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Expert’s Choice: Hunter Valley Semillon

Winemaker Andrew Thomas sampling the latest vintage of Thomas Wines Semillon. The dry white Semillon of Hunter Valley is one of the wine world’s greatest secrets. It has a devoted following among those consumers who have discovered it and it’s revered by the winemakers of the Hunter Valley in New South Wales; yet it goes curiously uncelebrated in much of …

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Aragón reds: Panel tasting results

Beth Willard, Valentin Radosav and David Williams tasted 77 wines, with 2 Outstanding and 24 Highly Recommended. Aragón reds: Panel tasting scores 40 wines tasted Exceptional 0 Outstanding 2 Highly recommended 24 Recommended 47 Commended 4 Fair 0 Entry criteria: producers and UK agents were invited to submit current-release, still red wines from DOs Calatayud, Campo de Borja, Cariñena and …

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Penfolds Shiraz South Australia Bin 28 2022 $40 (93 points)

Offers an impressive mix of fruit flavors and oak influences, finding an expressive balance between framboise, cherry and pomegranate flavors that are ripe, fleshy and fresh. On the oak side, smooth vanilla, almond nougat and milk chocolate notes are showy, along with grace notes of cedar, Saigon cinnamon and clove. Drink now through 2033. 12,360 cases imported. Source : 6cc84e8df126556ee1c9109eb90bdbce

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Ontario: The evolution of Riesling on the shores of the Great Lakes

Ripened Riesling ready for harvest in Ontario. The 1970s marked the quality wine movement for Ontario and Canada at large. Riesling was there from the start, with the first vines planted in 1976. As Canada’s largest viticultural area, Ontario currently has 18,000 acres (7,300ha) under vine. Riesling makes up approximately 1,600 acres of this, neck and neck with Chardonnay. The …

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Famille Perrin Côtes du Rhône White Réserve 2023 $15 (88 points)

Yellow plum and nectarine notes are fresh and juicy in this tasty, medium-bodied white. Round on the palate, with a good spike of acidity, savory herb details and zesty mineral energy. Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier. Drink now. 45,000 cases made, 15,000 cases imported. Source : 24646d4b71dc8ca0f670052fdc20e597

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Vinography Images: Island Vines

Vines look out on the Hauraki Gulf from their home perched on a hill on Waiheke Island, a short ferry ride from Auckland, New Zealand. A popular site for weekenders and tourists alike, Waiheke possesses a unique and distinctive wine region of its own, and plays host to a number of high-quality wineries. INSTRUCTIONS:Download this image by right-clicking on the …

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Layers

ZeGaby has added a photo to the pool: Source : https://www.flickr.com/photos/zegaby/54141813715/in/pool-52609756@N00

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Dry Creek Valley

thomasmoyer43 has added a photo to the pool: Source : https://www.flickr.com/photos/200730164@N04/54138855870/in/pool-52609756@N00

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Illegal grapes

she_who_must has added a photo to the pool: Grafted onto stock of the forbidden Noah variety La Madeleine, Saint-Mont Source : https://www.flickr.com/photos/she_who_must/24284597189/in/pool-52609756@N00

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Paso Robles 2022 vintage: Best wines from a challenging year

Justin Smith and his son Colin, Saxum Vineyards. After a near-perfect 2021 vintage in Paso Robles, on the Central Coast, the 2022 harvest came in hot. It was a vintage defined by a relentless 10-day heat spike of 40°C or hotter from 31 August through 9 September, forcing vintners into a sprint to pick early, resulting in a compacted harvest …

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Angry French grape growers smash bottles outside Lidl

The growers congregated outside Lidl supermarkets in Orange and Bagnols-sur-Cèze to vent their anger at wines allegedly being sold at a loss. They smashed several bottles of Côtes-du-Rhône wine, which retails for just €1.69 (£1.41) per bottle at Lidl, as the protests mounted. Jordan Charransol, president of the Young Farmers of Vaucluse, accused retailers of carrying out ‘a downgrading’ of …

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France will uproot 27,500 hectares of vineyards to combat oversupply crisis

Last month, France’s agriculture ministry unveiled a plan to pull up 30,000 hectares in a bid to tackle a significant supply-demand imbalance. The government offered to pay grape growers €4,000 for each hectare (ha) they uproot, and it earmarked €120m for the scheme. The window for applications has now closed, and the ministry revealed that 5,418 growers have agreed to …

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Understanding organic whisky 

Organic whiskies Whisky legend the late Dr Jim Swan once described organic barley as an expensive waste of time. That was almost a decade ago and he was talking mainly about distillery economics. But did he have a point? We know organic farming increases biodiversity and improves soil health. ‘If you’ve ever visited an organic farm and a non-organic farm, you …

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The Ultimate Gift Guide for Discerning Wine Lovers 2024 Edition

Finding suitable gifts for a serious wine lover can be tricky. If they’re serious enough, they’ve already got most of what they want or need when it comes to wine. That’s why I put together a gift guide each year filled with things that are excellent gifts for the wine lover who already has everything. There are always two things …

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Emeril Lagasse and Son Open Their New Restaurant, an Ode to Portugal

Sometimes even the world’s best-known chefs need to return to their roots, and that includes Emeril Lagasse. The chef’s latest endeavor, 34 Restaurant & Bar, opened in New Orleans’ Warehouse District last month near his Grand Award–winning flagship Emeril’s, the restaurant that solidified Lagasse’s place as an icon of Creole cooking. But this new restaurant represents a significant shift: Lagasse …

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Content funding on Decanter.com

At Future Publishing we rely on advertising to keep bringing you the content you love to read. The majority of the content on Decanter.com is created solely by our editorial team, but on occasion we also work with external partners to create content we hope our readers will find interesting and useful.  In some cases, advertisers support us in producing content. …

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The Best Universal Wine Glass

This article reviews some of the most popular one-size-fits-all, or universal, wine glasses. Some top producers (e.g., Zalto, Reidel) of wine glasses produce a large range of styles, each best suited to a particular type of wine.  These glasses are typically hand-blown crystal costing $75+ each.  Someone wanting separate glasses for different wines is looking at a large bill.   …

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