In Case You Missed It, Maision M. Chapoutier Buys Château des Ferrages in Provence
Legendary Rhône wine estate, Maison M. Chapoutier recently announced acquisition of the Provençal domaine, Château des Ferrages. [...]
Wine
Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food It’s a Family Affair
It isn’t often – at least, I don’t think it is – that I get to taste a premier vintage from a vineyard. But that is exactly what I did this week. It's a new wine from a debut vineyard, yet created by a family that is a leading producer of some of Provence's best rosés. It is a joint effort by Château la Tour de l’Évêque (Régine Sumeire) and [...]
Musings of a Wine MavenHO-HUM, MILLÉSIME BIO EXPO ENDS IN FRANCE
From January 25-27 over 800 wine producers from around the globe had their bio-dynamically influenced wines on display in Montpellier. Learning of it several months ago I gave consideration to taking it in, as the subject appeals, and nothing of this scope has been put together over here. My eyes had been more fully opened to sustainability two years ago while attending a packaging conference on the subject for a consulting client. Listening to the various presenters it became clear that the interest had now gone well past tree huggers and deeper into the general population. I began to believe that product recyclability and improved food product wholesomeness [...]
CLOS DE L’OURS: A CONVERSATION WITH CO-OWNER MICHEL BROTONS
Barely three years old, this winery was recently included in “Les domaines incontournable en Provence” in [...]
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 [...]
INVITE SOME ROSÉS TO DINNER THIS HOLIDAY
Last May, I had the great pleasure of attending the biannual “Tasting Supper” at Blantyre, the luxurious Tudor-style manor tucked into 117 forested acres of the Berkshires, in Lenox, Massachusetts. Part of the posh Relais & Châteaux collection of luxury properties, it’s not surprising that our seven-course meal was exquisite in every way. (Proprietor Ann Fitzpatrick Brown would not have it any other way.) It is etched into my memory for the beautifully prepared [...]
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... [...]
Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food A Special Occasion
Special wines, and special foods, should be saved for special occasions. Today is the 10th anniversary of Mark's and my move to Tucson, and we wanted to celebrate in an appropriate fashion. The wine - a 2007 Château Vignelaure Coteaux d'Aix en Provence - was chosen to mark the day, and the meal to go with it had to be equally special. I chose to serve a roasted pork tenderloin crusted in Provençal herbs [...]
Musings of a Wine MavenBARREL 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 [...]
THE PASTAGA OF LÉOUBE
In August of last year, Château Léoube’s Secret de Léoube was given a shout by Drinks Magazine, having placed in the gold medal tier of their 2014 Global Rosé Masters wine tasting competition with such local Provence favorites as Château d’Esclans and Mirabeau en Provence. Embarrassingly enough, having lived only an hour away for years, I had been blissfully ignorant of this domain. As Provence [...]
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