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The perfect ”champagne glass”?

>> Tuesday, December 30, 2008

http://www.bkwine.com/images/claudia-schiffer-champagne-breast.jpgKarl Lagerfeld has designed a champagne glass for Dom Perignon (that no longer is the prestige cuvee of Moët & Chandon but a brand all of its own). The glass takes its shape from the breast of the supermodel Claudia Schiffer, or at least it has been inspired by it. We have unfortunately not tried drinking from the glass, nor have we verified its conformance to the original, since we have not seen the mould. Oh, the price tag? A mere $3,150. Including a bottle of Dom Perignon 1995. We wonder if the glass too comes in two-pack? Read more: www.hauteliving.com


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Port and sherry give Australia million dollar grief

The EU and Australia recently signed a new trade agreement. One part of that agreement says that Australia will no longer use the denominations Port, Sherry and Marsala for its fortified wines. Many Australian wines have been called such things, since these kind of naming restrictions simply are governed by international agreements, and no such limitation had previously been agreed. (Do you remember the Danish feta cheese?) The wine producers in Australia say that this will cost them millions of dollars since they will have to change their naming and establish new brand identities. The agreement also covers e.g. Moselle, Burgundy, Sauterne, and Chablis. In return the Europeans will recognize the Australian wine regions as specific denominations (Coonawarra, South Australia etc) and will allow certain wine making techniques regularly used in Australia but not permitted in Europe to be used for Australian wines imported to Europe (e.g. use of oak chips and copper citrate). Read more: www.abc.net.au and www.theaustralian.news.com.au


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A wine poster for your wall?

Willi’s Wine Bar in Paris is an excellent spot to go for a glass of wine or a (not so simple) thing to eat. Each years Mark Williamson, the owner, asks an artist to make a poster for the wine bar – now going 25 years back. 23 of the 25 posters are still available if you would like to buy one to adorn your own wall at home (or someone else’s). This year the artist who made the drawing is Jean-Charles Catelbajac, who’s also a neighbour of the bar. You can find the posters here: http://www.williswinebar.com/ (for Europe), or here http://www.williswinebar.us/ (in the US).


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BKWine TV: [E] Montirius, #7 - a biodynamic wine grower, the story

>> Monday, December 29, 2008



http://www.bkwine.com/wine_tours/wine... --- Interview with Christine Saurel of Domaine Montirius vineyards.

Domaine Montirius is located in the southern Rhone valley, in Gigondas and in Vacqueyras. The winery is owned and run by Christine and Eric Saurel, a young couple who have moved the vineyards to biodynamic culture. It is 58 hectares of vineyard in appellation controllee Gigondas, Vacqueyras and Cotes du Rhone, and some Vin de Pays. Eric and Christine have a fascinating story to tell - moving from traditional farming to organic to biodynamic; choosing to leave a long time relationship with the cooperative and start out as an independent winegrower...

Christine tells the story of how Montirius came to work with first organic farming and then the biodynamic principles (based on Rudolf Steiner's theories). She explains some of the things it means: how you do it what kind of treatments you do, what difference it makes etc.

PART 7: HOW DOES A VINE FUNCTION?

Montirius cuts the vines very little during the growing season. They believe that if you do cut the vines (to make straight well tended rows) you give the wrong signals to the vines. The vines spend their energy on growing new shoots and new leaves. The vines may also use more water than what they otherwise would, which can be difficult in a place where water is scarce.

Christine also explains why they don't have weed or grass between the rows which you often see at biodynamic vineyards.

And then it is time to taste the wine and decide for yourself if all this makes good wine or not!

http://www.montirius.com/

By BKWine, http://www.bkwine.com

See all our wine videos on our BKWine TV channel http://www.youtube.com/bkwine

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Turbo charged red wine?

The Wine Doctor in Australia has launched what they claim is the world’s first wine with a boosted level of resveratrol. Like milk with extra vitamins? Resveratrol is a substance that wine contains naturally, especially red wine. The normal content is around 1-2 mg/l resveratrol. The super-charged Wine doctor wine has been boosted to contain 100 mg/l. All for the modest sum of AU$19.95 per bottle. Is it better? We don’t know. More info http://www.drnorrie.info/ (well, there should be but the site seems to be down)


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How to sell wine?

