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carignan, cinsault, france, grenache, languedoc, mourvedre, provence, rhône, sardinia, syrah -

The south of France has always been a favorite place to visit for its beauty, its weather, its diverse geography, its food, and of course its wines. There's such a range of wines made, mostly red, but also plenty of rosé, a little bit of white, some fortified wine, and a small amount of sparkling. You don't have to venture far to try every style of wine—and at many different price points. rosé I've had rosé from the south of France in the club before, including from the famous village of Tavel and from Provence. Provençal rosé has transformed international...

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germany, no alcohol, nolo -

Dry January is a frustrating trend. It hits the wine industry hard, and it doesn't really meet health concerns. Drinking lots of alcohol in December, stopping for a month, and then beginning again in February isn't the best model of abstinence. So I'm writing this post about low alcohol wines in February, because they can be drunk any time of the year. The term "Nolo" refers to wines that have no or low alcohol. I've always been a bit skeptical because most of those I've tried have been at best tasteless and at worst plain terrible. But one of the...

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méthode cap classique, pinotage, south africa, sparkling wine, syrah -

One of the many things I love about teaching WSET classes is the people I meet. A few years ago teaching WSET Diploma, one of my students was Peter Andrews. He's recently set up his own import business called Culture Wine Co., which is all South African wine. I was excited to taste some of the wines he's bringing into the US, and learn about the producers and their stories. South African wine is not always an easy sell in the States, so it's wonderful that the wines' reach is growing. South Africa is a country constantly undergoing a huge...

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liguria, rossese di dolceaqua -

Everyone knows the name Chardonnay as it’s so famous around the world. But in California it used to be called Pinot Chardonnay, because it’s the genetic offspring of Pinot Noir. That’s another famous name which in Germany is called Spätburgunder and in Austria Blauburgunder—Chardonnay in Austria is called Morillon. Other members of the Pinot family also have various names: Pinot Gris was historically called Fromenteau in Champagne and Beurot in Burgundy and has the literal translation of Pinot Grigio in Italy; in Germany it’s called Grauburgunder (spot the Burgungder = Pinot theme). If that’s confusing enough—and these are well-known, familiar...

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beaujolais, gamay, hawke's bay, loire valley, lorraine, new zealand -

There’s lots of great wine made from Gamay, but it’s not appreciated as much as it should be. It’s historically been planted in the wrong places on the wrong soils; criticized for the wrong reasons; often made into inexpensive wines that take advantage of its naturally high yields; and associated with Beaujolais Nouveau, which is released just a few weeks after the harvest. The conclusion: Gamay should be drunk immediately without any thought. Cru Beaujolais is proof that all these conclusions are wrong as they are some of the finest wines in France. These wines have become more popular (and...

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