Bordeaux wine lovers may credit the 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris and Emperor Napoleon III’s “Official Classification” with putting Bordeaux wine on the map. But, it turns out that his grandmother the Empress Josephine, first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte may have ignited French passion for the wine.
Prior to Josephine raising the status of Bordeaux to an elixer fit for nobility, it was seen as an inferior product suitable only for the English who had been stubborn lovers of claret, or red Bordeaux wine, for four centuries. At the time of the French Revolution, Burgundy and Champagne reigned supreme, in fact, not a single bottle of Bordeaux is known to have been kept in the wine cellars of King Louis XVI. Continue Reading »
Tags: bordeaux wine, Burgundy, Champagne, Chateaux de Malmaison, Emperor Napoleon III, Empress Josephine, French Revolution, medoc wine, Napoleon Bonaparte, premiers cru, wine cellar
At least since the Middle Ages. Due to warmer temperatures, a few British wineries have revived a red winemaking tradition which died around 600 years ago. Wine critcs’ opinions about the wine have been mixed, but some seem convinced that the finest red wines may in the future come from north of the English channel if this warming trend continues.
With soils similar to Champagne and an edgier climate, England is already producing world-class sparkling wines like Nyetimber (which recently won the International Wine & Spirit Competition Denbies Trophy for the Best Worldwide Sparkling Wine for the 3rd time), Ridgeview and Camel Valley. But, red wine is a different story.
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Tags: Camel Valley, Champagne, english vineyards, english wine, english winemakers, IWSC, Nyetimber, Oenoview system, red wine, Ridgeview, satellite imagery
I don’t know if they still do, but at one time the Chinese called America Gum Shan, the mountain of gold, a symbol of opportunity and the chance to get rich. Today, the Chinese have found another symbol of opportunity whose very name beckons the ambitious. In French Lafite means small hill, in Chinese it is very similar to the word lai-fat or “come get rich.”
It is this association with wealth and opportunity that has made Chateau Lafite-Rothschild and it’s second wine Carruades de Lafite the currency of choice for negotiating Chinese business deals. Which bottle you get depends on who you are and what is “requested”. In China, anything with Lafite in the name sells be it Bordeaux or Burgundy. As such, both wines are becoming literal mountains of gold for owners of bordeaux futures.
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Tags: asian wine market, bordeaux futures, Bordeaux Index, bordeaux wine, Carruades de Lafite, Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, economic crisis, Gary Boom, Liv-Ex 100, Robert Parker, wine price, wine sales
Chateau D’Arche, a Grand Cru Classe producer of Sauternes (dessert or sweet wine of Bordeaux) has started bottling its La Perle d’Arche wine in 100ml test-tube shaped bottles aimed at young drinkers in nightclubs. On the whole this seems to be a good idea since Sauternes is not well known outside the wine community, not to mention that french wine sales are on the decline so they’ve got to do something to shake things up.
But what’s troubling is their marketing, once again targeting women. Managing director Jerome Cosson told decanter.com: Continue Reading »
Tags: bordeaux wine, calories in wine, Chateau D'Arche, dessert wine, French Wine Research Center, low calorie wine, sauternes, So Light, sweet wine, women
The public is going to choose wines for top London restaurant L’Anima using Twitter. I hope they like Yellowtail or anything else with a critter label. Maybe Fat Bastard:
Even worse:
Tags: American Idol, Fat Bastard, L'Anima, Twitter, wine list, Yellowtail Shiraz
As more and more wineries go green, they are increasingly turning to plastic (PET) to bottle their wine. Boisset, the second-largest producer of Beaujolais Nouveau is a recent convert. But many premium winemakers refuse to jump on the Carbon Neutrality bandwagon even though they are often the worst offenders when it comes to using big, heavy glass bottles that require lots of energy to make and transport. Continue Reading »
Tags: carbon neutral wine, green wine, maderization, plastic wine bottles, Portavin, wine oxidation
There’s a book too, but apps for your iPhone are cooler, assuming you have an iPhone. Apps like Wine 101 by FuzzyBeta claim to educate the uninitiated and remove the stress of wine selection. At the cost of $3, (of course not including the cost of the iPhone and service) Wine 101 provides a list of names for red wine when you launch it. Tapping on a varietal opens a window detailing where the grape comes from, how the wine smells and tastes, and foods it might pair with.
A similar service is provided by Hello Vino, a free app, available through iTunes, Continue Reading »
Tags: food and wine pairings, Fuzzy Beta, Hello Vino, iphone apps, iTunes, sommelier, Wine 101, wine for dummies, wine software
The U.S. Senate Finance Committee is considering raising taxes on wine, beer and liquor and imposing a new levy on soda and other naturally sweetened drinks to help pay for overhauling health care. Continue Reading »
Tags: alcohol tax, fast-food tax, healthcare reform, soda tax, U.S. Senate Finance Committee
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The first comprehensive survey of women’s attitudes toward wine has overturned several preconceived notions. Over 4,000 women in the UK, France, Japan, Germany and the US responded to a survey commissioned by Vinexpo, revealing a preference for red wine and skepticism for marketing campaigns that target them specifically (e.g. White Lie and Slender Wines). Among the more surprising results were that women prefer red wine to both white and rose, and consider wine compatible with a balanced diet. 79% of the women said they drink wine because they like the taste – as opposed to its compatibility with food or fashion status. Of the 1300 UK-based respondents, 80% choose the wine for their household, with price as the main criterion, followed by varietal and country of origin; and 54% said they were undeterred by government health warnings. Consultant and presenter Angela Mount said other results, notably that women continue to be more price-led than brand or quality-led, was worrisome, with only 10% choosing wine over $15 a bottle.
Tags: Slender Wine, White Lie, wine price, wine sales, wine survey, women
1. The longest recorded Champagne cork flight was 177 feet and 9 inches, 4 feet from level ground at Woodbury Vineyards in New York state, on June 5, 1988.
2. Marilyn Monroe was said to have once taken a bath in 350 bottles of Champagne. Vintage not confirmed.
3. The largest cork tree in the world is known as The Whistler Tree. This tree is located in the Alentejo region of Portugal and averages more than 1 ton of raw cork per harvest, which is enough to cork 100,000 bottles of wine. Or one really big keg of beer.
4. Demi Moore tried to seduce Michael Douglas in the 1994 movie Disclosure with a bottle of the limited edition Pahlmeyer 1991 Chardonnay (Napa Valley, California). She seduced Ashton Kutcher in real life with a case of Red Bull.
5. A jar of red wine was found in Tutankhamen’s tomb, inscribed with the winemaker name, Khaa, and the vintage, “Year 5.” Those who tasted it remarked that it was “kinda funky.”
Tags: Ashton Kutcher, Champagne, chardonnay wine, Demi Moore, Marilyn Monroe, Michael Douglas, Tutankhamen, wine facts