There are of course many ways, but sometimes you wonder over the imagination of the marketers. On prize winner contender is The Naked Winery (http://www.nakedwinery.com). Can there be any other motivation behind that name than just as a plain attention grabber? And what about some of their wines? Escort Pinot Gris (“a frivolous white perfect for any social occasion”?); Dominatrix Syrah (“feels like a stranglehold on your throat when you swallow”?); Penetration Cabernet (“not the most subtle wine”, no doubt made with plenty of skin contact); Missionary Cabernet (“ordinary, boring, and conventional”?). No doubt they bottle all their wines with screw cap. And with this we have given them all the attention that they were hoping for I imagine… Let us know about any other horrid examples in this category and we’ll publish them too.


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Good or bad to filter wine? – again

Our piece on filtering wine (is it good or bad? – in view of today’s trend of boasting “unfiltered” on the label) a while back sparked a comment from a reader. (Comments are always welcome!) Here’s what our reader had to say (that we publish anonymously): “Regarding the filtered vs. unfiltered debate, yes there have been in California many trials at individual wineries, but not much data in the public realm. When I was at [a winery in California], we did a number of trials with the exact same wine filtered and unfiltered, with tastings after bottling, 6 months, 1 year and 2 years aging in bottle. My conclusions were:

1) Tight filtration causes wine to be more dry and austere when young, but most of the effect wears off as the wine ages.

2) The level of filtration is as critical as filtration vs. non-filtration. In other words, the difference between a loose filtration (to remove sediment) vs. an extremely tight filtration (to remove malolactic bacteria) is as big or bigger than the difference between no filtration and a loose filtration.

3) Red wines are more impacted by filtration than white wines.

4) I would rather have a somewhat lesser wine due to filtration than a wine gone bad that could have been saved by filtration.

5) If you want to make unfiltered wine, you need excellent hygiene, attention to detail and laboratory analysis by the wine maker.
So, like most things in life, when people ask if filtration is “good” or “bad”, the answer is…it depends.”

Thank you for the comment!


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The World’s best sparkling wines

The World’s Best Sparkling Wines (Effervescents du Monde) is the name of a competition that each year (just in time for New Year) gives prizes to the best (you guessed) sparkling wines. this year there were 43 wines in the top category, Gold Medal. Everything from Argentina to the United States was on the list, well worth looking at if you’re looking for an alternative source for your bubbly. The most original Gold Medal? - Salveto Muscatnoe Semi-sweet from Mauler & Cie in Moldova (http://www.acorex.net). Here’s the full list of winners: http://www.effervescents-du-monde.com/


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BKWine TV: [E] Montirius, #6 - a biodynamic wine grower, the story

>> Tuesday, December 23, 2008



http://www.bkwine.com/wine_tours/wine... --- Interview with Christine Saurel of Domaine Montirius vineyards.

Domaine Montirius is located in the southern Rhone valley, in Gigondas and in Vacqueyras. The winery is owned and run by Christine and Eric Saurel, a young couple who have moved the vineyards to biodynamic culture. It is 58 hectares of vineyard in appellation controllee Gigondas, Vacqueyras and Cotes du Rhone, and some Vin de Pays. Eric and Christine have a fascinating story to tell - moving from traditional farming to organic to biodynamic; choosing to leave a long time relationship with the cooperative and start out as an independent winegrower. . .

Christine tells the story of how Montirius came to work with first organic farming and then the biodynamic principles (based on Rudolf Steiner's theories). She explains some of the things it means: how you do it what kind of treatments you do, what difference it makes etc.

PART 6: HERBAL PREPARATIONS

Some preparations are infusions made with various herbs and plants. Nettles, camomile and others that are mixed with boiling water to make an infusion (in a "dynamiser" / "dynamiseur"). Each plant and preparation has a specific purpose and a different effect, so it is important to know what to use, how to use it and when to use it. For example: Nettles with a small quantity of copper are used against mildew. Preparation "500" can help the plants to grow quickly when they are young to make them more resistant to disease. "Prele", the French name, or field horsetail in English (equisetum arvense) can be used for weak parcels, with root problems, to make them more vigorous.

