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 …
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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Two More Bright Stars From Tenuta Stella
Two More Bright Stars From Tenuta Stella I wrote an article on Tenuta Stella in the Collio Gorizia in June 2024. This featured their excellent Malvasia Istriana wine. You can read about that here. I also promised a further article about two other wines from this excellent organic winery at that time. These are equally bright stars, namely their Friulano …
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Tenuta Stella – a Bright Star in the Collio Heavens
Tenuta Stella – a Bright Star in the Collio Heavens Tenuta Stella is a young, certified organic Italian winery. It’s in the far northeast of Italy, in the crescent-shaped Collio DOC at Dolegna. Dolegna is one of the five unofficial subzones in the Collio DOC, being closest to the Alps and featuring some of the highest elevations. It also has …
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Morellino di Scansano and Cantina Vignaioli
Morellino di Scansano and Cantina Vignaioli What’s in a name? Morellino di Scansano is in Tuscany’s deep southwest, occupying the central Maremma close to the coast. Much of this area was once wild malarial marshland before humans drained it. So, it was more suitable for horses, cattle, and sheep than vines. This was a poor area with relatively few inhabitants. …
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Vajra Barolo DOCG – Part Two, Red Roses for Me
Vajra Barolo DOCG – Part Two, Red Roses for Me Part One of this article on G.D. Vajra introduced their estate and focused on their Langhe varietal red wines: Dolcetto, Barbera and Freisa. In Part Two, the focus shifts to feature three Vajra Barolo Cru wines. Each is a different expression of this famous DOCG from the 2019 vintage. As …
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G.D. Vajra Part One, with Three Langhe reds
G.D.Vajra Part One, with Three Langhe Reds The G.D. Vajra winery is one of the great Barolo addresses. It lies at Vergne, the highest community in the Barolo DOCG, towering over Barolo town, three km away. Indeed, one of their best vineyards is nearby, the famous Bricco Viole (the Violet Hill), the westernmost and highest Barolo cru vineyard, at 497m. …
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Goetheanum Celebrates Centenary of Biodynamics
Goetheanum Celebrates Centenary of Biodynamics The Goetheanum and the Biodynamic farming community worldwide have reason to celebrate this year. 2024 marks the Centenary of the philosophy and practice of Biodynamics. In the beginning It all began in 1924. European farmers saw increasing disease and susceptibility in their plants and animals. Furthermore, they already had concerns about the adverse impacts of …
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Mi Lugar Rioja from Bodega Queirón is WOTY 2023
Mi Lugar Rioja from Bodega Queirón is WOTY 2023 The Wine of the Year (WOTY) 2023 award from Wine Alchemy goes to Bodega Queirón in Spain for their extra-special red wine, Mi Lugar Rioja DOCa, 2018. As is usual, the Wine Alchemy WOTY must be inspirational. Exceptional taste is a given. But, in addition, the winning wine must be genuinely …
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Yuletide drinking – a dozen wines for Christmas 2023
Yuletide drinking – a dozen wines for Christmas 2023 I hope you like my Yuletide card to you all! Like last year, I remain mindful that living costs stay off the scale. However, unlike the previous year, there’s no overall price cap, but each category includes a “budget” wine. No compromises have been made regarding excellence and value in recommending …
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