Dorp Street MCC and Champagne Festival
In keeping with last weeks Champagne theme, here’s your invitation to the inaugural Dorp Street MCC and Champagne Festival!
In 1971 South Africa’s premier wine producing region, Stellenbosch, released the country’s first wine modeled on the famous sparkling wines of the Champagne region in France. 39 years later, we have the privilege of announcing the arrival [...]
Oldest Bottle of Bubbly Discovered!
Said to be the oldest drinkable Champagne in the world, about 30 bottles of Veuve Clicquot were brought up by divers from an 18th century shipwreck off Åland, an autonomous Baltic island between Sweden and Finland. The Champagne is said to date back to between 1772 and 1788.
The divers wasted no time and cracked open [...]
China Thirsty for More
China continues to show impressive growth in wine production, and is fast becoming the next wine ’super power’. Wine consumption grew by 5% in China back in 2006, and 4 years on consumption continues to grow. While regions such as France, Spain and Turkey experience shrinkage of their respective vineyard areas, China has increased by [...]
For Profit or Pleasure… The Choice is Yours!
I’ve always considered the relationship between a vineyard and its produce as nothing but extraordinary. Vineyards are a fascinating junction between nature, the elements and chemistry, chemistry that we are fortunate enough to experience as wine. To any wine enthusiast, vineyards are central to the wine we love so much.
It should come as no surprise [...]
Coq au Vin
Coq au Vin, or ‘rooster in wine’ for those english speakers among us, is a traditional French dish consisting of mushrooms, lardons, garlic, wine and of course… chicken.
There are many variants of this dish stemming from different regions of France, but I found this slightly ‘modernised’ version which could be considered the healthy alternative. I [...]
Burgundy and Other Wine Jargon
To the wine naive, like Bordeaux, the concept of Burgundy (Bourgogne or Vin de Bourgogne in French) can be mildly confusing at times. Burgundy is a wine-growing region in eastern France famed for its superior wines. The most famous of Burgundy wines are red wines made from Pinot Noir grapes or white wines made from [...]
Understanding Bordeaux
I will be the first to admit that the first time I heard a reference to Bordeaux, I didn’t know if it was a wine varietal, region, style or just a geographical location. Since then it has become much clearer, but I’m willing to bet that there are many of you out there who are [...]
The Upside to a Financial Crisis
It’s been well over a month since France’s largest wine industry equipment event was held in Bordeaux, and as we lurch into 2009 issues raised during the Vinitech Trade Show become increasingly relevant.
By now almost everyone on the planet is aware of the ever-present ‘financial crisis’, as it has been dubbed the world over. The [...]
Wine and Heavy Metal Don’t Mix
Ok, it’s not quite what you think. By ‘heavy metal’ I mean heavy metals such as vanadium, copper, manganese, nickel, zinc, chromium and lead. And no they certainly do not mix with wine… or rather should not mix with wine.
In a study carried out by Kingston University in South West London, it was found that wines [...]
You Say Syrah, I Say Shiraz
There’s something that often confuses the newcomer to the wine fraternity, and I’d like to take this opportunity to enlighten you. On many occasions I’ve heard people make the mistake of confusing Shiraz, Syrah, Petite Sirah and even Shirazi with each other.
First, let’s confirm that Syrah is a grape variety originating from the northern Rhône [...]