http://www.montirius.com/

By BKWine, http://www.bkwine.com

See all our wine videos on our BKWine TV channel http://www.youtube.com/bkwine

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Social media for wineries

First arrived the fax. And then came email. Now it’s social media and social networks that are hot. CataVino is a small consultancy based in Spain that helps wineries to understand how better to work with the internet, social networks included: http://catavinomarketing.com/. Catavino was founded by two Americans who have settled in Spain. They also write a blog on Spanish and Portuguese wines: http://www.catavino.net. And if you really do want to get to grips with social networks (you should!) then you can read their introduction to it: http://catavinomarketing.com/plugging-into-social-media-for-wineries/


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Norwegian wine in Washington

No, it’s not a Christmas donation from Norway (like the Christmas Tree in New York’s Rokefeller Plaza) to the President Elect. Erik Dahle was born and raised in Bergen, a rainy costal town in mid-Norway, but has found his way to Washington in the north west US (they’re not exactly lacking in rain there either). In 2003 he planted a small vineyard and is now making his own Norwegian-Washingtonian wine at his Tasawiki Vineyards in Walla Walla County. The size is modest, 7.5 acres planted with merlot, cabernet sauvignon, sangiovese, viognier and syrah, but the location is fabulous, overlooking the Snake River. We have not tasted the wines but maybe we will soon have the opportunity since Erik hopes to start exporting to Europe soon. http://www.tasawikvineyards.com/


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BKWine TV: [E] Montirius, #5 - a biodynamic wine grower, the story

>> Monday, December 22, 2008



http://www.bkwine.com/wine_tours/wine... --- Interview with Christine Saurel of Domaine Montirius vineyards.

Domaine Montirius is located in the southern Rhone valley, in Gigondas and in Vacqueyras. The winery is owned and run by Christine and Eric Saurel, a young couple who have moved the vineyards to biodynamic culture. It is 58 hectares of vineyard in appellation controllee Gigondas, Vacqueyras and Cotes du Rhone, and some Vin de Pays. Eric and Christine have a fascinating story to tell - moving from traditional farming to organic to biodynamic; choosing to leave a long time relationship with the cooperative and start out as an independent winegrower. . .

Christine tells the story of how Montirius came to work with first organic farming and then the biodynamic principles (based on Rudolf Steiner's theories). She explains some of the things it means: how you do it what kind of treatments you do, what difference it makes etc.

PART 5: MARIA THUN AND THE LIFE OF THE RADISH, AND THE CALENDARS

Christine explains one more preparation they use, created by Maria Thun. She also explains that things should be done according to certain biodynamic calendars: there are fruit days, root days, flower days and leaf days; planet phases etc. Also, the phase of the moon has an influence on winemaking, e.g. you should bottle when the moon is down. Harvest is best done in fruit days, but that is not always possible since there are only five fruit days in September...

http://www.montirius.com/

By BKWine, http://www.bkwine.com

See all our wine videos on our BKWine TV channel http://www.youtube.com/bkwine

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  • Choose a subject: You can choose videos on specific themes, e.g. Bordeaux, Portugal, Italy etc. Go to our Playlists (menu link on the top of the channel page) and choose the subject
  • Choose a language: If you want to see videos only in a specific language (English [E], French [F], or Swedish [S]) choose the corresponding Playlists or the link to the language sections on the BKWine TV channel page
  • High Quality: most videos are also available in “high quality”. Click on the link “watch in high quality” just under the video box. Much better playback but you’ll need a good broadband. Try it!
  • Feedback: You make us happy if you rate our videos or give us other feedback: give star ratings, write comments, or put videos on your favourites list
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BKWine Pick: L’Auberge Etchegorry, Paris 13

L’Auberge Etchegorry, Paris 13

The name is genuinely Basque (a region that covers bits of south-western France as well as northern Spain) but the restaurant proposes gastronomic specialities from all of the French Sud-Ouest (south west). Let yourself be tempted by a traditional (and delicious) confit de canard – a succulent duck’s leg cooked very tender, or a paella or a piperade, which is a juicy tomato-based dish from the Basque countries. And much, much more. Friendly and attentive service and very French atmosphere makes for an enjoyable evening.

Click here for address and more recommendations.


