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Content about French wines

July 28, 2012
Charlie Heidsieck's Champagne

New management pumps enthusiasm into a venerable brand.

Cécile Bonnefond is a marketing and management expert who has served as head of some of the world’s most-prestigious wine and food companies (Veuve Cliquot, parts of Danone, Grand Metropolitan Food France), so she realizes the value of a good story as a branding tool. 

July 5, 2012
A View from the Rhone

A conversation with Vidal-Fleury's Guy Sarton du Jonchay.

Guy Sarton du Jonchay, managing director of the Rhone’s Vidal-Fleury wine concern, was in United States recently, and, although schedule conflicts prevented me from tasting wines with him, we were able to speak by phone.

June 14, 2012
Champagne Barons de Rothschild: Inventing a Brand

When the three branches of Rothschilds decided to do their first joint venture with a premium Champagne, that was the easy part.

Even if you’re the Rothschilds, you need a strategy in the wine marketplace.  Especially if you’re dipping your toe into the big Champagne vat where there are much more-experienced and even larger players.

May 1, 2012
Almaviva Winery~Chile's Gold Standard

Almaviva winery began in 1997 when the Baroness Philippine de Rothschild recognized the potential of Chilean terroir and entered into an agreement with Don Eduardo Guilisasti Tagle, Chairman of Concha y Toro, a premier Chilean producer.

I had the very good fortune of travelling to Chile recently and to visit many vineyards, meet several winemakers and other winery personnel and to taste a selection of Chile's many and varied wines.

April 10, 2012
Bordeaux’s 2011 Vintage a Keeper, But the Dance over Prices Continues

As was the case with the 2008 vintage, the jumbled weather in 2011 had all the right elements – sunshine, rain, heat, cold – in all the wrong places, thus gathering early predictions of gloom.

Coming just days before Easter, Bordeaux pulled another rabbit from its hat with the 2011 vintage wines during last week’s barrel tastings in the fabled French wine region.
As was the case with the 2008 vintage, the jumbled weather in 2011 had all the right elements – sunshine, rain, heat, cold – in all the wrong places, thus gathering early predictions of gloom.

March 23, 2012
Burgundy wines tastings - Terroirs & Signatures de Bourgogne

The Burgundy Wine Board (BIVB) cordially invites you to attend "Terroirs & Signatures de Bourgogne," the year's most prestigious trade tasting event.

Join us from 1pm - 6pm on

Tuesday April 24th, 2012 - San Francisco City Hall San Francisco

Thursday April 26th, 2012 - Tribeca Rooftop, New York

RSVP by April 10th for an opportunity to attend an educational seminar from 11am - 1pm entitled "Climats et Lieux-dits de Bourgogne".

Click here to RSVP.

March 23, 2012
Burgundy wines tastings - Terroirs & Signatures de Bourgogne

The Burgundy Wine Board (BIVB) cordially invites you to attend "Terroirs & Signatures de Bourgogne," the year's most prestigious trade tasting event.

Join us from 1pm - 6pm on

Tuesday April 24th, 2012 - San Francisco City Hall San Francisco

Thursday April 26th, 2012 - Tribeca Rooftop, New York

RSVP by April 10th for an opportunity to attend an educational seminar from 11am - 1pm entitled "Climats et Lieux-dits de Bourgogne".

Click here to RSVP.

March 3, 2012
Look at old-world wines through new-world eyes.

Today’s emerging wine consumers do not follow yesterday’s guidelines or taste preferences.

Recently I was moderating a wine-and-food seminar when the topic turned to how many wine drinkers are bucking well-established trends of buying “old-world” wines and embracing extremely low-cost “new-world” wines.

February 12, 2012
Mendoza's Glittering DiamAndes

Many Bordeaux wine families have branched out in recent years with estates in Chile and Argentina.  For Jean-Jacques Bonnie, winegrowing is universal in philosophy, if different in practice.

I had met Jean-Jacques Bonnie just once before, about two years ago in Mendoza, but there was no mistaking which table was his when I briefly sat down at the bar in the Brasserie Cognac in Manhattan last week and glanced around the room – the long, wavy blond mane that a 19th Century cavalry officer would have loved was unmistakable, that and the fact that a large decanter of red wine was

February 9, 2012
Tasting the Terroir at Chateau Beaucastel

What part does the winemaker play in the total terroir of a wine? Journey to the southern France's Chateau Beaucastel, I find some answers.

What makes the wines of Chateau Beaucastel so wonderful? I’d tasted these wines occasionally in the U.S. and always came away impressed by their unusual combination of power, elegance, and intoxicating spiciness. While teaching a travel writing class for The Writer’s Workshop in Vaison la Romaine, France I finally got a chance to visit the storied property.

February 1, 2012
Vertical of the Century's First Decade

As a vertical tasting of Chateau d'Issan's first 10 vintages of the 21st Century shows, Bordeaux wines are flying high at a level of consistent quality not previously experienced.

It seems like only minutes ago that we were deciding what Champagne we were buying to drink in the new century while worrying whether we were going to catch the millennium bug.  But already we have raced through the first decade of the 21st Century and are well into the second.

December 14, 2011
Wines of Terroirs Originels

A small group of Beaujolais and Macon winegrowers discover that working together on quality and marketing is a pathway to success.

There is a commonality among restaurateurs and winemakers that is crucial to both, but which is sometimes ignored by both – at their own considerable peril.

November 30, 2011
Naples Winter Wine Festival Events and Auction

Don't miss the #1 Charity Wine Auction in the U.S.

The Naples Winter Wine Festival is the most successful charity wine auction in the world and has raised more than $94.5 million for the NCEF since 2001.  The 2012 Festival welcomes 28 vintners

November 24, 2011
The Burgundy Continuum

Take a great vintage from a great producer and forget about georgaphy.  Most likely, you'll find great bargains in classic Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs.

Although Burgundy has two basic grapes

October 26, 2011
The Tour de Lurton

To fully appreciate the importance and operating range of the Lurton winemaking clan, meet up with 10 of them in New York City, each pouring his or her own wines.

 

August 3, 2011
Gamay, Up Close & Personal

If you don't know serious Beaujolais very well, the 2009 and 2010 vintages provide an excellent opportunity to get better acquainted.

July 25, 2011
New Harvard MBA Course: Bordeaux 1999

The elite B-school wins a prestigious wine competition.  How does your wine knowledge measure up?

June 21, 2011
Are your guests being served wine properly?

Good wine service techniques are universal, whether the restaurant’s style is formal white table cloth or casual bistro.

Perhaps they’re only being half-served, or poorly served.

Basic aspects of wine service are often slaughtered, regardless of the level and reputation of the restaurant.

March 8, 2011
Looking for a (Wine) Fair Deal

For those of us in the wine and hospitality trade, attending one of the international wine fairs in France, Italy or England is a required life experience.  Get ready to book your flights - the first one opens next month.

January 12, 2011
The World's Most Authentic Wine

From producer to drinker, one of the most valued virtues in winema