Summer is here, and it’s too darn hot. We have a forecast high of 91º this afternoon, and it’s already feeling steamy at mid-morning. Doesn’t a glass of ice-cold wine sound good?
Well, hold on there just a minute, partner.
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The intriguing aromas of this pale, bright copper rosé blend watermelon and red berries with subtle wildflowers and a hint of almonds. On the palate it’s dry and crisp, with gentle but perceptible acidity to give it structure. Red-berry fruit follows the nose, with intriguing rainwater-over-stones minerality giving way to brisk, mouth-watering acidity and 12.5% alcohol in a long, cleansing finish. An excellent Bourgogne Pinot Noir rosé, fine at the table or for summer sipping.
FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Check prices and find vendors for on Wine-Searcher.com.
Follow this Wine-Searcher link to find listings for all the Bourgogne wines produced by Domaine Frédéric and Célene Gueguen.
This Wine-Searcher link offers information and links to dozens of Bourgogne Rosé-Clairet wines. Read article.
In Italy, more and more wineries are adopting the techniques of organic farming and becoming certified by the EU. Neil Duarte rates the wines of Coop Cantina Tollo, one of the wineries undergoing this transition. Read article.
Yesterday we pulled out the second-from-the-last bottle of a much enjoyed case of Loire wines from small producers, and it proved to be a sad pleasure.
A sad pleasure? If you think this sounds like self-contradiction, I meant it that way.
Allow me to explain.
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Wine is intensely personal: You smell it with your own nose and taste it with your own mouth. And yet wine is most enjoyable when the experience is shared. These points never seemed to be in tension until a worldwide pandemic sent most of us scurrying to the safety of our homes. Now we’re doing virtual tastings and winery visits on Zoom.
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This 2018 Domaine des Foudres is 100 percent Gamay from the Beaujolais Cru Moulin à Vent. It’s dark reddish-purple, with good black-plum and mixed berry aromas and appealing earthy mineral notes of damp clay. Tart plums and berries fill the mouth, shaped by zippy fresh-fruit acidity and light, gently astringent tannins. It’s on the rustic side, but certainly approachable, a good wine with food.
FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Check prices and find vendors for Domaine des Foudres Moulin à Vent on Wine-Searcher.com; unfortunately, Wine-Searcher is showing only a few vendors for this wine.
Check this Wine-Searcher link to find information and listings for a wide variety of Moulin à Vent. Read article.
When I pulled the cork from a bottle of Henry Fessy Château des Reyssiers Régnié to enjoy with lunch the other day, I was a bit irritated to discover that its cork was not a cork.
Wait! What?
That’s what I said. This wine was stoppered with one of those pale, flesh-colored plastic plugs. Feh!
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This clear, dark, reddish-violet wine’s aroma offers pleasant red berries, strawberries and raspberries and a whiff of black-cherry liqueur. On the palate it’s fresh, juicy, and tart, balanced if somewhat rustic cherry-berry fruit framed by crisp acidity. Very good Régnié, good with food.
FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Check prices and find vendors for Henry Fessy Château des Reyssiers Régnié on Wine-Searcher.com.
Read about Régnié at this Wine-Searcher link, and scroll down to find vendor and price listings for dozens of other wines from the village.
Read article.
Sicily, the ancestral island home of many Italian-Americans, has a long and interesting history in wine production. Neil Duarte takes us on a tour. Read article.
The social distancing of the past month has prompted some surprising changes in the way Americans buy wine. Or in the way this American buys wine, anyway. Let me count the ways.
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