News On the Wine News Front

13 Wednesday Mar 2013

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Christian Moreau, Jean Francois Bordet, Martin Schliessmann, Palate Press

It’s any writers dream/nightmare to be setting on a ton of material. I’m blessed/cursed in such a way right now.

For example, I have some great interviews with key Indiana winemakers for a piece on the ‘state of Indiana’ wine I promised to Palate Press last fall. Uhh hmm, that’s not finished.

Schliessmann

I have a short interview with filmmaker Martin Schliessmann about his upcoming documentary on Indiana wine. Here is the blog post explaining some of that. The interview is for a future newspaper column.

Last week I visited Chicago and interviewed a number of prominent Oregon winemakers on the emergence of Chardonnay as the ‘next big thing’ from the state. That one is intended for Palate Press.

And, I have updates on a few things from a couple wineries that will make good newspaper column and blog fodder.

That same day I talked with the leader of the Provence wine region about the booming sales of Rose’ in America. That is a newspaper column.

Bordet

Today, I interviewed Chablis winemakers, and ambassadors, Christian Moreau and Jean-François Bordet. We talked about Chablis tourism and selling Chablis. That’s intended as a good follow up to my last newspaper column on the basics of Chablis.

There’s more but you get the idea. It’s also nice to tease some upcoming material here.

About Grape Sense

I launched this site two weeks ago and still working on categorizing and labeling 600-plus blog posts from the past five years.

I have several Indiana wineries to add notes on for the link at the very top of the page.

The previous blog software did not allow a way for me to present quite a few magazine pieces, with photos, I’ve written for Madison Magazine and more. I started building that new page over the lunch hour today.

Organic Wine Story Up on Palate Press,

01 Thursday Mar 2012

Posted by Howard in California, France

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organic wine, Palate Press, The Organic Wine Company

Palate Press has published my story about organic wines, organic wine regulations and reflections of French winemakers on the controversies.

The story went up overnight and will be on the site about one week. The piece was a result of my week-long visit to Montpellier, France, and the 19th annual Millesime Bio – organic wine trade show.

Here is a direct link to the story.

I also provided a quick summary of what I thought were the top wineries I tasted during the show. Unfortunately, due to space considerations that section was cut. Here is it below:

The opportunity to sample the wines of 587 growers was a unique three-day experience. Sometimes wine writers and other professionals forget consumers seldom get the opportunity so sample so many great wines. I went to the Millesime Bio on a press trip open minded but not knowing what to expect. While a certain number of wines were certainly sub-par and undistinguished, the vast majority were great wines. No consumer, nor few experts, would have any idea these are organic wines or feature substantially lower sulfite levels. Additionally, the Languedoc wines are generally great values.

Most of the labels mentioned below are imported to the U.S., but not all. Most of the sites have an “English option” but not all. A few of the best labels I tasted and consumers might seek out include:

Joly

Domaine Joly – The wines of Virgile Joly were the most consistent I tasted. He is a rising star in the Languedoc and is a great spokesman for organic wines. For my palate, Joly’s 2011 Grenache Blanc was the top Languedoc white blend of the show.

Domaine Carle Courty – Frederic Carle’s Cuvee Marion, named after his daughter, was the best red blend. It was a beautiful combination of 70 percent Syrah, 10 percent Grenache Noir, 10 Carignan, and 10 percent Mourvedre.

Cabanis

Domaine Cabanis – Jean Paul Cabanis poured his wines one evening at dinner. His property dates back to 1932, not old in Southern France but with a delightful history. He produces three reds, two whites and a Rose’.

Chateau de Cazeneuve – The wines from this beautiful Chateau setting, near Montpellier, are more rustic than many I tasted and at a slightly higher price point. Andre Leenhardt’s 100 percent 2008 Mouvredre was a fabulous bottle of wine at 35 Euro.

Bojanowski

Clos Du Gravillas – John Bojanowski, a Louisville native, and his wife Nicole are championing Carignan at his St, Jean de Minervois region winery. He does a 100 percent bottling of the Southern France grape that is a knock out.

A few more options include: Mas Janiny, wines from Terroirs Vivants, Mas Laval, Italys’ Perlage label, Chateau. Bonnet, and two more from Italy – Casina Di Cornia and Antica Enotria.

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