These are two high quality wines from the Languedoc. Both are elegant, complex and very drinkable. Faugères 2010 Les Premières JM & Vé Alquier (14 euro) Quite light in style, full of aromas, well made with freshness, fine acidity and length. The talented wine maker Jean-Michel Alquier, well known for his cuvées La Maison Jaune [...]
Author Archive | Britt Karlsson
A new champagne discovery: Champagne Vautrain-Paulet | BKWine Pick
The year is soon coming to its end (we wrote at the end of December) and it will soon be time to plan what drink to finish it and celebrate the new year with. Or to have for dinner on New Year’s Eve (but you can have champagne anytime!). A champagne producer that we recently [...]
White dry Bordeaux from André Lurton
We love dry white Bordeaux wines and hope that more people will discover how delicious they are. This summer we had the opportunity to visit some of the Lurton chateaux (there are several) in Entre-deux-Mers and Pessac-Léognan in Bordeaux and taste the wines. André Lurton is a big producer of white dry white wines in [...]
Saint Emilion and Stradivarius for lunch
In late October we were invited by Bernard Magrez to a luxurious lunch at Le Cinq, star restaurant at the Hôtel Georges V in Paris. We were there to celebrate several things. Bernard Magrez’ Château Fombrauge in Saint Emilion had just been given its new classification, Grand Cru Classé, and he had only a few [...]
What do the French drink at home?
FranceAgriMer, a body linked to the French Ministry of Agriculture, has recently published statistics on how much still wine the French households buy and drink at home (sparkling wine not included). The French buy a little less wine every year. Last year each household bought in average 41, 44 litres of wine which is a [...]
Good news for organic growers: new organic product to fight diseases
Swiss researchers have discovered fungal molecules in lignified vine branches that can slow the progression of mildiou, oidium and gray rot, all three dreaded fungal diseases in the vineyard. The Research Station Agroscope Changins-Wädenswil in Switzerland will now try to develop a new pesticide based on these molecules. The project is financed by a very [...]
Geographical indications for AOC Alsace
INAO (Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualité), the authority that controls all the French appellations, has recently approved two additional geographical add-ons for AOC Alsace. The two lucky ones are AOC Alsace Bergheim and AOC Alsace Coteaux du Haut Koenigsbourg. Previously 11 geographical areas have been given this higher status: Blienschwiller, Côtes de [...]
One more classified biodynamic chateau in Médoc: Château Durfort-Vivens
Château Pontet-Canet in Pauillac was the first and Château Durfort-Vivens in Margaux will probably be the second Grand Cru Classé in Médoc to become biodynamically certified. Durfort-Vivens was made as second growth (deuxième grand cru classé) in the Bordeaux classification of 1855. Owner Gonzague Lurton has worked biodynamically on part of the vineyard since 2009. [...]
Wine in bulk, a growing market, Spain is top producer
Larger and larger quantities of wine in the world are sold in bulk. The volume has doubled over the past 10 years. Spain is the leading country when it comes to selling bulk wine (35% of the total bulk volume in the world). Italy comes second (23%) and Australia is the third largest in terms [...]
New BKWine Brief out, #112: End of vintage wine, Sicily, football…
A new year is beginning and also, probably, new discussions and new debates in the world of wine. What will be the main topics during 2013? Planting rights and the declining influence of Robert Parker? Whatever it will be, the happy news is that the wine consumption in the world is again increasing. It does [...]
The importance of being structured! | Britt on Wine
To the barricades! More tannins to the people! How do you explain the difference between a “quality wine” and a “simple” wine? Try it yourself and you will see how difficult it is. Or ask people who have faced the challenge to tell the difference between a simple wine and a better wine in a [...]
”The Gastronomic Meal of the French” – a cultural heritage
Do you feel cultural (or perhaps cultured?) when you sit down to a beautifully set table to enjoy a gastronomic meal? You should. Even though it is the French gastronomic meal that has been recognized by UNESCO as a cultural heritage I think all good meals deserve the honour, be they in France or elsewhere. [...]
Is it good for the wine consumer that the producers are now allowed to blend vintages with VCI?
A new kind of insurance for the wine producer: “The individual supplementary volume” Many things can happen in a vineyard. Weather problems are frequent. Diseases can reduce quantity and destroy quality. A small harvest could be disastrous for the producer. On the other hand, the change of character in a wine according to the specificities [...]
Fascinating wine statistics: vineyards, wine production and wine consumption
Is there a risk of lack of wine? We know a lot of you love figures so here are a few to savour. International Organisation of Vine and Wine, based in Paris, presented end of October interesting statistics concerning wine production and wine consumption in the world (www.oiv.int). The world vineyards shrinking 2011: 7.5 million [...]
Organic wines in fancy restaurants
74% of the gastronomic restaurants (which means that the bill, without wine, is at least 45 euro) in France have organic wines on their wine list. Many of them are also planning to expand its range of these wines. The restaurants indicate two major reasons to have organic wines on the wine list: These wines [...]
