The question is fundamental to the whole concept of blind tastings. There are many arguments for saying that it is virtually impossible to give a fair judgement about a wine if you taste it totally blind, without having the least bit of information about it. At the same time there are as many arguments for [...]
Tag Archives | wine tastings
A few late-summer days in Bordeaux
One cannot complain when one stands on the terrasse in the late-summer sunshine and look out over the chateau’s garden. With a perfectly chilled four year old white Bordeaux wine from one of the very top estates in the Graves. And then sit down for lunch in the chateau’s private dining room to enjoy a [...]
The big Rhone wine jamboree: 11-14 March 2013
Les Découvertes en Vallée du Rhône is a travelling wine show that takes place every second year in the Rhone Valley. Every appellation organises a gargantuan tasting with all the producers (well, almost). The wine trade and wine journalists go from village to village to taste. It is a magnificent occasion to taste a large [...]
Do you have to “know” about a wine to be able to judge it fairly?
Do you need prior knowledge (about the wine region, producer etc) as a wine writer to evaluate a wine? Can you taste a wine totally blind and still give a competent tasting note? Or, if you do NOT taste blind are your tasting notes still reliable? This is all interesting but difficult questions. With no [...]
A good bottle of Mosel – A tasting with Ernst Loosen
There is no denying it: I really do love a good bottle of Mosel. As far as wine preferences are concerned, most of mine tend to fluctuate over time, but not Mosel – it remains a constant bright star on my heaven of wines. Hence, if superlatives abound in this article, perhaps Dr. Loosen cannot [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Wine events calendar
Finally we have it up and running again, our wine events calendar. In it you can find dates for wine fairs, wine tastings, and other types of wine events. You find our wine events calendar here. Send us an email if you have something that you want us to put on the calendar. We also [...]
We taste wines back to 1970 from one of the most famous Provence estates
A vineyard in Provence that also traces its roots to Bordeaux recently organised a tasting with wines back to 1970: Chateau Vignelaure in Coteaux d’Aix en Provence. Here the first cabernet sauvignon was planted in the mid-1960s. And this grape is the hallmark of the estate. We have met the owners, the Danish/Swedish couple Mette [...]
BKWine reporters at large – more, much more on wine
Early this year we “recruited” a team of wine lovers to help us cover more and better what happens in the world of wine, and in particular in Scandinavia. The Scandinavian market is peculiar in that all media attention is focussed on the monthly launches at the Systembolaget monopoly. Very few media bother about much [...]
Freshness and minerality – What does the word mineral mean?
What’s in a word? What is “minerality” in a wine? It is very fashionable nowadays to talk about the minerality of a wine. It is easy to describe a wine as having minerality but it is more difficult to explain what it really means. Wine tasters in all countries use the word. In the past, [...]
Events calendar for wine events
We used to have a wine agenda at the end of each BKWine Brief. Now we don’t. Instead we have a brand new gleaming wine events calendar on BKWine Magazine. In it you will find dates and links for wine shows, wine tastings, wine and food tours and other wine related things. But it requires [...]
Wine tastings and wine shop in Paris: Legrand
Legrand Filles & Fils is one of the many very interesting wine shops you can find in Paris. It is definitely worth a visit if you are looking for some interesting bottles to carry home. In addition they have a wine bar and serves lunch if you are hungry. They regularly hold tastings and have [...]
Wine tastings at Cave Legrand wine shop in Paris
LEGRAND Filles & Fils is one of the many very interesting wine shops you can find in Paris. They regularly hold tastings and have a series they call “Tuesday wine tastings”. Here’s this seasons program: 15 November 2011 Bordeaux – Pauillac – Château Pontet-Canet With d’Alfred Tesseron Participation : 180,00€ 22 November 2011 Champagne – [...]
Belgium wins international wine tasting competition
Belgium emerged winner in the wine tasting competition organised by the French magazine La Revue du Vin de France. Curiously, the winner of the competition has always been the country in which the competition has been organised and this year it was in Atomium in Brussels. There was even a Swedish team that unfortunately did [...]
Promote local grape varieties (2)! The Wine Century Club
There’s actually a club for people who have tasted more than one hundred grape varieties: the Wine Century Club. To become member you have to have tasted at least 100 varieties. And if you have been seriously bit by the wine bug (the wine louse?) you can even become double, triple, or quadruple member. The [...]
Vinisud 2010 – looking back
Vinisud is the second biggest wine show in France. This year it was on February 22-24. 1631 exhibitors were there to present their “Mediterranean” wines. Many came from the Languedoc-Roussillon, the Rhône Valley, Sud-Ouest, Prevence and Corsica but also some other countries are represented. Vinisud is on every second year, the years when Vinexpo is [...]
