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Spanish Icons: Comando G, Rumbo al Norte

Harvest time at Rumbo al Norte. Credit: Salvador ArellanoComando G, Rumbo al Norte, Cerebros, Gredos First vintage: 2010 No one can claim to understand the essence of Spanish Garnacha until they’ve tasted Rumbo al Norte (‘Route to the North’). ‘It’s liquid granite,’ says Daniel Landi, one of the founders of Comando G. ‘Rumbo al Norte changed our lives – and …

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Who Are the Real Producers Behind Costco’s Kirkland Signature Wines?

Kirkland Signature products aim to bring premium quality at rock bottom prices, and most of the time they hit the mark, particularly in the wine aisle. To get that high quality, Costco often teams up with big name producers who can’t always claim these wines as their own, or it might devalue some of their […] Source : http://costcowineblog.com/who-are-the-real-producers-behind-costcos-kirkland-signature-wines/

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Loire Volcanique: The renaissance bubbling upstream

The Chaîne des Puys is a chain of extinct volcanes located in the Auvergne, here with the Puy de Pariou in the foreground and Puy de Dôme in the background. Are you looking for Loire wines with a difference? Whites beyond Sauvignon Blanc, or Gamays with real character? Do you want to surprise wine-loving friends with a wine they’ve never …

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The Camino de Santiago – A food & wine guide

The Camino de Santiago, also known as the Way of St James, is a complex network of pilgrimage routes that lead to the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, where the remains of the apostle St James the Elder are believed to be buried. The Camino is hugely popular, with nearly 450,000 pilgrims making their way towards Santiago in …

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Antinori Family Purchases Napa’s Arcadia Vineyard, Longtime Grape Source for Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars

Marchesi Antinori, the Tuscany-based wine company and owner of Napa’s Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, has purchased the Arcadia vineyard from the family of the late Warren Winiarski, bringing a key source of grapes for the Stag’s Leap operation under the winery’s complete control. Arcadia Vineyard is a 135-acre property with 84 planted vineyard acres, divided between Cabernet Sauvignon (58 acres), …

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Bordeaux wines with novel grapes retain ‘classical’ taste – study

Two professional juries tasted different versions of a classical Bordeaux wine that incorporated one of five grape varieties from Southwest France, a cross from the 1950s and a Portuguese grape. Results broadly suggested no major impact on the wines’ regional ‘typicity’ when novel grapes were included at up to 30% of the blend, according to the study published in the …

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Spanish Icons: López de Heredia, Viña Tondonia

López de Heredia, Viña Tondonia, Rioja First vintage: 1913 Among the world’s most recognisable vineyard names, López de Heredia’s Viña Tondonia has become a brand in its own right. Its Reserva is treasured as one of Spain’s most accessible icons, both stylistically and budget-wise, consistently delivering power and poise, drinkability and staying power, quality and value. See below for a …

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California vineyards ‘over-planted’ by more than 20,000 hectares

At the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium’s State of the Industry address, Bitter again emphasised the need for large-scale vineyard reductions in California, to better balance supply with market demand. He explicitly called for more vines to be uprooted in coastal regions, such as Santa Barbara, Lake, Mendocino, and Monterey counties, as well as among Lodi’s Zinfandel plantings. From the …

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A drink with… Inventor Michael Pritchard MBE

Michael Pritchard MBE showcasing his Winewizard device at the Decanter office. Image credit: Sylvia Wu Michael Pritchard MBE, the Essex-based inventor known for his LifeSaver® portable water purification device, is now applying his innovative mind to the world of wine. His latest creation, Vinalchemy, promises to revolutionise the industry by accelerating the ageing process of wine. This breakthrough offers exciting …

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Oeno P: Paris Sigalas pushes Assyrtiko to greater heights

Paris Sigalas looks exactly as one might imagine a French-educated, Greek mathematics professor-turned-winemaker to look. Which, strangely enough, is a little like the late Sir Michael Gambon. Now in his late 70s, he exudes a very particular sort of ineffable, laid-back cool – shot through with a robust intellectualism and good sense of humour. One senses that an afternoon with …

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Château Branaire-Ducru St.-Julien 2022 $55 (95 points)

A mix of mulled boysenberry and blackberry fruit, dried violet, iris and lively licorice snap notes gives this a textbook and very aromatic St.-Julien profile. A sleek iron detail courses underneath, allowing the fruit to sail unhindered through the finish, flanked judiciously by singed apple wood. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2027 through 2042. 12,500 …

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The heroic winemakers of Isola del Giglio

Francesco Carfagna of Altura Vigneto. Giglio Island, just 11 miles off the Tuscan coast, has a winemaking history as enduring as its ancient stone terraces, some of which are believed to date back to the Stone Age. Its prominence continued through Etruscan and Roman times, and even Florence’s Medici family championed the island’s Ansonica wine. Today, that legacy is kept …

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Château Latour spring releases include ‘monumental’ 100-point wine

Château Latour has revealed its annual March releases will feature the 2016 vintage of its grand vin, 2019 vintage of second label, Les Forts de Latour, and 2020 vintage of its third label, Pauillac de Latour. The trio is among the strongest line-ups since Latour withdrew from the En Primeur system in 2012, offering collectors and consumers an opportunity to …

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Spanish Icons: Clos Mogador, Vinya Classificada

René Barbier JrClos Mogador, Vinya Classificada, Priorat First vintage: 1989 One of the leading, and most characterful, faces of the ‘Gang of Five’ who transformed Priorat in the last quarter of the 20th century, Clos Mogador’s founder René Barbier brought an idiosyncratic strength to his interpretation of the region, at once poetic and technically exact – attributes that can also …

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The ethical drinker: Packaging – what lies ahead

Thirsty Birds co-founder Amy Roberts with her low-waste packaging Naturally, it’s aimed at wine producers, importers, exporters, retailers and wholesalers. I’m none of those, but I read it anyway, because as a wine drinker, I also have a strong interest in the container that gets this precious liquid cargo safely from the winery into my hands. I care what it …

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