A Rebel Fair with small wine producers in Champagne A handful of quality oriented importers arranged a more intimate “salon” to showcase their champagnes in parallel with the big Champagne Day recently in Stockholm. There were many organic wines and there was quite a lot of talk about “non-dosé” (no or very little added sugar [...]
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Austria: a selection of exciting wine producers
Impressive variety and quality in both white and red wines from Austria Austria is a wine country that deserves to be discovered by a wider audience. Elegant, stylish white wines and, perhaps more of a surprise, exciting and characterful red wines of high quality. A number of wine producers from Austria recently visited Stockholm and [...]
What makes Portugal different from other wine countries?
What makes Portugal different from other wine countries? This is the main theme when the famous Portuguese wine journalist Rui Falcão gives his “master class” lecture in Malmö, on an afternoon in early April. Mostly it is sommeliers and restaurant people gathered to take part in this presentation of Portugal from a wine perspective. Rui [...]
Exciting and affordable wines from Entre-deux-Mers in Bordeaux
BKWine judges the annual wine competition for white Bordeaux. And an intro to the Entre deux Mers appellation We tasted several exciting white Bordeaux wines from Entre-deux-Mers competition recently. BKWine was one of the judges in the Top Vin competition which is organized every year. Here is a brief introduction to Entre-deux-Mers, and a selection [...]
New rooster and new rules for Chianti Classico
During the launch of the new vintage of Chianti Classico, the “anteprima” or the “primeurs”, in mid-February in Florence the consorzio presented the new design of the black rooster, the gallo nero symbol of Chianti Classico. They also presented the new rules, as of this year, that will apply for Chianti Classico. BKWine’s Åsa Johansson reports. [...]
Sicily leaves traces in the soul. A journey to Sicily’s eastern part.
The biggest island of the Mediterranean, a treasure trove of wine, gastronomy and experiences “Without Sicily Italy leaves no trace in the soul. Sicily is the key to everything”, Goethe is supposed to have said. Sicily surely leaves traces in the soul. It’s not just the food, the wine and the beautiful landscape that hits [...]
Sicily: wine, food, vineyards, history, and landscape in pictures
A photo essay from the island of Sicily Sicily is a big island, the biggest in the Mediterranean. It is also one of Italy’s biggest wine regions. It is an island where you can find everything from sandy beaches, tiny wind swept islands, high mountains and of course volcanoes, vast fruit plantations and olive groves [...]
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 [...]
A sparkling display in Trentino – Tasting Trento DOC
River deep, mountain high The event “bubbles over Trento” , held in November last year in Trentino, offered guests a chance to try some of the finest sparkling wines that the region has to offer. BKWine’s contributor Stuart George reports back from his visit to hillsides of the Dolmites and shares his thoughts on the [...]
Egyptian wine on the way up – Hot climate viticulture is spreading
Drink like an Egyptian? Exploring the wine marvels of the ‘brave Old World’ it’s easy to follow the path laid out by cool climate viticulture. Certainly most of the world’s finest wines are grown in such conditions. But countries in South America and Southeast Asia have been blazing a trail for hot climate viticulture, an [...]
Tasting Amarone, a selection of excellent producers
That’s Amarone! The “big bitter” from Italy has wooed wine drinkers all over the world. Rich in both history and taste, the wines from Amarone continue to impress and intrigue. Guest writer Stuart George reports from his visit to Amarone in 2012, and details his best tastings from the trip. Sixteenth century Venice, devastated by [...]
Quick facts on Beaujolais
An introduction to Beaujolais in Burgundy Beaujolais is the southernmost, and biggest, wine region in Burgundy. Here are some quick facts on the district: 22,000 hectares 843,000 hectolitres of wine, of which 266,000 hl is Beaujolais Nouveaux (32%). It used to be even more nouveau, sometimes called “primeur”. Almost all wine is red but there [...]
The new Saint Emilion Classification
All the details and a critical review Saint Emilion has just announced the new classification of the chateaux. It has been a long time coming; the classification should be renewed every 10 years but this has been much delayed due to legal wrangling. The new classification includes some substantial changes but perhaps not dramatic surprises, [...]
Montecucco, a Tuscan wine region too watch
From Montecucco, a new wine region in southern Tuscany that was just made DOCG Montecucco is one of the “new” wine regions in Tuscany, Italy, that has powerful neighbours to fight for consumer mind share with and has several challenges. But that is making great progress and wines to take note of. BKWine’s reporter in [...]
Apulia an introduction: not only red wines but also rosé and white
New vintages and old grapes from the heel of Italy: Puglia “Apulia Best Wine” took place on June 12-17 in Apulia, or Puglia, with around 50 wine journalists from twenty different countries invited to taste the new vintages, the primeurs, of the wines made from the local grape varieties: negroamaro, primitivo, and nero di troia. [...]
