Minerality in wine and the role soil plays in contributing to minerality was the topic of a Masterclass at an early Rootstock natural wine festival in Sydney. It was interesting to participate in this event and to see how different people viewed the topic through completely different ‘lenses’. Vineyard managers […]
Author: Living Wines
Folle Blanche Grape Variety
Folle Blanche is a grape variety used to produce Armagnac and Cognac as well as crisp white wines in the western Loire region of France.
Bistronomy: A book about the resurgence of bistro food in Paris
So why are we reviewing a book about Bistronomy in Paris? Apart from the fact that our general preference is to eat bistro food rather than tricked up, contorted food in Michelin-starred restaurants there is a connection to bistronomy through the wine. Almost every restaurant that features in the book […]
Pinot Auxerrois Grape Variety
Pinot Auxerrois (as it is known in Alsace) is a very interesting grape for making fresh, low acid, interesting wines. Although Riesling is more widely planted, the area devoted to Auxerrois is increasing every year as can be seen by the graph below. One of the most interesting things about […]
A new look at terroir
We explore some of the research that is emerging about the importance of living things in the landscape that contribute to terroir including the biota layer – the effect of living things. These living things range from the macro including birds, wasps and spiders down to the micro such as […]
Organic wines, Biodynamic wines and Natural wines
A recent brief article in the Revue du Vin de France about organic and biodynamic wines made us think that it is probably a good idea to explain the differences between organic, biodynamic and natural wines in this newsletter and to talk a little about the backing and authority for […]
Is it fine to fine a wine?
To fine a wine is a process of adding foreign substances to precipitate solids in the wine in order to make it clear. Fining often makes wines unsuitable for vegans and vegetarians. The term fining is bandied about in the wine community, but when we start to quiz people about […]
Ploussard and Pupillin – Jewels of the Jura
Pupillin is a tiny village that lies at the heart of the Jura wine region. Here, the Ploussard grape variety is king, producing light, flavoursome wines of very high quality. There are three red grape varieties in the Jura – Trousseau, Ploussard and Pinot Noir. Trousseau is a light, expressive […]