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News

Wine with beef: Expert pairing advice and styles to try

Six wine styles to try with beef: Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz Malbec Nebbiolo (Barolo) Pinot Noir Chardonnay (oaked) Search Decanter wine reviews to find the perfect bottle Choosing a wine to drink with roast beef It’s hard to beat a delicious bottle of red wine with roast beef or hearty beef stew on a wintry afternoon, whether it’s Christmas Day or …

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Wine News: What I’m Reading the Week of 11/17/24

Hello and welcome to my weekly roundup of the wine stories that I find of interest on the web. I post them to my magazine on Flipboard, but for those of you who aren’t Flipboard-inclined, here’s everything I’ve strained out of the wine-related muck for the week. Yiannis Boutaris, Vintner, Animal Defender and Greek Mayor, Dies at 82RIP to a Greek …

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Thanksgiving wine pairings and 15 American wines to try

The Thanksgiving table includes a myriad of dishes and flavours, starting with appetisers to graze on as guests arrive. The buffet lineup of traditional dishes typically includes roast turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, casseroles and cranberry relish. Plates are filled with these favourites, and in one bite, you might get turkey, stuffing, potatoes and gravy. So, how do you pair wines …

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Yamhill-Carlton: An oasis for Pinot Noir in the wilds of Oregon

Joe and Pat Campbell founded Elk Cove in 1974, establishing the first vineyard in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA. The sub-appellation of Yamhill-Carlton is positioned due west of the much smaller Ribbon Ridge, and rather more famous Dundee Hills AVA. Just like the Dundee Hills, which was carved out of the Oregon wilderness by David Letts in 1965, Yamhill-Carlton is another pioneering …

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Patron Saint of Wine is St. Martin

It’s a sweet coincidence that today I’ve been going back and forth with Isabel Ramos, from my first trip in Évora and the Alentejo. Luís Ribeiro is another Portuguese friend, and we were also recently speaking. Arranging a meeting, while there, would have been icing on the cake, but it became complicated. The schedule I […] The post Patron Saint …

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Hospices de Beaune 2024 auction nets just under €14.5m

Alain Suguenot, Jean Reno, Eva Longoria, Zabou Breitman, Dominic West and Aurélie Vandevoorde at the Hospices de Beaune 2024 auction. While a far cry from the record set in 2022 of €29,788,500, the average price per barrel sold – €31,540 – represented a small increase from last year’s average, at €30,839 per barrel, even if bids were lower per barrel …

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Officially Defining (and Helping) Old Vines Around the World

It’s not every day that an official European government body makes a decision and notes that it’s informed by work that you’ve done personally. But last week, the OIV (General Assembly of the International Organisation of Vine & Wine) formally adopted Resolution OIV-VITI 703-2024 “OIV definition and recommendations about old grapevines and old vineyards in the vitivinicultural sector.” and in …

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Charlie Trotter’s Château Margaux 1900 Sells—Three Times—For a Combined $475,000 for Emeril Lagasse’s Charity

It was an auction lot so good, it sold three times. Lot number five at the Emeril Lagasse Foundation’s Carnivale du Vin on Nov. 16 was “Chef Charlie Trotter’s Legacy,” starring a bottle of Château Margaux 1900 from Trotter’s personal collection, donated by his widow, Rochelle. Trotter had said if he ever planned a last meal, that would be the …

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Bodega Otronia — At the edge of impossible

Bodega Otronia’s extreme winemaking terroir is on the shores of Lake Musters in the heart of the Patagonian desert. Argentinian winery, Bodega Otronia continues to break the mould with its extreme winemaking terroir and distinctive wines in the Chubut province on the shores of Lake Musters in the heart of the Patagonian desert. Not only is Otronia the southernmost commercial …

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Sierra Norte – 110 years building the future of wine

