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argentina, chile, malbec, país -

south american wines

The two most famous wine-producing countries in South America are Argentina and Chile, although great wine is made elsewhere, most notably Uruguay. The wines can get overlooked, often seen as inexpensive, entry-level supermarket wines or simply poured by the glass in bars. But there is far more to South American wine, and I'm excited to have two new wines in the club to share some of the love. Argentina's wines became popular in the early 1990s because of Malbec, which was first planted in the country in the 1850s. It’s a French variety that had mostly been forgotten about, but...

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burgundy, chardonnay, meursault -

Value Burgundy?!

I recently tasted a white wine from Burgundy. On the first smell, I said "Meursault." But it was labeled Bourgogne Blanc. Why? Because 80% of the fruit is from Meursault, but the other 20% is from Pommard and Volnay which are—in terms of the appellation labelling rules—red wine (i.e. Pinot Noir) only. Therefore, the wine can't be classified as Meursault. (And look at me for immediately identifying it as Meursault even if technically it isn't.) The wine in question is by Pierre Girardin, a young winemaker producing superb expressions of Burgundy. It's still an expensive wine, at $55: but less...

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corsica, grenache, mourvèdre, niellucciu, sciaccarellu, syrah, vermentino -

Corsica

Visiting France this summer, I was surprised by how many Coriscan wines were on restaurant wine lists, even though I wasn't anywhere near Corsica itself. Maybe it's because many French people visit Corisca during the summer, and return home with an affinity for the wines. Or maybe it's because Coriscan wine is really good, and not that expensive. I've only visited Corsica once, and I would love to return. It's very much its own thing, a little bit French, a little bit Italian, and a lot Coriscan. The island has an ideal Mediterranean climate, mountains rising from the warm, balmy...

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alta langa, cava, mendoza, sparkling wine -

bubbles (not champagne!)

Champagne is of course wonderful—and I have some fantastic new wines in the club—but it’s not the only bubbles. In fact, as I’ve noted before, we’re enjoying a golden age of sparkling wine, with amazing wine being made around the world from regions you’ve heard of and regions you haven’t. There’s so much choice it can be hard to know where to start—but let’s try. One alternative sparkling wine you may have heard of is Cava, most of it made by the Mediterranean coast in Catalunya. Quality is higher than it’s ever been, with a renewed focus on expressing the...

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rosé -

Rosé

There's been a revolution in rosé over the last ten years or more. Once seen as sweet, simple, drink now, forget tomorrow, the diversity of the styles of wine now produced is greater than ever before. The quality is also far higher. And both these aspects are being more appreciated by both producers and consumers. At the same time, it can be easy to put rosé in a pigeon-hole: it's a summer wine (and I am writing this in August in California); it has to be pale-coloured; it shouldn't be expensive; it should always be the latest vintage; it shouldn't...

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