Luis Gutiérraz makes you want to catch the next plane to Spain to explore the country’s exciting wine developments. He’s the author of a 2016 book in Spanish (English version recently out, e-book available), The New Vignerons, A new generation of Spanish wine growers, that forces you to question all the marketing bumpf you’ve happily […]
Travels
When I travel, I drink wine. In fact, I usually organize my travels around learning about it because wine isn't a beverage, it's a culture.
Sagrantino’s technical tamers
Third in a 4-part series How to make great wine despite astringent tannins If a wine has strong tannins, you cellar it until it becomes drinkable, right? That’s one step, but there is quite a lot more to getting a good wine from grapes with very strong tannins. Sicily’s Nero d’Avola is the grape I’ve […]
Umbrian good karma: rebirth of Sagrantino
First of a 4-part series Montefalco is a relatively new Umbrian magnet for winelovers, thanks in no small part to its intriguing contrasts. Start with the town itself, all hardness cushioned by softness: built on and surrounded by pink-tinged monastic era stone, perched above green rolling hillsides. Shop after shop boasts foods for grandmothers’ recipes and […]
Chateauneuf, organically
Note: Jacqueline André is presenting a rare vertical tasting of her wines Thursday evening 23 March at Cave SA in Gland. Grape harvests are always a joy: for the grower who can finally begin to relax after seeing the babies grow into mature adults, for grape pickers if the vineyard is one that takes real pride […]
Travels in Sardinia: a tourist’s tips
Where is this place? Personally, and I blush to say it, a year ago I was sure only that Sardinia was an island, part of Italy, somewhere near Sicily. Obviously, I have never sailed in the Mediterranean. When I was invited on an educational trip to learn about Cannonau wines, I dashed to Google Maps. I then […]