I have had the privilege to taste some very expensive wines in my life. Now just to be clear, the value I am shamelessly bragging about is not monetary. I am talking about aged wines that you cannot put a price on. These are wines that were bought years ago, …
You’ve probably heard people talk about “investing in wine”. We’re buying wine to drink it, not to sell it… so where is the return on investment? The return on investment is not monetary, unless you sell your wine but that doesn’t make a lot of sense and that’s a “risky …
Meet your new wine merchant: amazon.com A recent report suggests that in a matter of weeks Amazon will launch a wine marketplace. I bet you didn’t see that one coming, or perhaps you did. The U.S. wine industry rakes anywhere between 18 to 22 billion dollars in annual sales revenues, so …
You’ve heard this saying before: “Good wine pairing is most successful when the wine and the food come from the same region”. Truth or myth? Well, it is mostly true, but everyone is entitled to an opinion and fortunately, there are a lot of opinions out there. Some might say that …
“Château” is a no go for American winemakers! At least, temporarily. The Bordeaux Wine Federation has obtained a respite from the possible deal to give American wine producers the right to use the venerated “château” label. The European Committee has decided to table this important decision, which France remains the …
During our last visit to Burgundy France, we were extremely fortunate to be reunited with all the members of my family on my mother’s side. Since we don’t see each other very often, it’s always such a treat to get together, and be able to gather around four generations of …
Vin du Château, Mis en Bouteille au Château, Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Latour, Château Margaux, etc… Why do some wine labels mention the term “château”, and what does it mean? The term “château” is a guaranty that the wine is from the actual domain, and bottled at the property. It also means that the …
A few days ago, I wrote a news article about the acquisition of the Gevrey-Chambertin château and its vineyard by the Chinese. It is the first time that a Burgundy Vineyard falls into the powerful hands of Chinese investors. However, that phenomenon isn’t new in the Bordeaux region of France. A growing Chinese …
“To good wine no publicity.” This proverbial saying comes from a latin proverb written by Columelle: “Vino vendibili suspensa hedera non opus est”, which translates to: “To popular wine, hanging ivy is not necessary.” In older times, hanging ivy was used by wine suppliers and resellers to promote their wines. It …
French minister of agriculture, Stéphane Le Foll announced recently: “This year’s grape volume is exceptionally low.” What will be the consequences on the price of wine, and its quality? Bernard Germain (Director of the Wine Cooperative of Muscat de Frontignan) has rarely seen such an important downturn: “This year 2012, …