Fermentation thanks to wasps?
An interesting research report concerning the yeast that can be found on the grape skins was published recently. Italian and French researchers believe they have discovered how this yeast on the grape skin has gotten there. Their results show that wasps are harbouring yeast in their digestive system, giving them to his offspring and spreading [...]
Sicily seduces
An island of wine, olives, food and sunshine in the Mediterranean Sicily, the island, the sun, the wines, the olive oil, the food… The largest island of the Mediterranean Sea has many charms, much to make you want to go there. Britt Karlsson did and discovered a region with a little known but very dynamic [...]
Château de Chantegrive, Graves | BKWine Pick
Château de Chantegrive is one of the few really big chateaux in AC Graves (the other big ones are in Pessac-Leognan), with 90 hectares of vines. This is also the star of the Graves appellation (and one of our big favourites). The chateau is a family owned and is run by Hélène Lévêque. It was [...]
Wine with a soul: port & other wines from Wine & Soul in the Douro
A meeting with Sandra Tavares da Silva at her winery in the Douro Valley Far up the river Douro in northern Portugal, in a small village perching on a cliff overlooking the winding river and the terraced vineyards, we find the small and young winery called Wine & Soul. Britt went there to meet with [...]
Oak barrels to let?
During one of our wine tour trips recently we met for the first time a producer (not the one on the photo) who rents his oak barrels instead of buying them. Buying French oak barrels cost a lot of money (between 600 and 800 euro for one 225-liter barrel) and renting can be a way [...]
Cooperatives make demands on organic wines
The cooperatives produce almost 50% of all French wines so their opinion matters. They have recently, according to La Vigne, sent a letter to the French Minister of Agriculture with demands relating to the production of organic wines. They do not agree with some of the rules that were established this year for the work [...]
Domaine Pierre Chauvin 2008, Cuvée La Fontaine des Bois, Anjou | Britt’s Wine of the Month
Britt’s Wine of the Month: Domaine Pierre Chauvin 2008, Cuvée La Fontaine des Bois, AOP Anjou, Loire Valley In the heart of sweet wine appellation Coteaux du Layon in the region of Anjou (Loire), we find this estate of 15 hectare. Paul-Eric Chauvin is the fifth generation to continue the family tradition. The winery is [...]
The Germans like their Sekt
7% of all wine produced in the world is sparkling, according to Vitisphere. This is an increase of 2% since 2002. 65% of the sparkling wines come from France, followed by Italy, Germany, Spain and Chile. As for the consumption of sparkling wine Germany tops the list closely followed by France. The Germans drink up [...]
Problems in Beaujolais
As many as a quarter of all Beaujolais growers (ie 500 growers) will possibly go bankrupt before the year is over. So great is the crisis in the region, according to La Vigne. The harvest in 2012 will, due to various weather problems, be small and this will not help the situation. The growers expect [...]
Château Franc-Mayne, Saint Emilion Grand Cru | BKWine Pick
This is a small and beautiful estate, situated very close to the pretty town of Saint Emilion. The wines here, made with merlot as the main grape variety, are classic Bordeaux wines that age beautifully for at least 12-15 years. We had a Franc Mayne 1995 for dinner the other day and it was delicious. [...]
Britt’s Wine of the Month # 2 : Domaine des Granges de Mirabel 2010, Michel Chapoutier, Vin de Pays des Coteaux de l’Ardèche
This is a very pleasant viognier from well known Rhône Valley producer Michel Chapoutier. He is based in Tain l’Hermitage but for this wine he has moved over to the other side of the river Rhône, to the beautiful department of Ardèche. This is not your typical viognier. It is less aromatic, which is why [...]
Concrete Chic – fermentations among the vat makers
More and more producers are rebuilding their cellars and are replacing stainless steel vats with concrete fermentation vats. And some of those who couldn’t afford to buy stainless steel vats and had to make do with their old concrete vats are quite happy today because they realize that concrete has a lot of advantages. Vitisphere [...]
Murder in the vineyard? BKWine appears in a detective novel
Gute Winery’s gold medal winning grappa plays role in Swedish crime book I was sitting lazily reading a Swedish crime novel on the balcony the other day. The book was “The Alchemy’s Eternal Fire” by Anna Jansson (my translation). I read it in Swedish but I’m sure it is translated into English as most Scandinavian [...]
Britt’s Wine of the Month: Ares Blanc 2010 from Le Conte des Floris in Languedoc
Le Conte des Floris is a small, high quality estate in Languedoc, in the village of Caux, close to Pezenas. Daniel Le Conte des Floris is a relative newcomer to the business, he started his vineyard in 2000, but he is a quick learner. His wines are superb and here I would like to highlight [...]
The burning issue again: sulphur
In our March Brief we wrote that the habit of burning sulphur inside oak barrels to disinfect them is in danger of being banned. Because sulphur tablets are classified as biocides you need an authorization to be allowed to sell them. And this authorization is expensive. Now things look a bit brighter, according to La [...]
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