American wine tasting in Paris
This spring (hopefully spring by then!) we will also see a very interesting wine tasting take place in Paris. This time the focus will be on Zinfandel from all over the United States. 92 wineries and over 200 wines will be on show. The tasting will take place at the residence of the ambassador on [...]
More wine tastings and events at (or off) Vinisud
If you’re going to Vinisud you can come to the organic wine tasting with BKWine that we talk about elsewhere. But there is more. Here are some other things you might enjoy: – Les Vinifilles on the Sunday evening, to warm up the day before it all starts? 18 women winemakers join for a private [...]
Taste organic wines with BKWine at Vinisud
Vinisud, France’s second largest wine show after Vinexpo, organises a tasting of organic wines. The tasting is primarily intended for Scandinavian visitors but as a reader of the BKWine Brief you are of course welcome too. The tasting will start with a presentation by Britt (BKWine) and then there will be some 30 (or more) [...]
Wine events : exhibitions, competitions,…
We have updated our events calendar with several new events : competitions, shows and other. Thank you to FIJEV (Federation International des Journalistes en Vin) who had put the list together: – 25-27/01 Montpellier (F) : Millésime Bio www.millesime-bio.com – 28-30/01 Mumbai (IND) : India International Wine Fair, http://www.taste-expo.com/ – 30-31/01 Chassagne (F) : Saint [...]
Taste organic wines at Vinisud with BKWine on February 22
The other big wine fair to put in the agenda this winter is Vinisud (also in Montpellier), specialised in wines from the Mediterranean basin. Vinisud has asked BKWine to lead a wine tasting of organic (including biodynamic) wines. There will be range of wine producers represented from the different regions around the Mediterranean (Languedoc, Roussillon, [...]
Taste Languedoc wines in Paris on January 21
Miss Vicky’s real name is Anne-Victoire Monrozier and she writes the blog Miss Vicky Wine. She also sells wine (I think, her family has a vineyard in the Loire valley), and, above all, she organises wine tastings in Paris. Her next event is a Languedoc tasting at the art gallery l’Oeilduhuit in Paris on January [...]
Wine tastes better in blue or red light
German researchers have concluded that wine tastes better (is perceived as tasting better? – a philosophical distinction perhaps) when tasted in light with a red or blue colour, compared to if the lighting is neutral white or green. They had the subjects taste wine in different coloured light and compared reactions. The colour also had [...]
Choosing the Right Wine
Choosing the Right Wine By: Beverley Blanning Publisher: Teach Yourself This is a soft cover, pocket size book on how to teach yourself about wine. Small, simple (no glossy paper, virtually no illustrations) and very good. One of the best introductions to learning about wine an in particular wine tasting we’ve seen in quite some [...]
Can you tell the difference between a cheap bulk wine and a quality wine?
Rebecca Gibb is an English wine writer with, among other outputs, a nicely written and an entertaining wine blog. She recently participated in a one day crash course (condensed from four) organised by the Australian Wine Research Institute to show English hacks how judging is done in Australia. All wines were tasted blind, followed by [...]
Discover the wines of the Rhône
There are not many better occasions to discover the wines of the Rhône than the Découverte en Vallée du Rhône. Over several days there are many tastings and meetings with vignerons in villages all along the district. This year it takes place on March 16-21. Trade only. More info www.inter-rhone.com. The only better way to [...]
Book review: Andrew Jefford’s Wine Course
Andrew Jefford’s Wine Course By: Andrew Jefford Photo: William Lingwood & Alan Williams, et al Ryland, Peters & Small, £19.99, ISBN 978-1845977238 This is an introduction to wine and wine tasting. Andrew Jefford accompanies the reader through a series of “projects” where each is focused on learning something about wine. You can start with Project [...]
The great tasting in Paris…
Le Grand Tasting they call it… It is a big wine fair and, yes, tasting that is open to both the public and professionals and will take place this year on November 21 and 22 at the Caroussel du Louvre in Paris. Numerous quality wine producers from all over France will participate and this year [...]
Taste wine on Saturday afternoons in Paris
Each Saturday between 3PM and 6PM you can taste a range of 4 whites and 5 reds at the restaurant Le TasteMonde. They are priced at a very reasonable 1€ or 2€ per glass. You find Le TasteMonde close to Place de la Madeleine, on 8 rue de Surène (ph 06 20 62 60 86).
English
Svenska 