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BKWine Pick: Divine & Sens, Montpellier

Divine & Sens, Montpellier

Divine & Sense opened in October 2008. It’s well place in central Montpellier with a design that seems to be inspired by Philippe Starck with the contrast between old and new and unexpected details – a chandelier where you don’t expect it, chic furniture… Food, to come to the essential, is ambitious and more traditional than what one expects. Nice wine list with a focus, appropriately, on some excellent Languedoc producers.

Click here for address and more recommendations.


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BKWine Pick: Montlouis, Loire

There are many, often small, French appellations that are unfortunately far too little known. Sometimes one wonders if the wines wouldn’t be better known (which is important) and easier to sell (even more important) if they used a wider, less precise, but better known appellation. Montlouis is one of those. Have you heard of it? It is a neighbour to Vouvray (a hair’s-breadth better known) in mid-Loire - not big, making only white but ranging from bone-dry to luscious sweet, and including sparkling. All from chenin blanc grapes (one of the most underrated and misunderstood grape varieties) on just 400 ha. The sparkling deserves a special mention due to its originality. Aptly called Pétillant Originel it is made by adding no sugar. That, perhaps, does not sound special, but for sparkling wines it is very unusual: no chaptalisation (sugar added to the must), no liqueur de tirage (sugar added for the second fermentation in bottle), and no liqueur d’expedition (sugar added after dégorgement). Instead they bottle the wine before the fermentation has finished and the bubbles are purely from the natural grapes. Another difference from e.g. champagne is the yield: only 65 hl/ha is permitted (about half of what they do in Champagne). But the most important port of the production are the still whites that, when well done, expresses the wonderful, aromatic, sometimes exotic, sometimes honeyed (even when dry) characters. Providing the grower knows (or dares) to make his wines express the terroir and the grapes. Our favourites are invariably the dry ones. Here are some of the best producers:

Francois Chidaine: Since 10 years he works biodynamically and is one of the leading lights of the appellation. Very fresh and minerally wines, e.g. the Les Choiselle and Le Clos du Breuil (~14€)

Stéphane Cossais: A newcomer to the region, arrived in 2003. (There are several young, new, and ambitious growers here. Land is relatively cheap…) He has only 3 ha. Does some barrel aging of his wines, but that works well with the high acidity. Ha also dares to charge a substantial price for his wines. But they are indeed good. So much better than the others? Try it and decide. E.g Le Volagré or Meuchandelle (both around 20€)

Domaine Levasseur, Alex Mathur: Their dry wine, Les Lumens, is quite full-bodied (barrel fermented and aged for 14 months), more moth filling than most (12€); and excellent sparkling that has a good varietal character (not always the case for sparklers, 12€).

Le Rocher des Violette: Xavier Weisskopf started making Montlousi in 2005 but already makes an excellent, fresh, appely, andminerally wine called La Négrette (13€).

Domaine Frantz Saumon: His Le Clos du Chêne is quite full-bodied, with a ripe-fruit style (ripe, yellow apples) and good finish (23€)

La Taille aux Loups: Jacky Blot is one of the most famous producers in Montlouis. He makes an very good sparkling, called Triple Zéro (0 chaptalisation, 0 liqueur de tirage, 0 liqueur d’expedition – 12€), and a dry Rémus where he harvest in two passes to make sure the grapes have optimal ripeness, giving added concentration. He adds aging on a third new oak barrels giving a substantial wine (12€).

Closerie de Chanteloup: Vincent Guichard’s dry L’Essentiel is well-made (and good value), good structure, minerality, quite light but elegant. (7.50€)

Laurent Chatenay: His Les Maisonnettes has a very good acidity and fruit, very clean flavours with only a minute touch of barrels (9€); Les Hauts de Cangé is much more full-bodied, new oak gives it added body (but actually no oak character) and a touch of residual sugar (11g/l) rounds off the high acidity without making it sweet. Interesting.

Click here for address and more recommendations.


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BKWine TV: [E] Montirius, #4 - a biodynamic wine grower, the story

>> Friday, December 19, 2008



http://www.bkwine.com/wine_tours/wine... --- Interview with Christine Saurel of Domaine Montirius vineyards.