Finca Calderón Enoresort, Sierra Norte’s hotel and restaurant in Requena Attention and detail and collaboration are the foundations of Sierra Norte, a project that began with the pioneering vision of two men with a love for their land and was consolidated by their descendents with a focus on organic viticulture and indigenous grape varieties. From its humble beginnings, the company …

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Decanter Fine Wine Encounter London 2024: Highlights

More than 1,200 people flocked to DFWE London 2024 to enjoy wines from some of the world’s leading producers. More than 1,200 wine lovers made the annual pilgrimage to the historic Landmark London hotel in Marylebone for the 27th Decanter Fine Wine Encounter (DFWE). From 9am – 90 minutes before doors opened – 300 lucky ticket holders for the morning …

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Bodegas Iranzo – Of nature and man

Finca Cañada-Honda in winter In the first decade of the 20th century, when Bodegas Iranzo bottled the wines hailing from Cañada-Honda stating the origin of the grapes on the labels, the producer became the first to release an estate wine. Since then, Iranzo has remained committed to its unique legacy while consolidating a pioneering sustainability strategy in active implementation since …

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Victoria’s Pinot Noir up close

Red wines fermenting at Scotchmans Hill winery in the Yarra Valley, Australia. Where the wild winds of the Bass Strait pound and spray the rugged Victorian coastline, dedicated and passionate winemakers are producing some of the country’s finest and most elegant Pinot Noirs. Head a little inland, and the Pinot Noir is ripe, bold and immediately satisfying. From the cool, …

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Berry Bros & Rudd: Autumn and Christmas wine picks

The UK’s oldest wine and spirit merchant, Berry Bros & Rudd was founded in London in 1698. The business began as a grocer, located opposite St James’s Palace, owned by the Widow Bourne. Her descendants continued to run the business through successive generations, becoming suppliers to the Royal Family under George III in 1760. George Berry came to the company …

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In conversation with olive oil producer Aleksandra Vekic

Istrian olive oil producer and owner of Mate, Aleksandra Vekic Since the early 1990s, when Croatia and Slovenia gained independence, the region’s traditional craft of olive oil making has been rediscovered and revolutionised. The exceptional quality of Istrian olives and of the oil made here – artisanal, favouring quality over quantity – is now widely recognised, and in recent years …

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Vinography Unboxed: Week of 11/10/24

Hello and welcome to my weekly dig through the pile of wine samples that show up asking to be tasted. I’m pleased to bring you the latest installment of Vinography Unboxed, where I highlight some of the better bottles that have crossed my doorstep recently. This week included a bunch of really excellent white wines, including quite notably, one of …

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Chablis wineries see ‘crazy’ climate and small 2024 harvest 

Chablis vineyards in autumn (2023). Miserable weather during the growing season means that many Chablis winemakers saw a relatively small 2024 harvest. Figures were still being finalised, but the overall Chablis 2024 harvest was likely to be less than half of the level seen in 2023, said Paul Espitalié, president of the Chablis Commission, which is part of the regional …

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Andrew Jefford: ‘Collioure could be a little mountain Burgundy of the south’

You could almost hear the vineyards gurgling with pleasure: this April drench came after three years of drought. A pair of trail runners emerged from a path through the bushes just beneath us, their 400m climb over, sodden, panting, beaming. ‘All that effort for nothing,’ lamented one of the wine- growers, shaking his head in wry amusement. ‘And we can’t …

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Best Press Releases for 11.15.24

For Wine Marketing Nerds ~ Enolytics Cathy Huyghe, of Enolytics, reveals her soul this week. She wrote, “It is a h*ll of a lot harder than it looks. To build it, for starters. To keep the data private and safe. To update the technology. To test new features so that they can be released securely. […] The post Best Press …

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Europe for the senses

Etna DOC wine, Alto Adige wine, Pecorino Romano cheese European Union (EU) quality labels, including Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) for wines from Italy and Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) for food, offer consumers a guarantee of origin, quality and safety of the products they choose. The label is a clear indication that products are representative of their region and …

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