Features
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
The BKWine Brief story from the start to today In December 2011 we publish the 100th issue of our newsletter, the BKWine Brief. Here is a look back on how it started and some thoughts
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
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
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
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 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
There has recently been a curious “debate” on one of the major Swedish wine blogs on what is “the stongest wine in the world”, naturally fermented, excluding fortified wines. It started some time back with
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
How is an Italian Christmas and an Italian Christmas dinner? Italy is a strange country, difficult to understand. Even for the Italians themselves. There is chaos in politics and in the traffic, but when it
Alain Senderens and Jérôme Banctel have shared with us their recipe for one of their signature dishes, the Canard Apicius 2010, including an updated wine suggestion, for an article that we have done on Alain
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
The upper Loire, from a vinous point of view, comprises the two well-known appellations Sancerre and Puilly-sur-Fumé, but also the less famous Menetou Salon, Quincy, Reuilly, Coteaux du Giennois and Chateaumeillant. We have just received
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,
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
Domaine Turner Pageot is a very small wine producer in the Languedoc, in the little town of Gabian. It was created by the husband and wife team of Emmanuel Pageot and Karen Turner, he from
Interview with the founder, owner and winemaker of the winery Cortes de Cima: Hans Kristian Jorgensen, in the vineyards of the estate. Cortes de Cima is one of the leading wine estates in the Alentejo,
Interview with John Loubser, general manager at the Steenberg Vineyards Winery in Constantia on the Cape peninsula in South Africa. Steenberg means Stone Mountain. The reason is obvious when you come here: you are surrounded
Dottore Giorgio Colli gives a short introduction to truffles, what types of truffles there are and how you should prepare and serve them. Truffle is a type of mushroom. About a dozen truffle varieties are
Someone recently asked us the question: Do you have any good recommendations for Paris? Restaurants that are good but not necessarily luxurious, nice place to visit, museums that one might not think of…? We should,
Cortes de Cima: interview with winemaker Hamilton Reis. Cortes de Cima is a winery in the Alentejo region in Portugal, an hour an a half east of Lisbon. Their total range includes more than a
One of the things that contribute to the ageing of wine is oxygen. Aging is, partially, a slow oxidation of the wine. It leads to changes in the flavour and aromas and it also changes
There are many different types of microbes (minuscule organisms) that contribute to making the wine into what it is. Many of them are desirable and even essential to the making of a wine. some only
There are a lot of wine cooperatives in France, some of them good, some of them bad. One of the best is to be found in Chablis. This cooperative is called La Chablisienne and you
This time of the year food and wine magazines are full of suggestions as to which wines to choose for the outdoor summer parties. So why not also here in BKWine Brief! We love barbecue
Soleilla means sun in Occitan, the ancient language langue d’oc. Mas du Soleilla is beautifully situated, close to the sea, in the region of La Clape in Languedoc, not far from Narbonne. The climate is
Austria has around 46,000 hectares of vineyards. That is roughly one third of Bordeaux (and some). There are four main regions: Burgenland, Niederösterriech, Steiermark and Wien. Niederösterriech is by far the biggest region with 60%
At High Constantia winemaker David van Niekerk makes an exceptional Cap Classic (sparkling wines made by the traditional method) that gets at least three years of ageing on its lees (sur latte). The grapes grow
Guido Schwengersbauer has lived in Croatia for many, many years. Today he runs a charming small hotel called La Parenzana in the small village of Buje on the Istrian peninsula. One of his passions is
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.
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
The BKWine Brief story from the start to today In December 2011 we publish the 100th issue of our newsletter, the BKWine Brief. Here is
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.
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
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
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
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
There has recently been a curious “debate” on one of the major Swedish wine blogs on what is “the stongest wine in the world”, naturally
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
How is an Italian Christmas and an Italian Christmas dinner? Italy is a strange country, difficult to understand. Even for the Italians themselves. There is
Alain Senderens and Jérôme Banctel have shared with us their recipe for one of their signature dishes, the Canard Apicius 2010, including an updated wine
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
The upper Loire, from a vinous point of view, comprises the two well-known appellations Sancerre and Puilly-sur-Fumé, but also the less famous Menetou Salon, Quincy,
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
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
Domaine Turner Pageot is a very small wine producer in the Languedoc, in the little town of Gabian. It was created by the husband and
Interview with the founder, owner and winemaker of the winery Cortes de Cima: Hans Kristian Jorgensen, in the vineyards of the estate. Cortes de Cima
Interview with John Loubser, general manager at the Steenberg Vineyards Winery in Constantia on the Cape peninsula in South Africa. Steenberg means Stone Mountain. The
Dottore Giorgio Colli gives a short introduction to truffles, what types of truffles there are and how you should prepare and serve them. Truffle is
Someone recently asked us the question: Do you have any good recommendations for Paris? Restaurants that are good but not necessarily luxurious, nice place to
Cortes de Cima: interview with winemaker Hamilton Reis. Cortes de Cima is a winery in the Alentejo region in Portugal, an hour an a half
One of the things that contribute to the ageing of wine is oxygen. Aging is, partially, a slow oxidation of the wine. It leads to
There are many different types of microbes (minuscule organisms) that contribute to making the wine into what it is. Many of them are desirable and
There are a lot of wine cooperatives in France, some of them good, some of them bad. One of the best is to be found
This time of the year food and wine magazines are full of suggestions as to which wines to choose for the outdoor summer parties. So
Soleilla means sun in Occitan, the ancient language langue d’oc. Mas du Soleilla is beautifully situated, close to the sea, in the region of La
Austria has around 46,000 hectares of vineyards. That is roughly one third of Bordeaux (and some). There are four main regions: Burgenland, Niederösterriech, Steiermark and
At High Constantia winemaker David van Niekerk makes an exceptional Cap Classic (sparkling wines made by the traditional method) that gets at least three years
Guido Schwengersbauer has lived in Croatia for many, many years. Today he runs a charming small hotel called La Parenzana in the small village of
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
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