“He’s not my husband,” says Jeci Llopart, a ringer for the dark-haired comedian actress Krysten Ritter. Jeci is referring to the young man who at this very moment is driving me through the Llopart family vineyards
Visiting the gorgeous Miguel Torres winery in the Penedes is a bit like visiting Disneyland in that there is all manner of entertainment to help visitors understand what Miguel Torres and the Torres family wines are all about. The journey begins with a short film (available in virtually all languages) that introduces this historical wine [...]
Have you ever enjoyed a glass of wine in the vineyard where the wine was made? Or even better, had a visitation from a medieval monk while visiting a cellar? In the tiny Spanish Catalan town of Nulles, all of this happened one enchanted evening while paying a visit to this cooperative of 94 members [...]
“Mr. Sumarroca visits the vineyards every day,” says lively Director General Joseph Puig about the owner of this winery, the largest non-corporate family winery in the region. In welcoming our group of wine savvy visitors, Mr. Puig gave an excellent overview of the unique terroir, as well as the family’s obsession about the need to [...]
“My …. those are some rocks you have,” I say to friendly Pares Balta export manager Oriol Bargallo, looking at the handsome display of the various soil types at the Pares Balta Vinexpo booth. It is a busy Monday morning on the opening day of what is sure to be the biggest wine trade [...]
“These are wines people my age really like and appreciate,” says Master Sommelier Fred Dexheimer, an award winning sommelier and mixologist who has been the Spokesperson of Pays d’Oc IGP since 2012. Though he didn’t whip out his driver’s license, he appears to be somewhere in his early or mid thirties and with this statement [...]
Very interesting visit to Chateau de Cazeneuve, one of the top estateds in Pic St. Loup characterized by chalky limestone soils, lots of rain, and a high elevation which allows for good ripening yet high acidity. André Leenhardt, deeply restructures the estate vineyard and farm buildings in the 1990s. Andre is a very generous man [...]
“Austria is not Australia,” said our fearless leader Jason Turner, as he began his presentation on the Austrian Wine trade promptly at 10am the first morning of our trip at the famous Weinakademie Osterreich in Rust. Austria had produced wines since the Celts and Romans, with many of the wines exported throughout the Roman Empire [...]
“I am so excited to show you our terroir!” exclaims Luca Cuzziol, an owner with his lovely wife of Biancavigna in Conegliano-Valdobbiadene, Italy. I jump into his car and we are off to explore the three pieces of land he owns in the Conegliano-Valdobbiadene DOCG region, characterized by spectacular topography with steep hills … [...]
“Welcome to Bisol,” says Roberto Cremonese, energetic export manager at Bisol, a large quality Prosecco DOCG producer in Conegliano-Valdobbiadene. Evidence exists of the Bisol family in the historic heart of the production area of Prosecco, the area called “Chartice” in the very prestigious Cartizze hills – can be found as early as the sixteenth [...]
You may feel it’s rather unusual to walk into the luxurious Peacock Lounge in the elegant Waldorf Astoria hotel at 9:30 in the morning and be greeted by a tall, smiling winemaker and six bottles of wine. Yet mornings are the best time to taste, and California winemakers visiting clients and journalists in Manhattan need [...]
A lovely lunch today with Janet Myers, the Director of Winemaking and General Manager at Franciscan Estate. She was in New York to promote her exciting new white wine called Equilibrium, a blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscat. It’s a very interesting wine – highly aromatic with crisp acidity and a rounded, lifted, slightly [...]
Wearing a lizard green shirt, Giovanni Frozza greets me at his family”s winery in Valdobbiadene. Youngish and fit, he explains the details of the winery which has been in this location for 80 years and a few kilometers since 1890. Standing in the distance as we talk and taste at a sunny picnic table is [...]
“All this Prosecco DOCG, so little time!” As journalists from various points of the world sauntered into the elegant Hotel Le Betulle in the Congegliano Valdobbiadene region of NorthEast Italy, all eyes were upon the gorgeously laid out bottles of Prosecco in various iced buckets, the foiled necks of the bottles a surprising rainbow of [...]
“Oh, I see you have been studying,” says the gentlemen seated next to me. We are sitting in the private downstairs dinning room of the new Lafayette restaurant downtown here in NYC, where journalists have gathered to hear Mr. Duboeuf speak about the 2012 vintage which is now hitting the market. The gentlemen is referring [...]
“You’re French is quite good!” exclaims the very attractive and very polite Anne-Laure Helfrich, project manager for her family’s Les Grands Chais de France. Anne-Laure and oenologue/brand manager Nicolas Haeffelin were in Manhattan to showcase their Grand Cru wines, which astonishingly perfectly made. I suppose one can argue that when you own Grand Cru terroir, [...]
“Wait, that’s my bottle!” The lively young group at the next table looked at the waiter opening our bottle of Hahn Pinot Noir in amazement. It turns out that they brought the exact same wine for a BYOB dinner at New York’s best restaurant! In time, they relaxed when their own bottle was brought [...]
The Association of Wine Educators, based in the UK, organized a fabulous trip to Bordeaux to celebrate our 2oth anniversary. Our home base was Chateau Pey La Tour, which is owned by Dourth. So on Thursday May 9th, we gathered together at the CIVB in Bordeaux, which is near the tourist office to hear [...]
Recently back from a trip to Alto Adige, Master Sommelier Geoff Kruth. lead a tasting and seminar of the wines of Italy’s most northern region. It was an interesting seminar … the focus was on the multitude of varieties grown and unique microclimates within the region. I was in Trentino a few months back … [...]
“Not many people in this room will be around when the 2011 vintage comes of age,” pronounced a member of the Symington family, as we tasted the 2011 vintages from their various holdings (Warre, Dow, Cockburn’s, Quinta do Vesuvio, Graham’s) … and (please do not be jealous!) also the Cockburn’s 55, Graham’s 66, Warres 70, [...]
