Zymology, imagine our world without fermentation. Our modern civilisation relies on technology. Who could imagine our world without fire, the wheel, or books? More recently, the internal combustion engine, aeroplanes, and mobile internet? In the future, AI looms. All are milestones in human ingenuity; where would we be without them? However, in this article, I would like to ask you …
What is terroir and does it matter?
What is terroir, and does it matter? Terroir is a French word without a simple English translation. The Oxford Companion to Wine devotes a couple of pages to the subject. However, my favourite explanation is much more succinct. It comes from literature: “For nitrates are not the land, nor phosphates and the length of fibre in the cotton is not the …
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Maculan – Three Red Wines from Breganze in the Veneto
Maculan – Three Red Wines from Breganze in the Veneto The Veneto in North Eastern Italy is one of the powerhouses of Italian wine. After all, this region has been making wine for three or more millennia. Today, it contains many famous appellations, such as Valpolicella and Soave, and even more famous wines, such as Amarone, Prosecco and Pinot Grigio. …
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Rossese Bianco from Josetta Saffirio is WOTY 2024
Rossese Bianco from Josetta Saffirio is WOTY 2024 Wine Alchemy’s Wine of the Year (WOTY) 2024 goes to Sara Vezza in Piemonte, Italy. This is for the rare white wine Josetta Saffirio, Rossese Bianco, Langhe DOC, 2022. As is usual, the Wine Alchemy WOTY is inspirational. Exceptional taste is a given. But, in addition, the winning wine must be genuinely …
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Greatest Hits – A Case for Christmas 2024
Greatest Hits – A Case for Christmas 2024 This year, I’m ringing the changes for the Case for Christmas 2024 article. This time, it’s a Greatest Hits package. This features a dozen wines selected from all my previous annual Christmas wine recommendations. They are twelve wines that stand the test of time and fully deserve highlighting again. Such a listicle …
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Le Monde Wine Tasting Dinner in Cumbria
Le Monde Wine Tasting Dinner in Cumbria At a recently held Le Monde wine-tasting dinner in Cumbria, we imagined ourselves in Italy, specifically the area of Friuli known as Friuli Grave. This territory is sandwiched between the Alps to the north, with Venice and the Adriatic coast to the south. It’s an enormous flat plain created over millennia by alluvial …
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International Sherry Week, 4-10 November 2024
International Sherry Week, 4-10 November 2024 Once again, International Sherry Week occurs between 4-10 November 2024. Let’s celebrate Spain’s great gift to the world! There are the floral delights of a chilled Manzanilla or Fino. Or try the nutty notes of an Amontillado and Oloroso. Add the umami flavours of Palo Cortado or the sweet caramel of PX. There’s a …
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Limoncello? How to make it yourself
Limoncello? How to make it yourself Shout out if you don’t like Limoncello. *silence* I thought so. Limoncello Limoncello is an Italian lemon digestivo, produced in Italy wherever lemons grow. Its origins are probably around the Amalfi Coast of Campania, south of Napoli. There, the large oval and sweet Sorrento lemon called Femminello Santa Teresa has a zest unusually high …
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Pisa – Stay and Explore at Badia di Morrona
Pisa – Stay and Explore at Badia di Morrona The Badia di Morrona winery near Pisa has been featured previously on this website for some excellent red wines. The first article concentrated on I Sodi del Paretaio, two Chianti DOCG wines. Then, the second piece featured their flagship wine, VignaAlta. This latter red wine is a Tuscan gem, the best …
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Gravner New Solutions Announcement
Gravner New Solutions Announcement In Part 2 of my previous three-part article about Joško Gravner, published over the summer of 2024, I mentioned that Gravner was experimenting with new maturation technologies to complement his use of Qvevri amphorae. However, a promise was not to reveal these commercially sensitive details until Gravner’s formal announcement. Hence, today’s press release officially heralds these …
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