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amboise, bourgueil, cabernet franc, chenin blanc, chinon, loire valley, montlouis-sur-loire, sauvignon blanc, touraine, vouvray -

touraine

I'm just back from the Loire Valley, spending time with family but also getting some wine tasting in. We stayed just north of Amboise and Tours, two towns which are surrounded by famous and lesser-known appellations. The overall area is called Touraine, starting where the river bends towards the Atlantic at Orléans and continuing to the red wine regions of Chinon and Bourgueil just east of Saumur. It’s a beautiful region, named "The Garden of France" for good reason, and spotted with many spectacular châteaux along the various rivers. For white wine, Vouvray is the most famous region, lying on...

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chenin blanc, loire valley, melon, muscadet sèvre et maine, verdiso, vouvray -

high acid whites

Acidity gets talked a lot about in descriptions of and conversations about wines, but it doesn't always get explained very well. "This wine has high acid" sounds like it means something—and it does—but what exactly? One way of thinking about acidity in a wine is by drinking a glass of water because water is low in acid and high in alkaline. When filtering water, acid is removed to make it even more alkaline. Water is a life necessity, but it can feel heavy and flat on the palate. In complete contrast, citrus drinks like grapefruit, lemon, or lime juice can...

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chenin blanc, coteaux du loire, loire valley, melon, muscadet sèvre et maine, pineau d'aunis, vouvray -

la loire / le loir

I've often written about how much I love the Loire Valley—it was the first French region I visited when I was growing up. The cool climate leads to high acid wines that aren't too fruity, which is just my style. It's a bit more complicated than that though. When I first visited as a child in the 1980s, quality was low, the wines seen as simple and quaffable. It was only in the 1990s that producers began to increase quality through better viticulture and winemaking. blackpoolmatt's wine club has some new wines from those producers who have made the Loire...

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california, chenin blanc, clarksburg, south africa, stellenbosch -

chenin blanc: not just the loire

Chenin Blanc is one of my favorite grape varieites. That's perhaps not surprising because the Loire, where Chenin Blanc originates, is one of my favorite wine regions—but it's a bit more complicated than that. It's also grown in other parts of France which are quite different from the Loire: there's actually more planted in Languedoc than in the Loire Valley, and it's found in various appellations in south-west France. In fact, until recently, it was technically permitted in Bordeaux. It's planted elsewhere too: there's more Chenin Blanc in South Africa than the rest of the world put together, and there...

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california, chenin blanc, clarksburg, sparkling wine -

sparkling chenin blanc

California has a mixed history when it comes to sparkling wine. Although bubbles have been made since the nineteenth century, a lot of it was generic, labeled as "Champagne" (which some producers still do). There was little attempt to connect grape variety, place, and style to create a quality wine. As the renaissance of California wine began in the 1960s and 70s, there was a greater emphasis on quality. Schramsberg and Iron Horse were two of the first genuinely good local producers focusing on sparkling wine, and Champagne houses Moët et Chandon, Taittinger, Mumm, and, best of all, Louis Roederer...

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