Domaine Montirius is located in the southern Rhone valley, in Gigondas and in Vacqueyras. The winery is owned and run by Christine and Eric Saurel, a young couple who have moved the vineyards to biodynamic culture. It is 58 hectares of vineyard in appellation controllee Gigondas, Vacqueyras and Cotes du Rhone, and some Vin de Pays. Eric and Christine have a fascinating story to tell - moving from traditional farming to organic to biodynamic; choosing to leave a long time relationship with the cooperative and start out as an independent winegrower. . .

Christine tells the story of how Montirius came to work with first organic farming and then the biodynamic principles (based on Rudolf Steiner's theories). She explains some of the things it means: how you do it what kind of treatments you do, what difference it makes etc.

PART 4: WHAT ARE THE BASES FOR BIODYNAMIC CULTURE AND FARMING?

What's the difference between organic and biodynamic farming?
What are the preparations that are used? - Several different. For example:
500 with cow dung that transforms into a sort of humus
501 based on quarts powder
The preparations are used in minute quantities by mixing with water and spraying in the vineyards.

http://www.montirius.com/

By BKWine, http://www.bkwine.com

See all our wine videos on our BKWine TV channel http://www.youtube.com/bkwine

- - -

More video:
BKWine's YouTube Channel

YouTube tips
  • The BKWine Channel: all our videos are available on the BKWine TV channel: www.youtube.com/bkwine
  • Subscribe: Subscribe to our channel and you will get an email notification each time we publish a new video. There’s a yellow ‘subscribe’ button on the page. (You have to have a YouTube account, but it’s free and easy to register, and it is not at all necessary to upload a video when you have an account)
  • Choose a subject: You can choose videos on specific themes, e.g. Bordeaux, Portugal, Italy etc. Go to our Playlists (menu link on the top of the channel page) and choose the subject
  • Choose a language: If you want to see videos only in a specific language (English [E], French [F], or Swedish [S]) choose the corresponding Playlists or the link to the language sections on the BKWine TV channel page
  • High Quality: most videos are also available in “high quality”. Click on the link “watch in high quality” just under the video box. Much better playback but you’ll need a good broadband. Try it!
  • Feedback: You make us happy if you rate our videos or give us other feedback: give star ratings, write comments, or put videos on your favourites list
  • Share: If you like a video you can share it with friends. Click “share” to send them an email.
  • Advanced…: If you are a true enthusiast and have a web site (or blog) you can “borrow” our videos. Just copy the “embed code” on the video page and use it on your site.


More from BKWine:
- Watch our wine videos
- Come on a wine tour
- Wine news on your site
- Subscribe to updates to this blog
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© Copyright BKWine (text & photo)

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BKWine Pick: Champagne Mailly Grand Cru, Champagne

Life is such (or is it business?) that cooperatives often have difficulties aiming for top quality. The small cooperative Champagne Mailly, based in the Grand Cru village Mailly of course, is one that succeeds in its aim to make quality wines. They were founded in 1929 and dominates the production in the village, located just a bit south of Reims in the Montagne de Reims. They make wine from 70 hectares, all classified as Grand Cru grapes (even the chardonnay, which is in a minority here). If you are planning for a New Year’s dinner you could try their vintage Mailly Grand Cru 1998 for the main course (yes, why not?). Pinot noir is the dominant grape, giving a lot of body and a touch of chocolate, but keeping a very fresh acidity. Would go well with a pink breast of duck with a red wine and balsamic vinegar sauce. (Don’t forget to send me an invitation…)

Click here for address and more recommendations.


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BKWine TV: [E] Montirius, #3 - a biodynamic wine grower, the story

>> Tuesday, December 16, 2008



http://www.bkwine.com/wine_tours/wine... --- Interview with Christine Saurel of Domaine Montirius vineyards.

Domaine Montirius is located in the southern Rhone valley, in Gigondas and in Vacqueyras. The winery is owned and run by Christine and Eric Saurel, a young couple who have moved the vineyards to biodynamic culture. It is 58 hectares of vineyard in appellation controllee Gigondas, Vacqueyras and Cotes du Rhone, and some Vin de Pays. Eric and Christine have a fascinating story to tell - moving from traditional farming to organic to biodynamic; choosing to leave a long time relationship with the cooperative and start out as an independent winegrower. . .

Christine tells the story of how Montirius came to work with first organic farming and then the biodynamic principles (based on Rudolf Steiner's theories). She explains some of the things it means: how you do it what kind of treatments you do, what difference it makes etc.

