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

gamay

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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gamay, gisborne, grüner veltliner, hawke's bay, marlborough, new zealand, pinot gris, viognier -

New Zealand that's not Sauvignon Blanc

Over two-thirds of plantings in New Zealand are of Sauvignon Blanc. It's a style which has, since the 1980s, transformed perceptions of the grape variety and although we keep predicting the Marlborough boom will crash at some point it still hasn't. Before the Sauvignon Blanc explosion, New Zealand wine was a laughing stock to anyone who was actually paying attention. Because of Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand is one of the most important wine producing countries in the world: small scale, big influence. But New Zealand producers are conscious that they can't solely rely on Sauvignon Blanc. It's tricky because quarantine...

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california, castilla, chardonnay, Friulano, grüner veltliner, malvar, marlborough, new zealand, ribolla gialla, spain -

unusual white varieties

blackpoolmatt's wine club likes to find unusual wines that you're not going to easily find in most retail outlets and as there are so many producers around the world making wines from unlikely grape varieties there are lots of choices. Producers make wine from lesser-known varieties to stand out from the crowd (how much Chardonnay does the world need?), but also because they feel different grape varieties can express a sense of place in various ways. This can happen in two ways: returning to grape varieties which have been neglected but long planted in the region, which is how Rías...

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