Burgundy

Facts November 15, 2012

Everything You Should EVER Need to Know about Beaujolais and Beaujolais Nouveau.

  What is Beaujolais? Beaujolais [Boe-zjoh-lay] is a red wine made from a grape called Gamay. Yup! That’s where we already hit our first hurdle! There is no Beaujolais grape, contrary to what most people assume Beaujolais to be made from. This is always where consumers get confused, not just with Beaujolais, but with French wines in general i.e. between the grape and the region the wine comes from. By French law, Beaujolais Nouveau is…

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Reviews October 26, 2012

Vincent Girardin “Emotion” Pinot Noir, Burgundy, France.

Grapes 100% Pinot Noir   Facts When is a French Pinot not a French Pinot? When it’s the Vincent Girardin “Emotion,” of course! I consider a wine like this a timid step forward for those looking to ever-so-slowly “get their wine-drinking into France,” when they used to drinking mainly Cali Pinot.The problem I have found is that when people start out their wine drinking lives by starting with New World Pinot Noir and then try…

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News June 19, 2012

Sacre-Bleu! Burgundy Producer Behind Bars as Laboure-Roi Investigated for Wine Fraud.

The four directors of Maison Labouré-Roi have been thrown in the slammer, charged with the heinous crime of wine fraud. The ol’ Gendarme busted the 180-year-old Burgundy negociant house after an 18-month investigation by the National Fraud Office. Computers and files have been seized from the firm’s Nuits-Saint-Georges property. Labouré-Roi, is the largest producer in the Burgundy region to supply wine to airlines. It is also estimated that 50% of net sales from Labouré-Roi comes…

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Reviews April 19, 2012

Simonnet Febvre Chablis, Burgundy, France.

Grapes 100% Chardonnay   Facts “Hang-on!!! Why doesn’t that bottle of Chablis have a handle?”Yup….. Carlo Rossi really screwed this one up for the French, didn’t he!?!? Even though his big-dirty-liter-jug-with-a-handle features the Chablis name, it’s about as far removed from “true” Chablis as you can get! So do me a favor, the next time you see this Californian imposter, you must only refer to it as CHAB-LIZ. Chablis is always white and always made…

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Reviews March 15, 2012

Louis Latour Pouilly-Fuisse, Burgundy, France, 2010.

Grape 100% Chardonnay Facts It wasn’t that long ago that Pouilly-Fuisse [poo-yee fwee-SAY] had developed a fairly bad reputation among wine drinkers. Overuse of fertilizers and herbicides in the vineyards resulted in huge crops. These grapes were in turn picked from the vine too early, by the vineyards who were scared about achieving the perfect ripeness levels. The result wasn’t good! Thin, watery, overly acidic wines that due to the Pouilly-Fuissé, name weren’t cheap either!…

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News October 10, 2011

This Week In Wine-10/9/11

    Hand-Picked Grapes ‘Compulsory’ for Burgundy Wine The makers of the most expensive Burgundy wines have changed the rule book to make grape-picking by hand compulsory in bid to defend the region’s age-old traditions. The domains, who say machines damage taste and are bad for vines, want other top Burgundy wine makers to follow suit, in view of a total ban in the region by 2014. For the past fortnight, thousands of seasonal workers…

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Reviews July 12, 2011

Rhone Gang – Hold Up 2007

  Grapes 30% Grenache 70% Pinot Noir – kind of a crazy blend, but you could have guessed that something about this wine isn’t right by the label…   Facts In case you were wondering, the wine doesn’t come with its own stick-on moustache, but what a genius marketing idea! I should patent that! The Hold Up is a new project by the self-proclaimed Rhone Gang: Louis Barroul from Chateau St. Cosme, Paul Chaudiere from…

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Reviews April 19, 2011

Verget Bourgogne “Terriors de Cote d’Or”

  Grape 100% Chardonnay   Facts Taken from the Verget website: “Verget’s philosophy can be summed up in one simple sentence: the best wine comes from the best grapes.”  Very original, I must say! Please note that this sentence is also to be found on 9 out of 10 other winery websites throughout the world. I can’t emphasize enough how much wineries really need to step up their game when it comes to their online…

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Pairings January 10, 2011

Domaine de la Reuilly Pinot Gris Rose 2009 with Poached Salmon Salad with Lettuce and Asparagus

  The Mrs.and I have been on a little bit of a healthy-eating kick since the start of the year. We didn’t make a formal resolution, we stopped doing that a while ago. Everyone seems to more-or-less make the same promises to themselves each year, and normally end up breaking them after just a few weeks. All that I’m personally looking to achieve is to lose a few pounds through healthy eating and exercise, whilst…

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Facts October 27, 2010

Corton-Charlemagne

According to local legend, the great French white Burgundy, Corton-Charlemagne, owes its existence, not to the emperor Charlemagne, but to his wife. The red wines of Corton stained his white beard so messily that she persuaded him to plant vines that would produce white wines. Charlemagne ordered white grapes to be planted. Thus: Corton-Charlemagne!

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