vila viniteca

Vintage 2021 in Rhône by Michel Tardieu

Vintage 2021 in Rhône by Michel Tardieu

Back to the future! Vintage 2021 was incontestably a thumb to the nose of the last "solar" vintage which we have seen recently in the Rhone Valley. Real 30-year flashback, typically reminiscent of more classical harvest dates in the Vindémiare calendar and phenolic maturity from the 90s. Indeed, this vintage has given us, on all levels, a lot of emotions. Blame it on the particularly capricious weather conditions, sweet understatement! Extreme frost episode from 7th to 9th April, with some temperatures nearing -10ºC, affected without exception almost all the French vineyards. Cataclysmic observations:…Read more
Bordeaux 2021 by Bordeaux Vins Sélection

Bordeaux 2021 by Bordeaux Vins Sélection

2021: A WINEMAKER’S VINTAGE Viticulture is a school of hard knocks. This vintage wouldn’t let us forget it, with successive wavesof challenges: frost, mildew, botrytis. Many fears, doubts, even tears. Lost or frustratinglydiminished harvests. Many April nights were as intense as the days, as constantly mobilizedwinegrowers had to be vigilant, patient and obstinate. However, with careful observation and ever-more precise interventions, they have been able to overcome this troublesome vintage that causedso much suffering. The 2021 vintage is undoubtedly one marked by resilience, thanks to the skillsemployed and to the beautiful weather at…Read more
Bourgogne 2020: Market situation

Bourgogne 2020: Market situation

With the 2020 vintage and after five successful Bourgogne Presale campaigns, we reach the sixth edition with a selection of more than 370 wines from 28 exclusive Bourgogne wineries and 9 from Rhône. The main difference with previous editions is the very limited availability of most cuvées, from the most accessible Village to the most desired Grand Cru. The 2020 harvest was smaller than usual. 2021, with very adverse weather, typified by frost and a major attack of diseases, saw production drastically reduced by half. Some vineyards were never harvested. Despite the world…Read more
To decant or not to decant?

To decant or not to decant?

How the decanting of a wine influences its organoleptic qualities. According to the dictionary of the RAE (Royal Spanish Academy), decanting is the action of separating a liquid from the sediment it contains, pouring it gently into another container. If we consult the definition in Volume IV of El Bulli's Wine Sapiens, on Sommelier, it defines the term decanting as the operation carried out to favour the contact of the wine with the air and/or eliminate the presence of impurities and undesirable substances with the aim of increasing its aromatic charge as much…Read more
Does the serving temperature of a wine influence in its sensorial perception?

Does the serving temperature of a wine influence in its sensorial perception?

At Vila Viniteca we have a Wine Tasting Panel — a private and unique initiative in the wine world — formed of 16 professionals of our team, who we have trained for two years, in order to become expert wine tasters. The goal of the Project is to offer an answer in an objective and faithful way to inquiries and doubts related to the sensorial perception in the wine world As a result of an exigent training of 30 sessions, a total of 60 hours, our Panel was prepared to carry out the…Read more
How do you cool a bottle of wine?

How do you cool a bottle of wine?

We decided to carry out a study using three traditional cooling methods as the fridge, the freezer and the ice bucket with water and ice, in the light of the general perception that white wines and sparkling wines suffer from sudden heat shocks. . Is it better to cool a wine in the fridge, freezer or using ice bucket? Does the perception of a wine change if it cools in the fridge or ice bucket? Does the effervescence of a sparkling wine change if it cools in the freezer? Introduction At Vila Viniteca…Read more
One day as a Panellist

One day as a Panellist

The Tasting Panel of Vila Viniteca— is a private and unique initiative in the wine world — formed of 16 professionals of our team, who we trained for two years, in order to become expert wine tasting. In May 2017, we started to train them so as to answer in an objective and faithful way to inquiries and doubts related to the sensorial perception, which are risen around a glass of wine. Which qualities are required to be part of a Tasting Panel? What does it implies being a Panellist? How the people…Read more
The tactile sensations a wine can produce

The tactile sensations a wine can produce

What is astringency? When do we say a wine is stringent? How is it perceived the grease sensation of a wine? When can we say that a wine has weight or is voluminous? And fluid? Introduction In the sensorial perception of a wine apart from sight, smell and taste, it also participates another of the fifth senses, the touch. When the wine enters into our mouth cavity provoques us a bif quantity of different sensations, some of them caused by chemical reactions, as for instance that which takes place between our saliva (and…Read more
Flavours in a wine

Flavours in a wine

Training on Olfactory characteristics of a wine in Tasting Panel of Vila Viniteca What are flavours in a wine? Where do they come from? How can we learn to identify them? How are they classified and how can we reproduce them on a wine base? These and many other doubts came out during the training of the olfactory characteristics of our Tasting Panel. Our Tasting Panel evaluates the flavours found in a wine according to different trials, which consist in answering the question about if the analysed sample contains or not a specific…Read more
Acidity sensation in a wine

Acidity sensation in a wine

Training on detecting the Acid Flavour at the Tasting Panel of Vila Viniteca How do we evaluate and quantify the acid elemental taste in a wine? Before and during the training of the Tasting Panel, we had many doubts about how to correctly evaluate the sensation of acidity in a wine. What role does sweetness play in the perception of acidity in a wine? And astringency? What about alcohol? Our Tasting Panel evaluates the acidity of a wine according to its intensity through a linear scale. In order to train them, reference patterns…Read more
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