Tourelles Cinsault – a wine for our times, WOTY 2020 The WOTY (wine of the year) 2020 award from Wine Alchemy goes to Domaine des Tourelles in Lebanon, for their splendid red wine, Cinsault Vieilles Vignes 2017. A wine for our times As is usual, the Wine Alchemy WOTY must taste great. It should also be organic, sustainable, show terroir, …
Rightweighting Glass Wine Bottles
Rightweighting Glass Wine Bottles Suppose that we had the technology to create a “wonder material” to package wine? It would need some essential properties. For example, it would come from abundant natural materials. And be completely inert, not affect the taste and have the ability to preserve the wine for decades. It would come in a range of shapes and …
The Wines of Conegliano Valdobbiadene (Pt.2)
The Wines of Conegliano Valdobbiadene (Pt.2) This Part 2 features the Wines of Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG. Part 1 of this article told the story of this DOCG and why the Prosecco from here is Superiore. Now it’s time to see if the wines to live up to that billing. Winemaking The DOCG regulations allow the sparkling Superiore to …
Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG (Pt.1)
Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG (Pt.1) As nearly everyone knows, Prosecco is an Italian success story that’s now an international phenomenon. The total production of all Prosecco is vast and still growing. Most of it comes from the colossal DOC, some 24,000 hectares of vines in Italy’s northeast, namely in the Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia regions. The DOC is now …
Moratti – Creating the Champagne of the South?
Moratti – Creating the Champagne of the South? I recently took part in a 1-1 online wine tasting with Gian Matteo Baldi, of Castello di Cigognola. The Castello’s Metodo Classico sparkling wine project is from the Oltrepò Pavese area of Lombardy, south of Milan. We tasted four brilliant DOCG sparkling wines; all made from Pinot Noir under the Moratti brand …
Online Wine Specialists in the UK
Online wine specialists in the UK Readers often ask for recommendations for UK-based online wine specialists. As we are currently in the tightening grip of the Covid-19 pandemic and the festive wine buying season is fast approaching, buying wine online is particularly appealing. The value of Independence Firstly, anyone that favours an independent wine merchant is to be commended, as …
Francone – Comparing Two Big Italian Red Classics
Francone – Comparing Two Big Italian Red Classics “The best way to arrive in Neive is to skirt the magnificent rows of Nebbiolo lining the road that leaves Alba and passes through Tre Stelle, then Barbaresco.” So wrote the founder of Slow Food, Carlo Petrini, in 1999. He said, “Towards the end of summer, there is a stupendous array of Dolcetto, Barbera and …
Derthona – Solving a Cult Wine Puzzle
Derthona – Solving a Cult Wine Puzzle This unprepossessing bottle of white wine hides away a genuinely remarkable story worth telling. It has an attractive label, yet that gives away little about the contents, where it’s from, or just how good it is. In the UK, Italian rare-grape geeks are most likely to recognise it. In Italy, it’s become something …
Pasión de Bobal Rosado – Last of the Summer Wine
Pasión de Bobal Rosado – Last of the Summer Wine In England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, the late August Bank Holiday is on the last Monday of the month. It represents the last gasp of the Summer holidays.* After this comes the Great Return, whether to work, to college or school. Who hasn’t had cause to dread that dreary prospect? And after …
Peter Zemmer Riesling and Pinot Noir
Peter Zemmer Riesling and Pinot Noir A recent Wine Alchemy article introduced Weingut Peter Zemmer from the Alto Adige (Südtirol) region of Italy. It featured his “cru” Pinot Grigio Riserva called Giatl. Rather than reprise that piece here, suffice to say that the Peter Zemmer operation is a family-owned winery in the south of the region, at Cortina ssdv. As is typical …