Rhône Wines

August 6, 2016 13

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

Tasting Tavel

Four years ago, almost to the day, I was at a dinner party for which each of the eight guests was asked to bring a rosé to include in a blind tasting. The wines came from all around the world, and no one wine was duplicated. One of the wines presented was a Tavel; its dark hue was unfamiliar to us and assumptions of sugar content and [...]
April 2, 2016 34

Musings of a Wine Maven

HENRI BONNEAU, le DERNIER ADIEU

I arrived at No. 35 Rue Joseph Ducos just in time to watch five men, led by son Marcel Bonneau, carry the casket of legendary winemaker Henri Bonneau (1938 - 2016) from his long-time home to the 11th-century church Nôtre-Dame-de-l’Assomption, across the street. In moments, it seemed, the casket had been carefully placed in the center aisle in front of the altar. That was March 26th.

Just five days earlier, I had been in Châteauneuf-du-Pape with business associate Jacques Navarre; it was one of the stops on our ten-day visit to wine producers in Burgundy and the Rhône Valley. I had not anticipated returning to Châteauneuf-du-Pape, yet when I heard the news that Monsieur Bonneau had died, I immediately [...]
January 1, 2016 20

2015 THROUGH THE LENS OF MY WINE GLASS

2015 was a good year. Brilliant clarity and great depth. Intense bouquets segueing into a well-balanced product with layers of complexity. A lingering finish, imploring the reader, we hope, to return for more in 2016. Provence WineZine is still young but we have great promise [...]
December 5, 2015 7

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

Muscat Love

It's been twelve months of Provençal wine and food pairings now, and I imagine you have seen some patterns. I love pairing special meals with special wines, and sharing the experiences with special people. Which makes me chuckle when I think of how the French use the descriptor "special" in not so nice a way. «Ouai, ça c'est très SPECIAL...» But, I digress... [...]
November 1, 2015 27

Musings of a Wine Maven

BARREL TASTING CONTINUES IN FRANCE NOTWITHSTANDING THE ENTENTE CORDIALE

It’s funny how one can misconstrue history, imagining the raison d’être of certain events to be one thing, and then being surprised to learn that reality is quite different. Such was the case when I moved to France in 1988. At that time, I was vaguely aware of some sort of official agreement between the French and the English termed the Entente Cordiale. At the time I did not realize it was originally a alliance pertaining to political and military relations, rather assuming the document was drafted and accepted (in 1904) to signal a new era of conviviality between two nations that shared a 1,000 year history of dislike, bordering [...]
October 10, 2015 4

COME OVER TO THE DARK SIDE

It’s all about skin contact. Well, almost.

Minimal skin contact is the simplest explanation for the beautiful pale colors of the world’s most popular rosés. Of course I am referring to rosés from Provence, where pink wine has been made for over 2600 years, giving winemakers there ample time to perfect their rosé [...]
September 27, 2015 12

A CHÂTEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE IN HONOR OF POPE FRANCIS

Since the arrival of Pope Francis in Washington, D.C. and his stirring address to Congress—rousing all but the most lackluster members of this elite audience—I have been riveted by his words to each of the disparate groups he would go on to meet. No matter what one’s political or religious beliefs may be, there seemed to be something for [...]
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