• WORKING IN THE VINES – SABLET STYLE

    par | Jan 17, 2011

    By LINCOLN SILIAKUS

    Last October, I broke the news about two young potential vigneronnes, Carla Giovanelli and Julie Galet.
    Well, they were at it again the other day down the back of my garden.
    Now that they have picked the grapes and made a 2010 wine, they have turned to the next stage in the winemakers’ life – the winter vine trimming.

    Despite its reputation for providing a gentle quality of life, Provence can be crudely cold in winter.

    Carla and Julie rugged up for the task

    It may not be easy, but is it really that hard?

    As hard as it looks?

    The next step?  Maybe we’ll see them driving their great-uncle Serge’s tractor with a plough or spraying a bit of sulphur.

    The serious part of this story is that, in common with many villages in Provence, Sablet needs a new generation of winemakers. But that is happening. As well as the charmingly effusive Vasco Perdigao, Frederic Meffre produces a lovely Sablet rouge from vines to the east of Sablet and Pablo Hocht, who works with Louis Barruol at St Cosme, has just started producing a fulsome red from vines on the Plan de Dieu at the opposite end of the appellation.

  • BLENDING ART, WINE AND OLD STONES IN RASTEAU

    par | Jan 14, 2011

    By LINCOLN SILIAKUS

    The new airy cellar of the Cave Cooperative at Rasteau has a room designed as an art gallery, which is terrific for local artists whose works hang aesthetically on its rough limestone walls.  The Coop has taken the name Ortas as its umbrella brand: it’s apparently a simplified anagram of Rasteau.  As I sip their delightful and affordable wines, I frequently think of Orcas, those large, pied, toothy dolphins that snap up cute little seals frolicking in the surf.  Anyway…

    The generosity of Ortas towards artists has been rewarded nicely by Nathalie Weber, a well-known artist from nearby Villedieu, who has reciprocated by designing a « Landscapes and Poetry » exhibition specifically for the cellar.  She specifically painted works to fit into the site. (suite…)

  • WORLD’S OLDEST WINERY DISCOVERED IN ARMENIA

    par | Jan 12, 2011

    From The INDIAN WINE ACADEMY Newsletter

    The wine production could be around 6 100 years old according to an archaeological find reporting discovery of the remains of world’s oldest known winery along with the grapes suggesting it produced red wine, near Iranian Border.  The announcement was made yesterday by the National Geographic Society and published on line by the Journal of Archaeological Science.

    Archaeologists have found evidence of wine making throughout the early ages, but the 4,100 BC carbon dating and botanical analysis at the site appears to be the oldest so far, Areshian adds. The team found chemical evidence of a grape-coloring compound, along with the preserved grape remains and dried vines.  A layer of ancient sheep dung above the wine press site preserved much of the grape material from decay. Surprisingly, the caves have not been looted or touched during all these centuries. (suite…)

  • MON MAÎTRE ÉTALON

    par | Jan 6, 2011

    PHILIPPE DESQUESNES

    phil-by-river-vignette2

    Vif comme le citron alchimiste de Garcia Lorca,
    Sanguin comme un lancer d’oranges carnavalesque,
    Capiteux comme un miel au sommet de son sucre,
    Bergeronnant comme les flancs des Baronnies au soleil de juin,
    Résineux comme un vent déchiré par son trajet landais,
    Pâtissier comme un roi qui m’offre la fève et me met à l’amande,
    Balsamique comme une chapelle de cire incandescente,
    Bourbon et victorien comme vanille et ananas réunis,
    Tu m’élèves les sens vers d’autres profondeurs.
    « Cheval fougueux », ainsi te surnomma ton père,
    Tu te sublimes en ce palais où je parle l’autre langue,
    La silencieuse.
    Yquem 1995,
    Mon verre s’étourdit en un manège de haute école….
    Et je lâche la bride !

  • BORDEAUX 2010 EVEN BETTER THAN 2009?

    par | Jan 5, 2011

    By JOHN UMBERTO SALVI, MW — From the INDIAN WINE ACADEMY Newsletter


    There are growers and producers who, now that the wines are safely in the vats and/or barrels, are claiming that their wines are even finer than the 2009s, for which the market paid astronomical prices for famous     Grands Crus Classés.

    The Bordeaux authoritative specialist for specialists John Umberto Salvi (Master of Wine) who resides near there gives his assessment.

     

    (suite…)