Steel – Stone – Wood, Round Two! And finally, Round 2 of the tastings of Steel, Stone and Wood from the “Sixpack” from Weingut Andreas Schmitges. If you do not yet know what these wines are all about – or need to refresh your memory – please check out my post on the experiment here, as well […]
Category: Issues
Wine Myths #2: Smelling the Cork
Wine Myths, Misconceptions and Misinformation #2: Smelling the Cork Have you been out with friends at a restaurant or a wine bar, ordered a wine and the server – or even the sommelier – has pulled the cork and then paused briefly to take a whiff of its corky majesty before pouring the wine? Did […]
The Wine Saver – Does It Work?
Wine Saver – Round One: Competing with the Screwcap Of the diverse methods available intended to preserve an unfinished bottle of wine after opening, the vacuum pump is probably the most popular, is certainly one of the most practical and is also one of the cheaper alternatives. But does it work? Well I can give […]
Wine Myths #1: Decanting
Myths, Misconceptions and Misinformation #1: Decanters and Wine Aerators Almost everybody who drinks wine ends up with a decanter or two in their cupboard. Increasingly, it is also fashionable (certainly the manufacturers would have you think so) to have a “wine aerator” in your arsenal of wine paraphernalia. Beyond their aesthetic appeal, the point of […]
Qvevri Pinot Gris 2012 – Domaine Laurent Bannwarth
Why Would Anyone Want to Taste a Wine After Four Weeks? I visited Stéphane Bannwarth of Domaine Laurent Bannwarth in Alsace a while back to find out how Qvevri wines are made – and how they taste when they are made from the local grapes. It was a fascinating and instructive visit, which you can […]
Steel – Stone – Wood, Tasting Notes Round One
Steel – Stone – Wood, Round One! Okay, so here is the first round of tastings of Steel, Stone and Wood from the “Sixpack” from Weingut Andreas Schmitges. If you do not yet know what these wines are all about – or need to refresh your memory – please check out my post on the experiment here. […]
Steel – Stone – Wood; an Experiment in Fermentation at Weingut Andreas Schmitges
The Sixpack: Two Bottles Each of Steel, Stone, and Wood Have you ever thought about what affects the taste of the wine you drink? Have you ever considered what influence is exerted by the soils in which the vines grow? Have you pondered the changes effected in a wine by the sulphur that has been used (or not […]
Carignan
Carignan, the blight of the south…or not? Come closer, friend…I would like to talk with you about a vilified grape known as Carignan. Or Cariñena. Carignane. Carignano. Or Samsó…well, sometimes. Sometimes Samsó is actually Cinsault (a grape probably best-known in Provence, particularly in rosés). Apparently, according to the seminal reference Wine Grapes (Harding, Robinson and […]
Qvevri winemaking at Domaine Laurent Bannwarth
A visit to Domaine Laurent Bannwarth, natural Qvevri wine maker in Alsace. It’s always tough to plan visits to vineyards around vintage time. Depending on the way the vintage is progressing, where you are trying to go and what styles of wines are produced, vintage can take six weeks or longer. During that […]
German Wine Labels – Page 1: Introduction
Understanding the German naming system in a few easy steps. German wine labels are famously confusing – and with good reason. The amount of information they try to communicate – and in a language renowned for compounding words instead of adapting or creating new ones – is more than in any of the other classic […]