Semi-carbonic maceration
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Carbonic maceration and semi-carbonic maceration are not quite the preserve of Beaujolais and the gamay grape, but this is the region where the techniques reach complex and varied permutations. The process can produce vibrant, lively, fresh, and sometimes also very serious, wines.
Tassie pinot noir
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With 42% of total Tasmanian vineyard plantings, pinot noir is the island state’s lead variety. Still red pinot noir wine is getting to be a force to be reckoned with, with even latent sub-regional undertones becoming apparent.
Brunello di Montalcino by Kerin O’Keefe
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It’s not too often a single (small) appellation merits an entire book all to itself. After the Brunello-gate scandal of 2008 it probably needs a book all to itself to help restore its reputation. As a long-standing italo-phile and Italy resident, but not a native Italian, O’Keefe’s commentary has an attractive independence of voice.
First taste of Russia
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Russia is the world’s largest country, though its population of 138 million ranks it ninth most populous in the world. It is one of those old world countries, with a multi-millennia history of vine cultivation, once again diving into the modern and new world of wine.
Britain’s best bacchus, bubblies and more besides
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Judging at the English and Welsh Wine of the Year Competition, 2012 was a new and relished experience for me. I came away reinvigorated by the dynamism and freshness of the industry.
The mesmerising world of Didier Barral
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Didier Barral owns 33 hectares of Faugères, plus 20 hectares of land which is fallow for pasture, for his philosophy on the monoculture that is grape-growing and wine-making is that it is impossible to make organic wine in a monoculture.
Wachau Smaragd – a 25 year view
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A tasting in Vienna marked the 25th anniversary of the smaragd style of wine from Austria’s Wachau region.
Bodegas Terras Gauda
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Bodegas Terras Gauda, in north west Spain, are making some extraordinarily good wines from the local Rias Baixas grapes.
A dozen New Zealand pinot noirs
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The family of twelve New Zealand producers each showed a pinot noir at a recent London tasting, raising the subject once again of potential regionalisation of style in the country.
Sicily – a continent on one island
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A steep gradient, literally and thermally, exists from the cool, high slopes of Mount Etna in the east of Sicily to the basking west of the island, both Palermo and the island of Pantelleria, which is nearer Africa than Europe. Combine this with a bevy of well-adapted local grape varieties, and Sicily has an enviable paradigm on the cool-hot spectrum.
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