Pour l’introduction de nouveaux ou anciens cépages dans les appellations

Je ne suis ni œnologue, ni agronome, mais je m'intéresse beaucoup au vin depuis au moins 50 ans et, d'une manière professionnelle, depuis 38 ans maintenant. Ce qui m'intéresse avant tout dans le vin, comme je l'ai souvent dit, est le plaisir gustatif  qu'il peut engendrer. Sans oublier l'émotion, car le plaisir esthétique peut aussi la …

Some facts, figures and thoughts about Sauvignon Blanc

It was a slight surprise to me to learn, while preparing for a short conference that I gave at the recent Concours Mondial de Sauvignon for its 11th edition, which was held this year in the fine town of Blois, that Sauvignon (essentially Blanc, but also occasionally Gris) is a more extensively  planted grape than …

Coteaux du Lyonnais: an extension of Beaujolais or something different?

I suppose that most of you are fully aware that the Beaujolais region lies just north of Lyon, and that the northern Rhône appellations such as Côte Rôtie, Condrieu and the others begin just south of the same city. But how many of you know that there is also a wine appellation which connects the …

Back to Gascony 2: red wines

Last week I wrote about the main type of wine produced in this part of South-West France, namely dry whites. But my tasting of some 90 plus wines also included some reds and a few sweet whites. This week I will talk about the reds in more detail. Vineyard in the Gers at this time …

Back to Gascony (Part 1) : dry whites

It has been two years since I tasted a comprehensive range of wines from the widespread Côtes de Gascogne designation. This IGP (they don't want to become an AOP and I think they are quite right) covers much of the Gers département in South-West France, as well as small bits of two neighbours, Landes and …