Dawn Jones-Cooper bought a 3.5 hectare vineyard in 2005. It’s in Entre-Deux-Mers, about 40 minutes east of Bordeaux. Right away she learned the extent of neglect and disease in the vineyard. She tore it out, planted barley and applied comfrey. She is one of dozens in Bordeaux practicing Biodynamic agriculture. In fact, producers in wine regions around the world are… Read more »
Many styles of rosé come in mass-produced and boutique quantities, the later are more difficult to find. Both are good, but it’s the obscure French rosé that excites me.
“Let her sleep, for when she wakes, she will shake the world.” ~Napoleon Bonaparte If you visited Bordeaux chances are you made it to the right bank. There you’ll find several famous appellations vying for attention including Pomerol, the smallest of Bordeaux’s most esteemed. And in this AOP (Appellation d’Origine Protegee) where there are several families who own and run… Read more »
Nea Berglund grew up among the vines at the Cadillac Côtes de Bordeaux property her father purchased in 1990. This “French summer cottage” called Château Carsin is located in the town of Rion and has been a great opportunity for her. She’s now the winemaker and the modern mind behind Charivari Wines. Come in for a visit!
Bordeaux is famous for expensive red wine. But most folks don’t know how large the Bordeaux and neighboring regions are- there are literally thousands of wineries stretching for miles. After digging deep to challenge the “expensive” myth, I found two bottles that may turn your perception upside-down. This month our French #winophiles group scoured France to bring you amazing wines… Read more »
Vinexpo is coming to Bordeaux July 18 through the 21st of June. So what is it and what’s it about? Here’s a quick read with a fun video at the end. Vinexpo is: an international brand established in 1981 specializes in major event and exhibition development in the wine and spirits sector, organized by and for people in the trade… Read more »
Spring in Bordeaux means “En Primeur”. The city is buzzing with an influx of experts, journalists, merchants, enthusiasts…it’s about wine professionals converging to taste and purchase the latest vintage. “En Primeur” = (wine) futures En Primeur refers to a system where châteaux (the plural form of château) release a limited quantity of their wine- known as the first tranche– for… Read more »
This is my submission to the Monthly Wine Writing Challenge (#MWWC29). For more information about the challenge, scroll to the bottom. I don’t think there is enough honesty in wine. People don’t usually give their frank assessment and I like to…as much as possible. For example, I was tasting at a winery years ago and was asked how I liked… Read more »
October brought friends to Bordeaux, one of them an emeritus geology professor from San Francisco. We met Karen and Jay in Ashland, Oregon a few months before heading across the Atlantic. Wine and food, cycling and hiking, and most of all, they are two individuals who desire to explore the world, immersing themselves in all to be had including the… Read more »
As part of his masters degree program, Mark finished a four-month vineyard and winery internship (known as a stage here in France). He worked for Denis Dubourdieu Domaines, the umbrella of five chateaux owned by the family: Château Doisy Daene, Château Cantegril, Clos Floridene, Château Haura and Château Reynon. All are located in the southern area of Bordeaux: Barsac in… Read more »