This series of articles will focus on the top wines from a number of Champagne Houses. In Champagne these top wines are referred to as that house’s “Tête de Cuvée”. The Tête de Cuvée will be made from a strict selection of the best barrels from the best vineyard parcels. The Tête de Cuvée is very limited in production, but it is very important to the Champagne house as it represents the best of the best, the crowning achievement that defines what the house is capable of.
Champagne André Clouet is one of the oldest houses in Champagne, having been producing wines since 1741. We first wrote about their top wine, Un Jour de 1911 after we encountered it while dining at the Herbfarm in Woodinville, Washington. That article focused mostly on the historical significance of that day and what it meant to the future of Champagne and the Champenois. In this article we want to continue the theme of the Tete de Cuvée series and talk more about what goes on behind the scenes to make the wine as special as it is.
Chris assessing a glass of wine at Chateau Couspaude in Bordeaux.
Wine scores are those assessments of a wine’s quality that usually appear at the end of a tasting note. The tasting note will describe the wine’s various attributes, such as aroma, flavour, body, structure, balance, etc. and the score will evaluate the wine’s relative quality. Scores are big topic for discussion among wine-lovers and the topic can attract some rather heated views. AdVINEtures wanted to give you our take on wine scores, the different types, how to make the most of them.
Once a bottle is opened, it’s start to deteriorate…
OK, we’ll admit it: in our house, once a bottle gets opened, it usually gets finished. But not always and certainly there are lots of people who do open a bottle of wine and don’t drink it all. So, when that happens what should you do with that left-over wine? We have several answers for you.
For many people 2021 won’t be remembered as a particularly auspicious year as the world continues to grapple with a global pandemic. But for Okanagan Crush Pad it is a year to celebrate. 2021 represents the winery’s 10th anniversary, and after a decade of challenges, change and growth, the irony of having it fall this particular year is not lost on owner Christine Coletta.
They each were big fans of wine cocktails. Wine cocktails may have been around for a long time, but they are certainly getting plenty of attention today. AdVINEtures decided it was time to take a closer look at this trending category.
Merlot is so many things it is hard to know where to start: it is grown all over the world and is the third most planted wine-making grape variety (any guess what the first two are?); it is one of the primary grapes of Bordeaux; and it is the grape that was famously trashed in the film and book “Sideways”. It also makes Petrus, often cited as the most expensive wine in the world.
Some of the beautiful organic vines at Youngberg Hill.
It happened quickly. Oregon has for several decades now been known as a producer of some excellent Pinot Noir. Its cooler climate was capable of producing Pinot Noir that, at its best, could be subtly nuanced, refined and elegant. Comparisons with Burgundy would come up in conversations among the wine cognoscenti and then in the wine press. Pinot Noir had put Oregon firmly on the wine map. In fact, Pinot’s dominance made people associate Oregon with Pinot Noir, to the point where “Oregon equals Pinot Noir” is a common mindset in the same way people think Napa equals Cabernet Sauvignon. No wonder people think that, as the Willamette Valley Wineries Association has on their website landing page, in bold all caps type: “WE ARE PINOT NOIR”.
Of course, neither of those notions is really true, it is just a common perception. In Oregon that perception is starting to change, and wine drinkers are starting to take notice of some of the delicious Chardonnay being produced in Oregon.
What do you do when travel is restricted and time is limited? When you live in beautiful British Columbia, you make the most of it! Our latest video AdVINEture features Lillooet, a small community in Sea to Sky country just north of Whistler and well worth exploring. If glacier-fed lakes, picturesque jagged mountains, stunning waterfalls, and an award-winning winery sound enticing, take a look at this highlight reel below from our recent visit:
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