PART 3: LEAVING THE CO-OPERATIVE
One day they decided that they could not work with biodynamic farming and vinify their wines in the co-operative. The whole family was convinced - finally. They built the new wine cellar and was finished on the day harvest began. 2002 was their first "own" year. It was a terrible year - very difficult to vinify. It was a year when chaptalisation was widely used. Montirius did not. The following year many growers needed to add tartaric acid to raise the acidity in this extremely hot year. (Both are perfectly permitted winemaking practices.) Montirius, however, did not need to raise they acidity level even in 2003.
http://www.montirius.com/

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BKWine Pick: Château Prieuré Borde Rouge, Languedoc

Chateau Prieuré Borde Rouge is well on its way to join the big names of the Languedoc. They have already received numerous prizes for their very elegant and fruit-filled wines. The property comprises 23 hectares close to the town of Lagrasse. It’s in an excellent location, protected in what is shaped like an amphitheatre and shielded by the surrounding mountains. Their white Carminal Blanc 2007 is made from Grenache blanc, maccabeu and clairette with four months oak aging. A full-bodied wine with some “fat” (what the French call ‘gras’, a mouth filling and entirely positive characteristic) and a good acidity with exotic fruits and apples. One of their reds that particularly caught my attention was the Rubellis 2006 made primarily from carignan and grenache. Typically Languedocien in style, with herbs (the local “garrigue”) and dark fruit, blackberries and black currants. Good level of acidity and well balanced and elegant completes the picture. But all their wines are good, not to forget the syrah-based prestige cuvee called Ange.

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BKWine TV: [E] Montirius - #1 - a biodynamic wine grower, the story

>> Monday, December 15, 2008



http://www.bkwine.com/wine_tours/wine... --- Interview with Christine Saurel of Domaine Montirius vineyards.

Domaine Montirius is located in the southern Rhone valley, in Gigondas and in Vacqueyras. The winery is owned and run by Christine and Eric Saurel, a young couple who have moved the vineyards to biodynamic culture. It is 58 hectares. They have a fascinating story to tell - moving from traditional farming to organic to biodynamic; choosing to leave a long time relationship with the cooperative and start out as an independent winegrower…

Christine tells the story of how Montirius came to work with first organic farming and then the biodynamic principles (based on Rudolf Steiner's theories) and explains some of the things it means: how you do it what kind of treatments you do, what difference it makes etc.

Part 1:
Working with "traditional" methods with chemical sprays and deciding to change to organic wine growing.

http://www.montirius.com/

By BKWine, http://www.bkwine.com

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BKWine Brief nr 65, December 2008

This time of the year is relatively calm and quiet in the wine cellar. The fermentation is mostly finished. Where the action is at this time of the year is in the vineyards. It is the period for cutting back the branches – la taille. Much of it is still done by hand. Depending on what kind of training system is used, some can be done with machine, the so called pré-taille. Virtually all of the branches are removed so the vineyards look very empty and barren in this season. Just long rows of black stumps sticking up from the ground. The pruning can start just after the leaves have fallen off in the autumn but often it is done later, sometimes much later. Doing the pruning very late makes the budding come later which can be good if you are in a place where there’s a risk of frost. But you have to do it before the sap starts to rise though. And since it can take quite a while to do it all the vigneron has his work cut out during the whole of the winter season.

But let’s get back to the couch, or perhaps the reading chair in front of the computer. I heard the other day that the average Frenchman spends 3h27 watching television each day. Sounds a lot but it was the number mentioned. And that today he spends 3h50 watching video clips on the internet. Per month. Does not sound much but it still means that internet video (YouTube, Metacafe, DailyMotion etc) has clawed an entire day’s watching from the television. We don’t mind if that number goes up even more, if only a bit of it is spent on watching our wine videos on BKWine TV (beta). We have over 60 clips with interviews with winemakers, reportage from vineyards and other wine stuff. Since the last Brief we have added ten clips – on Greece, Bordeaux and the Roussillon. You can watch the BKWine TV wine videos here: www.youtube.com/bkwine, and get a bit more background information to the wine video clips here: www.bkwine.com/vininformation/bkwinetv-wine-videos.htm

This month we also have some extra reading for you. Not only here in the Brief (unusually long, apologies if you like your information short…). In addition to that we have some added reading for you on our guest writers' page: www.bkwine.com/vininformation/guest-writers.htm. For the moment there’s one new article on Sardinian wines and more will be posted in the coming days. Keep checking the page. Did you know we have almost 50 articles from our Guest Writers for you to read there?

