. If it turns into a mistral, the sky will turn blue and the snow will pile up in drifts. This is what the locals fear most, as the roads turn into skating rinks and their cars end up in ditches.
In any event, the wood stove is working nicely and I’m not moving today.
If the old adage is true that a good freeze in winter is the best fertilizer for the vines, we are in for another good year this year.

Below left : SABLET village barely visible.  Right : Sablet vines with river Trignon behind (GIGONDAS AOC on the other side of the trees)

By TED LELEKAS

Shortly before Christmas, the latest list of rated Greek wines was published on erobertparker.com. The list was put together by Mark Squires, wine critic and a member of Robert Parker’s expert team, who has been assigned to cover the wines of Israel, Greece, Lebanon, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Romania.

The list contains 109 rated wines from wineries across Greece. 15 of those were deemed « oustanding« , in other words received a rating of 90-95/100. Interestingly enough the top 3 spots were won by dessert wines, and namely by the 2003 Vinsanto by Domaine Sigalas in Santorini (94/100), the 2003 Vinsanto by Santo Wines in Santorini (93/100), and the 2003 Muscat de Rio by A. Parparoussis in Patras (92/100). Further dessert wines, including a Grand Reserve bottling of Mavrodaphne, Greece’s historic fortified wine, have also received top marks, and claimed their place in the « outstanding club lounge » of this year’s ratings. Read More »