France
Understanding Bordeaux Wine–INFOGRAPHIC
An infographic that goes part of the way towards helping you better understand Bordeaux wine.(Click for larger view)
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Dom Perignon Sues Armand de Brignac Champagne.
Dom Perignon has filed a false-advertising lawsuit suit, seeking to end a competitor’s claim that its Champagne is: “The No. 1 Rated Champagne in the World.”Moët Hennessy USA (the makers of Dom) say Armand de Brignac “is intentionally misleading consumers” about the quality of its bubbly, a champagne highly favored by hip-hop star Jay-Z, and also allegedly helped spark the notorious SoHo club brawl between Chris Brown and Drake earlier this year. The lawsuit by…
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Big Wine Trouble in Little China: Counterfeiting Ring Busted.
The news coming out of China is that the Shanghai police have arrested a wine counterfeiting gang, seizing thousands of bottles of “fake Bordeaux” in the process. The ringleader had been running the scam since 2010, using Chinese wine whilst the labeling process was being completed. Allegedly, the bottles were not direct copies but so-called “funny” bottles which use the names of famous first growth estates; however, the bottles still infringe on trademark laws. The…
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Champagne De Venoge Grand Vin des Princes, 1993.
Grapes 100% Chardonnay Facts The opening of this bottle of De Venoge 1993 Grand Vin des Princes was a last minute decision i.e. 30 minutes before I popped the cork. Usually, you would reserve opening a wine of this magnitude for the birth of your first-born child; instead, I/we decided that my wife’s “half-birthday” (August 7th) was a good enough reason! She’s an only child, and so she celebrates things like that… De Venoge…
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Le Claux Delorme, Valencay, Loire Valley, France.
Grapes 40% Gamay, 30% Malbec, 20% Cabernet Franc, 10% Pinot Noir Facts If you were to make a list of the red wines coming out of France, Loire Valley reds would certainly come near the bottom; not because of quality, but for the fact it’s one of the more overlooked wine regions. Loire reds have a tendency to be overshadowed by the whites from famed Sancerre, Vouvray, Pouilly Fume and Muscadet regions, and certainly…
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Krug Champagne Withdrawn After Label Error.
Moet Hennessy have been forced to withdraw five batches of its Krug Champagne after they were incorrectly labeled, and do not indicate any mention of their sulfite content, an item required by law in the EU. The products withdrawn are: all sizes of Krug Grande Cuvee; and 75cl bottles of Krug Rose, Krug Vintage 2000, Krug Clos du Mesnil 2000 and Krug Clos d’Ambonnay 1998. The most expensive of the affected products is the Krug…
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French Cows Fed 2 Bottles of Wine a Day to Increase Flavor.
A number of farmers in the Languedoc wine region of France have taken to feeding their cattle local red wine to improve the flavor of their beef. According to The Independent, local farmer Claude Chaballier has been feeding his cattle wine, which reportedly has resulted in “lean, marbled and tasty,” beef. The extraordinary development has seen a ‘Vinbovin’ label of meat established which is already being championed by some of the best restaurants in Paris….
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French Wine Merchants Boycott Californian Wine in Protest Over Foie Gras Ban.
Ze wine merchants in southwest France are a little pissed-off with the recent foie gras ban in California, so much so, they have decided to take all Californian wines off their shelves. Foie gras has been outlawed across California as a law banning force-feeding of animals came into force on 1 July. In southern France, the center of production for foie gras, winemakers are doing their part to show solidarity to the region’s many producers….
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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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Cercius, Cotes du Rhone, France.
Grapes 85% Grenache, 15% Syrah Facts You’ve probably read countless times that “…you should never choose a wine based on the label!” Well, I call BS on that! If anything, France needs to step-up their wine label game (as is beautifully demonstrated here) and start getting more creative if they plan on rising from the ashes! To me, a great label and overall good packaging are sometimes the only way a producer is going…
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Domaine La Barroche Chateauneuf-du-Pape Paired with Pale Ale Beef Stew.
This isn’t exactly seasonally-inspired cuisine (since this is very much a winter-esque dish), but I’m not running a restaurant here, so get over it! :) Seriously though, a great amount of thought goes into these pairings (and indeed everything I put on this site). I want people to enjoy them, relate to them, read the whole-thing through to the end and possibly even make them in their in home. My rule-of-thumb is that if I…
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