Vineyard views at Elderton Wines in the Barossa.
A recent trip took us down to Australia to stay with friends who live in Adelaide and tour the local wine regions. Adelaide is the largest city in the Province of South Australia, a port city on the island’s southern coast and South Australia’s capital. It is within an hour’s drive of three of South Australia’s most important wine regions. This is gorgeous real estate, rolling hills that are dedicated to grazing lands and various crops including vineyards. It is sparsely populated and still has that rural, undiscovered feel to it. And as we found, it is a terrific place to visit and taste. There is a great variety of wines to try: numerous different white and red varieties and a surprising range of microclimates, resulting in wines of many different styles. In addition to tasting some terrific wines, we also discovered an amazing foodie culture when we were there. It is a fabulous wine region to visit and we are already thinking about a return visit.
Read More
Some of the vineyards at Youngberg Hill.
Biodynamics (also referred to as Biodynamic Farming or Biodynamic Agriculture) is definitely a hot topic in the wine world theses days. Some of the most revered vineyards in the world have adopted the practice. We are talking the likes of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Domaine LeRoy, Maison M. Chapoutier, Domaine Zind Humbrecht, to name just a handful of the more than 700 worldwide wine estates employing this controversial and little understood practice.
Read More
Lunch at Muga.
Bodegas Muga is one of the leading wineries in Spain’s elite wine region of Rioja. We not only got to tour and taste at Muga, but the winery hosted us at a very special private lunch at their winery. Ten of us were a part of the very exclusive Bordeaux to Rioja wine tour put on by Iberian Wines Tours and it was Iberian’s connection with the winery that got us this special invitation. One of the great things about going on these tours is that you get into places that you simply cannot on your own.
Read More
Deutz is one of Champagne’s Grande Marques , the name the Champenoise give to the big houses in the region such as Moët Chandon, Taitinger, Bollinger, Veuve Cliquot, Pol Roger and the like. Founded in 1838 it was originally known as Deutz Geldermann, taking its name from founders William Deutz and Pierre-Hubert Geldermann, both involved in the wine trade by profession. Deutz is located in the village of Ay, one of the 17 villages in Champagne to be awarded the very prestigious Grande Cru status.
Read More
Just one of the amazing wine views in South Africa.
Tucked in South Africa’s Langeberg Mountain range in the Robertson Wine Valley is small family owned winery that is making a big impression. Kleinhoekkloof Wines is the very definition of a handcrafted boutique winery. At just under 12 Hectares under vine, they grow 6 grape varieties: Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Shiraz, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Pinot Noir. 80% of the farm is registered under the Biodiversity and Wine Initiative (BWI) and they use the power of gravity in the vineyards and cellar. For example, they use drip irrigation via the fountain and dam they have up in the mountain and use forklifts to raise the tanks to drain off the juice. The first time the wine goes through a pump or is filtered is when it is bottled.
Read More
The barrel room at Amaren.
Bodegas Amaren, the sister winery to Luis Cañas, is a tribute to winemaker Juan Luis Cañas’ mother Maria Ángeles. Located in Samaniego, a town in the Province of Álava in Basque country, it lies within the Rioja Alavesa wine region, the smallest sub region of Rioja in Spain. Ángeles was a woman known for her dedication to the family vineyards as well as a passionate appreciation for the earth. It is that same commitment to quality and respect for the environment that the winery aims to bring to every bottle.
Read More
Recent Comments