Custoza celebrates its 50th Anniversary, Part 1

Paul HowardArticles, Blog, Italy, Organic, Sustainability, Veneto

Typical Custoza Landscape

Custoza celebrates its 50th Anniversary, Part 1. The Custoza DOC covers the white wines made on Lake Garda’s eastern Venetian shore.  It’s centred on the small village of Custoza, which is just to the west of Verona. This DOC overlaps and shares some boundaries with the Bardolino (red) and Chiaretto di Bardolino (rosé) DOC. It dates from 1971, renaming it …

Pojer e Sandri Merlino – an Italian Unicorn

Paul HowardArticles, Blog, Italy, Organic, Sustainability, Trentino

Pojer e Sandri Merlino 2016

Pojer e Sandri Merlino – an Italian Unicorn Pojer e Sandri is a Trentino winery owned by oenologist Mario Pojer and viticulturalist Fiorentino Sandri. This famous boutique estate started in 1975 with just two hectares. Four decades on, they have 26 hectares of organically certified vines. They make a wide range of acclaimed wines and also have a distillery. This article …

Oxney Organic Estate Rosé, English Sparkling Wine

Paul HowardArticles, Blog, England and Wales, Sparkling Wine, Sustainability

Oxney Organic Estate Rosé Brut NV

Oxney Organic Estate Rosé, English Sparkling Wine Oxney is Britain’s largest single organic wine estate on the River Rother in East Sussex, six miles north of Rye’s historic and charming port. That means it’s also in the High Weald, a designated Area of Oustanding Natural Beauty. Oxney is also certified organic by the Soil Association. Indeed, this organic mixed farm …

Tintilia – drinking the Hilltop Grape of Molise

Paul HowardArticles, Blog, Italy, Molise, Organic, Sustainability

Tintilia del Molise DOC - Settevigne, Claudio Cipressi

Tintilia –  drinking the Hilltop Grape of Molise. Tintilia is an Italian native red grape variety that comes from the region of Molise. Despite this variety being of high quality, it became abandoned because it had low productivity when quantity was vital to survival. Besides, constant rural depopulation and the second world war’s devastations helped hasten its demise. However, now that …

Blanquette de Limoux from Domaine Delmas

Paul HowardArticles, Blog, France, Organic, Sparkling Wine, Sustainability

Domaine Delmas Blanquette de Limoux Tradition

Blanquette de Limoux from Domaine Delmas Limoux is a small French appellation in the Languedoc, in the foothills of France’s eastern Pyrenees. Given this southern location and summer heat, it might seem unusual to find that white grape varieties dominate the wines of Limoux. However, the local Mauzac, plus Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc, are grown extensively. It’s primarily because of altitude; …

Tourelles Cinsault – a wine for our times, WOTY 2020

Paul HowardArticles, Blog, Lebanon, Organic, Sustainability

Domaine des Tourelles Cinsault VV

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, …

Pasión de Bobal Rosado – Last of the Summer Wine

Paul HowardArticles, Blog, Organic, Spain, Sustainability

Pasión de Bobal Rosado

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 …

Litorale Vermentino – Val Delle Rose, Famiglia Cecchi

Paul HowardArticles, Blog, Italy, Organic, Sustainability, Toscana

Litorale Vermentino

Litorale Vermentino – Val Delle Rose, Famiglia Cecchi I recently joined a great online wine tasting presented by Andrea Cecchi. His family wine roots date back to 1893, and they bought their first property in the sixties, Villa Cerna in Castellina, Tuscany. However, Cecchi’s enterprise has grown significantly. They now have three other Tuscan estates (another in Chianti Classico, San …

Luce della Vita Celebrates its 25th Anniversary 1993-2017

Paul HowardArticles, Blog, Italy, Organic, Sustainability, Toscana

Respect illustration by Anna Godeassi for Tenuta Luce della Vita

Luce della Vita Celebrates its 25th Anniversary 1993-2017 In 1993, Frescobaldi released their first vintage of Luce della Vita. 2020 marks a milestone, as their latest release of the 2017 vintage is their 25th.  For any wine producer, the release of the new vintage is always an exciting moment. However, it’s even more special when that vintage marks a quarter-century. …

Millésime BIO 2021 Organic Wine Fair

Paul HowardArticles, Biodynamic, Blog, Organic, Sustainability, Wine Business

Millésime BIO 2021 Event

Millésime BIO 2021 Organic Wine Fair Millésime BIO 2021 takes place in Montpellier, France, from 25-27 January 2021. It will be the 28th edition of the world’s biggest Organic Wine Fair. However, this will now be held in 2021 as a Virtual Event for the first time due to continuing pandemic. WORLD ORGANIC WINE FAIR, NOW A 100% DIGITAL EVENT …