the opinion

Bride Valley Vineyard and the future of English sparkling wine

Bride Valley Vineyard and the future of English sparkling wine

By Steven Spurrier Probably the most recent entry to wine categories around the world, barely quarter of a century old, is that of English Sparkling Wine.  Made in the traditional method and mostly from the three ‘Champagne grapes’ Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir, its success has been remarkable and investors with deep pockets have been boosting the acreage under vines across southern England at the recent rate of 240 hectares – one million vines based on an average of 4,000 vines a hectare – over the past three years.  Over the last…Read more
Tuscany’s drought, 2017

Tuscany’s drought, 2017

This year we suddenly had frost in May for three nights. We lit wood fires lit every twenty meters in the plains; the thick low smoke freed the high pressure in the vines. Compared to all the burned and bare valley bottom vineyards in Chianti (and up to Chablis, we’ve all seen the pictures of what they have had to do there for frost), the freeze was very minor, so the vineyards are now as tall and green as any year. The freeze of the spring passed over a land that was already…Read more
The Opinion by Iñaki Lz. De Viñaspre

The Opinion by Iñaki Lz. De Viñaspre

The Txuletón in Basque Cuisine. The story of an old, fat cow The origins We don’t know exactly since when Txuletones have been eaten in the Basque Country, we do however know that since the XVIII century it has been a whole gastronomic and festive event in certain rural areas of Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa. Bovine animals, both female and male, had a very clear role in the economy of the homestead: females would dedicate their lives to give birth and most of them to produce milk. This would be done in micro-exploitations, meaning…Read more
Jacques Thienpont on Pomerol – An interview for Vila Viniteca

Jacques Thienpont on Pomerol – An interview for Vila Viniteca

How would you describe the Pomerol landscape? You can divide Pomerol into three distinct zones. There is the highest point of Pomerol, the plateau, which includes all of the top estates –Pétrus, Vieux Chateau Certan, L’Evangile, La Conseillante, Le Pin, Trotanoy and Eglise Clinet; then you have the slopes that go from the plateau down to the plain where you find excellent chateaux such as La Croix de Gay, Gazin, Feytit Clinet, Nenin and finally there are the chateaux which are on the sandier soils such as Clos de Réné, Chateau de Sales,…Read more