Montecucco, newcomer with style with two heavy-weight neighbours
A newish Tuscan region gains DOCG and starts to make its mark When talking about the wines of Tuscany it is easy to forget that there are much more than the three big names, Chianti, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Brunello di Montalcino. That would be a mistake. There are many more exiting wines to [...]
Reader suggestions for growers’ champagnes
Following our article last month on A selection of “grower’s champagne” producers we have had several suggestions for more names from readers. Some of them we know and some of them are new names. Here are the readers’ suggestions: Andre Roger in Ay, esp Blanc de Blancs Marie Noêlle Ledru, especially cuvée du Goulté ( [...]
Champagne! How it is made
An introduction to winemaking and styles for the world’s most famous sparkling wine There will be millions of bottles of champagne drunk during the Christmas and New Year festivities. Of course, all sparkling wine that will be drunk is not Champagne. Champagne is the most expensive of all sparkling wines so, depending on your budget [...]
11 wine regions to discover (or rediscover) during 2012
We probably all have a tendency sometimes to choose the wine that sounds familiar or what happens to be easiest to find on the shelf. Here is a list to encourage you to look for those things that are a bit more off the beaten path in terms of wine regions. 1. Apulia, southern Italy [...]
A selection of “grower’s champagne” producers
The difference between independents and champagne “houses”, and a few recommendations The big houses (Moët, Pommery, Mercier, Veuve Clicquot, Laurent-Perrier, etc.) dominate the production of Champagne. But there are also some 2,000 private winemakers who make their own Champagne from beginning to the end, so called grower’s champagne or champagne de vignerons. The philosophy of [...]
Sweet wines from Alsace
On sweet and semi-sweet wines from Alsace During Christmas and New Year there are often many opportunities to drink a sweet or semi-sweet wine. They go, for instance, extraordinarily well with foie gras and blue cheeses like the English Stilton or the French Roquefort. A Sauternes with a foie gras de canard (duck liver) is [...]
The 1855 classification in Bordeaux, a quick introduction
The most famous of all wine classifications was made more than 150 years ago. The 1855 Bordeaux Grand Cru Classé Classification, made for the World Exhibition in Paris that same year. The people responsible at the time could hardly have imagined the impact this classification would have. It is mentioned constantly whenever Bordeaux and Bordeaux [...]
The 1855 classification of wine estates in Bordeaux | the list
The 1855 classification of Bordeaux is really a classification of chateau, meaning the building, or the “brand” attached to the building, rather than a classification of a vineyard or a terroir. The classification comprised 60 chateau in the Medoc, except for one that was in the Graves, producing red wines and 27 chateaux in the [...]
December – the port wine month
An introduction to port wine and its markets December is a good month for port. Some people do not drink port wine at any other period. And that is a shame of course. Port wine is well suited for many occasions. The grapes for the port wine are grown in the Douro Valley in northern [...]
Harvest report 2011: the vintage in the Rhone Valley
Here is another harvest report from one of the French wine regions: The Rhone Valley. Admittedly, this press release sometimes reads more like a promo sheet with too much hyperbole: “Rhône Valley wine professionals have dared to take risks by favouring optimal vine maturity”, “Wine lovers will recognise the accessibility of our flawless, supple and [...]
Harvest report 2011: The vintage in the upper Loire: Sancerre, Pouilly etc
The upper Loire, from a vinous point of view, comprises the two well-known appellations Sancerre and Puilly-Fumé, but also the less famous Menetou Salon, Quincy, Reuilly, Coteaux du Giennois and Chateaumeillant. We have just received a report from the interprofession and Sopexa UK on the 2011 vintage. (They choose to call it Les Vins du [...]
Harvest report 2011: The Loire Valley vintage
The 2011 vintage in the Loire Valley seems promising. When we were there in early October the winemakers we met sounded very optimistic. However, it has been a year with extreme, or perhaps more accurately, very strange weather patterns. The whites look very promising, both the dry and the sweet. The reds had an unexpected [...]
Harvest report 2011: A good vintage in Austria
The wine harvest in Austria in 2011 was overall good in quality as well as quantity according to the Austrian Wine Marketing Board. It was not a year without problems, warm weather for example led to low acidities unless the winemaker was careful. The volume was up to “normal” levels after a 2010 that was [...]
Wines from Istria, Croatia: malvazia, teran and the producers
On the road to a renaissance Istria in Croatia is a wine region that you should keep an eye on. “The Wild Bunch” is a handful of new winemakers who are creating very interesting wines. The wine industry is exiting, with a new dynamic after the creation of Croatia, with interesting local vine varieties, malvazia, [...]
2010 Bordeaux tasting notes: Haut Medoc & Moulis
Tasting notes, reviews, and ratings of the 2010 Bordeaux primeur campaign, by Jeff Leve of The Wine Cellar Insider. You can read more by Jeff Leve on 2010 Bordeaux on The Wine Cellar Insider. 2010 Chateau Belgrave uses 52% Merlot, 41% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc in this vintage. Stone, cassis [...]
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