Casa Silva research Chilean terroir
In researching very small scale viticultural units, Viña Casa Silva have discovered that even very small distances in the vineyard can produce different results in the wine.
Under the influence of Carlo Ferrini
Last month in London, heralded consultant winemaker, the Italian Carlo Ferrini, presented some of the wines he’s influenced, and outlined his philosophy.
South African shiraz
Shiraz plantings have increased from 2% of the vineyard area just over a decade ago, to 10% today. It is now the fourth most planted variety in South Africa.
Alto Adige pinot noir
Pinot noir accounts for less than 7% of the Alto Adige vineyard area, not quite 350 hectares. Even so it is still considered a core variety for the region, having been first planted here in the mid 19th century.
Ayala's lesson in dosage
A tasting seminar of low dosage and no dosage champagnes was hosted by the president of Champagne Ayala, Hervé Augustin in London in January 2010. Three pairs of Ayala’s Champagnes were compared, with remarkable flavour differences attributable to the dosage at bottling.
Syrah in France
Syrah is France’s third most planted black grape variety (after merlot and grenache). And there’s more in the Languedoc and Roussillon than there is in the Rhône valley, though it’s the latter region that claims the variety as its own, and more specifically the northern Rhône, where syrah reaches one its apogees.
Coasts and cuisine in South African currents
The South African wine industry may be 350 years old, but it’s the freshness of the last decade that’s getting folk excited as producers carve out a new coastal identity for the 21st century.
Altitude-acclaimed wines from pre-Alpine Alto Adige
Nestled into the early foothills of the Alps, lies Italy’s most northerly wine region, with the Dolomites as dramatic backdrop. The region’s wines reflect the cooler, northern, more aromatic location.
South African sauvignon blanc
South Africa’s vineyards are moving towards both the Atlantic and Indian Ocean coasts, and the variety mainly being planted in these cooler regions is sauvignon blanc.
Heiligenstein and primary rock
Austria’s Heiligenstein vineyard is arguably the country’s most famed vineyard. It, and primary rock, are only ever spoken of in the same breath.
