Spelunking and winetasting in the Rhone Valley

Jun 14, 16 Spelunking and winetasting in the Rhone Valley

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I’ve done winetasting in many different and exotic locales, from the vineyards of Champagne during one of  the coldest winters ever (think minus 20 degrees Celsius and sitting in the snow on cardboard – believe it or not it was fun!) to dangling 100 metres up in the air whilst tasting-  but the most exhilariating to...

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Summertime drinking…Mirabeau Roses

Jul 03, 15 Summertime drinking…Mirabeau Roses

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Now that the weather is cooperating, more or less, and giving us lots of nice and sunny days, I’ve been breaking out the rosé wines. I recently received a few samples of the Mirabeau rosés and loved them. Mirabeau have an interesting back story, actually, they have the one we all have about chucking everything in and moving...

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Dive Bouteille – wine tasting under the hills of Saumur

Feb 08, 15 Dive Bouteille – wine tasting under the hills of Saumur

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I was on Day 2 of my natural, biodynamic and organic wine tasting trip in the Loire and today we were in the town of Saumur for the 16th annual Dive Bouteille tasting. The Dive tasting is the oldest and most important natural wine tasting around. It was originally started by producers who wanted to showcase their wines outside of...

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Tasting natural, organic and biodynamic wines at the Renaissance des Appellations Greniers St. Jean

Feb 05, 15 Tasting natural, organic and biodynamic wines at the Renaissance des Appellations Greniers St. Jean

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What is ‘natural’ wine, exactly? Is it wine that is made without intervention – and what exactly does that mean? Is it wine that only has sulfur added at bottling? Or wine that has no added sulfur whatsoever? Or is it wine that is organically/biodynamically grown? After spending the weekend in the Loire at two of...

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A visit to Vignobles Foncalieu in the Languedoc

Jun 26, 14 A visit to Vignobles Foncalieu in the Languedoc

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Doesn’t that pool look inviting? And that view! I was staying at Chateau Haut-Gleon for a few days visiting and learning all about the wines of Vignobles Foncalieu. Vignobles Foncalieu is the oldest co-op in the Languedoc. The co-op was founded in 1967 and today is producing well priced and good quality wines. While I was...

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