In this Brief we give you some Christmas gift suggestions: some sexy things and some things to hang on your wall. And to keep you going over the festive season maybe you should try some of the turbo-charged wine we write about.

And if you need some more inspiration for Christmas, you can always give a gift voucher (to someone else or to yourself) for one of our wine tours. Or if you really want to splash out, you can ask us to make an entirely custom made and custom designed wine tour for you, your wine friend, for your company executive team, to go hunting for suppliers (if you’re a wine importer looking for good producers – we have quite a few to suggest), or…

Britt

PS: Recommend to your friends to read the Brief or forward it to them !

Read the whole BKWine Brief here!


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Book Review: The Wine Trials – A fearless Critic Book

>> Thursday, December 11, 2008

The Wine Trials – A fearless Critic Book
By: Robin Goldstein
Fearless Critic Media

The sub-title of this American book is “Brown-bag blind tastings reveal the surprising wine values under $15”. The message in the book is that you don’t need to spend a lot of money on the wines you buy because if you tast them blind you will not think a more expensive wine is any better than a cheap wine. The author bases his views on a series of blind tastings (with bottles presented in brown paper bags, hence the title) that he has made all over the US, including both experienced wine tasters and “the man in the street”. Half of the book is dedicated to presenting 100 wines under $15 that beat the $50 to $150 wines in the blind tastings. Robin Goldstein means that it’s time to start trusting one’s own taste and not be more concerned with prestige or with what others think. Interesting in many ways even if some of his conclusions are odd. But yes, the basic message is right – trust your own taste and not someone else’s.

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Book review: La Vigne Assassinée – l’Avenir du Vin

>> Wednesday, December 10, 2008

La Vigne Assassinée – l’Avenir du Vin
By: Christian R. Saint-Roche
CIDE
ISBN 2-9525036-1-3

http://www.bkwine.com/images/vigne-assassinee.jpgThe title reads ”the assassinated vine” but it’s not a crime novel even if it is a thriller of sorts. How can the French wine industry get out of the current crisis? One of the questions Christian St-Roche raises is why in France it only negative aspects of wine that get voiced. What has happened with wine as a foodstuff, he asks. How can the anti-wine lobby have grown so strong? Why are the good-for-the-health aspects of wine never mentioned? Why have so many French people stopped drinking wine? (37% never drink wine and the proportion who drink wine with dinner has fallen dramatically.) But he also writes about the importance of terroir wines, about the good and bad points of the appellation system, and about how one could make the young generation at least occasionally abandon MacDonald’s and Coca-cola and instead learn to enjoy the more slow-moving pleasures of drinking a good wine with a good dinner.

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>> Monday, December 08, 2008



YouTube, Yahoo, MySpace, Metacafe, Google, DailyMotion, Blip.tv, Veoh and Graspr

http://www.bkwine.com/wine_tours/wine... --- A visit to the winery Domaine Olivier Pithon that Olivier founded in 2001. He originally comes from the Layon region in the Loire Valley but settled in Roussillon to make wine.

He came to the Calce village to taste the wines of Gerard Gauby, one of the leaders in new French winemaking. He tasted, and then he stayed.

Olivier tries to make very personal wines – with a lot of freshness, acidity, and elegance.

He makes white wines using the traditional grape varieties macabeu, grenache blanc and grenache gris. His reds are made with grenache noir, carignan, and a bit of syrah and mourvedre. In this village one can still find vines planted just after the Phylloxera, about one hundred years old!

There is a small group of hard core winemakers with similar philosophies in Calce: Pithon, Matassa, Gauby, Padie,...

Pithon explains how he works with bio-dynamism (which in some ways can be seen as an extreme form of organic vine growing) and what role the plants and herbs play in the biodynamic winegrowing. Biodynamism was created some hundred years ago by Rudolf Steiner in Germany and not all is necessarily applicable in the Roussillon...

The language is French [F]

[F] Entretien avec le vigneron Olivier Pithon, proprietaire du Domaine Olivier Pithon, une propriete dans le vignoble Roussillonais, une region viticole dans le le sud de la France connu pour ses vins puissants et originels.

http://www.domaineolivierpithon.com

By BKWine, http://www.bkwine.com

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Book Review: Grand atlas des vignobles de France

Grand atlas des vignobles de France
By: Benoît France (ed)
Solar France, 54 eur, ISBN 978-2263046605

This is a rather unique book. Even if the title says “atlas” it’s not your average map book. Instead it focuses on and goes into detail on soil and soil types in virtually all French appellations and illustrates it with 184 colourful maps. If you want better to understand soils, geology, and terroir in France then this is a book for you (provided you read French). But the book also covers in depth, with descriptive texts, all French appellations, including their characteristics, grape varieties, climate, history etc. Even the most remote and obscure appellations can be found. You can find the most amazing details and titbits. Did you know, for instance, that the now trendy grape petit verdot only coveres 0.4% of Bordeaux (which is still much more than carmenère that only has 0.1%)? The presentation is not always easily digested: lots of dense text and detailed maps. And you can excuse the somewhat chauvinistic introduction (“French wines are best” – not any worse than what you hear in many other instances from other countries) and its conviction that the appellation system is the answer to today’s wine industry woes (it’s just as often an obstacle to making and selling good wines). The book contains such a wealth of detailed information that it will be a valued addition to any serious (French speaking) wine lover’s book shelf.

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BKWine TV: [E] Domaine Piquemal, glimpses from a vineyard in Roussillon

>> Friday, December 05, 2008



http://www.bkwine.com/wine_tours/wine... --- A few glimpses from the Domaine Piquemal. The Domaine Piquemal winery is located in Espira de l Agly, in the Agly valley, in Roussillon in the south of France.

It is a family vineyard that is today run by the brother-sister team Marie-Pierre and Franck Piquemal.

We're tasting different wines in their tasting room: Cuvee Justin Piquemal with the appellation Cote de Roussillon. It is a blend of cabernet sauvignon, grenache and mourvedre. It is unoaked and made in a fresh and fruity style. Then we taste a more traditional southern French wine, Cuvee des Terres Grillees, coming from a patch of soil that is very dark, almost black, which is the reason behind the name (that means burned soil). This wine is a bit more complex and is a Cote de Roussillon Villages appellation.

We also make a short excursion out into the vineyard to look at the Burned Soil, a vineyard that makes for very early ripening grapes.

http://www.domaine-piquemal.com/

By BKWine, http://www.bkwine.com

See all our wine videos on our channel: http://www.youtube.com/bkwine

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  • Subscribe: Subscribe to our channel and you will get an email notification each time we publish a new video. There’s a yellow ‘subscribe’ button on the page. (You have to have a YouTube account, but it’s free and easy to register, and it is not at all necessary to upload a video when you have an account)
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Book review: The Wines of Burgundy

The Wines of Burgundy
By: Clive Coates
University of California Press, £35, ISBN 978-0520250505

This is a massive book: 1872 grams and 878 pages. There are books that you simply cannot avoid. This is one. If you are looking for a book about Burgundy you simply have to consider this one. Partially because in spite of La Bourgogne being one of the world’s premiere wine regions there are relatively few good books on the area. But this is one. Few writes know Burgundy as well as Clive Coates does. Since a few years back he is even living amongst the vines in his favourite wine district. The book follows a classic format: In the introduction Coates explains a bit about how Burgundy works growers, negociants etc) and gives a (brief) introduction to how wine is made in Burgundy, both traditionally and with newer trends. Then follow chapters on all the communes with details on the history, the soil, and, importantly with (brief) profiles of the growers. The second part of the book (filling almost two thirds of the pages) is a review of vintages from 2006 back to 1959 with an avalanche of detailed tasting notes. The book is a thoroughly revised version of his previous book “The Côte d’Or”. The previous version had a bit more focus on the growers and (somewhat) less on tasting notes. We would have preferred that Coates kept more of a focus on the growers, and perhaps even expanded those descriptions compared to the previous edition, rather than having some 500 pages with tasting notes (who can stomach that?). But in spite of this slight criticism, this is an important book for any serious Burgundy enthusiast!

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