As France celebrates Bastille Day today - 14 Juillet - we thought it amusing to post these interesting Wine Stats.
Vive la France!
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Burgundy Wines In Mandarin
courtesy of BIVB
BOURGOGNE WINES IN MANDARIN
The Book "Les Vins de Bourgogne" by Sylvain Pitiot and Jean-Charles Servant has just been published in Mandarin.
Over 400 pages, it includes 65 maps of regions and appellations as well as 30 illustrations and all the information you need to know about the Bourgogne region and its wines.
This reference work, first published in 1952 and at that time, authored by Pierre Poupon, is now in its 14th edition.
It is available in French, English, Japanese, Korean, German and Mandarin.
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Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Brunello di Montalcino - Mocali - 2007
Like any good California girl, I love me some Sangiovese. So when I was able to get my hands recently on a bottle of the stuff from the Old World, my lips were smacking and my fingers trembling as we uncorked the bottle.
Garnet Hued * Vanilla * Spice * Red Berries
Hint of Earthiness
Balanced power between Tannins and Acidity
Wine Spectator's Notes On Brunello di Montalcino Vintages
- 2008 91 A cool growing season with rain at harvest; those who waited produced aromatic, balances and elegant wines. Drink or Hold.
- 2007 93 Hotter and riper than 2006; fruit-forward, rich and elegant, offering immediate charm and softer textures. Drink or Hold.
- 2006 95 Complex powerful wines that impress with ripe yet fresh fruit, firm, dense structures and fine balance. Hold.
Excerpt from Wine Spectator June 30, 2013
Sangiovese is virtually synonymous with Tuscany and is the most widely planted grape variety in Italy. Brunello, a synonym for Sangiovese Grosso, or "fat Sangiovese," gets its name from the big ripe grapes that are produced from these vines in the prestige appellation (Brunello di Montalcino DOCG) of Montalcino, a classic hilltop village surrounded by slopes just 30km. south of Siena in Tuscany, Italy.
Mocali is owned by the Ciacci family and overseen by enologist Tiziano Ciacci. Their soils are mostly Galestro and Alberese that enrich the ground with mineral salts. Their Brunello di Montalcino wine - in fact all Brunello di Montalicino wines - are made exclusively with Sangiovese Grosso grapes.
This DOCG shares the top spot only with Vino Nobile de Montepulciano. Though winemaking in the region is recorded from as far back as the 14th century, the wines we associate today with this very first Italian DOCG emerged in the 1870s. It's largely credited to the efforts of the esteemed winemaking family of Biondi-Santi, namely Ferruccio,who decided to implement a revolutionary technique (for his day) of making his Montalcino wines - vinify his Sangiovese grapes separately from the other varieties. (At the time in Tuscany all grapes were fermented together - even the reds with the whites.) As he implemented this and a few other techniques, the resulting wines gained a reputation of being livelier and fruitier than other wines.
In July 1980 the appellation was formalized as Italy's first DOCG alongside Piedmont's Barolo. It is mostly small farmers and family estates who produce this exquisite red wine today and number approximately 200, up from just 11 producers in the 60's. One of the DOCG requirements is that vineyards are not planted above 600m sea level. Brunello must be aged at least 4 years and for the riserva distinction, a minimum of 5 years aging is required. More INFO at Tuscany Taste.
@LocalFoodWine
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Monday, June 24, 2013
Cite des Civilisations du Vin, Bordeaux
by Paige Donner
"The building does not resemble any known shape because it's an evocation. Not of wine itself, but of the soul of wine," explain architects Anouk Legendre and Nicolas Desmazieres from French firm X-TU.
When fully unveiled in 2016, the eco-building that will be the Cité des Civilisations du Vin nestled on the shores of the Garonne will offer a total surface area of 14,000 m2 including 750 m2 for temporary exhibits and 3500 m2 of permanent exhibit space.
The laying of the first stone was celebrated on June 19, 2013 during Vinexpo Bordeaux. Slideshow Below.
INFO: citedescivilisationsduvin.com
SlideShow HERE
- Inauguration June 19, 2013 Cite des Civilisations du Vin in Bordeaux
- Mayor of Bordeaux Alain Juppe and Anouk Legendre, architect of Cite des Civilisations du Vin
All photos c. Paige Donner
@LocalFoodWine
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Duck Fat Deep Fried Goodness by Edible Canada
June 6th, Vancouver BC. Edible Canada is up to something duckn' good as they get set to launch their themed take-out window for a second season this Tuesday, June 11th.
Following the success of the all-bacon window last year, the Edible team challenged Vancouver to come up with the take out window's theme for 2013. With hundreds of mouth-watering suggestions to choose from, it was Vancouver's Kim Payne whose suggestion of donuts got the team's tastebuds tingling.
Because everything is better with duck fat, the next obvious step was to give the donut bites the same treatment as the Bistro's popular duck fat French fries. So was born "Little Duckers", the small, duck fat fried donut balls of goodness. And if that wasn't enough, there are 4 finger-licking flavours to indulge in, including "When Sticky Pigs Fly", which is loaded with bacon, chocolate and caramel, and the "Nutty Duckers" which is a 100 mile tribute with Fraser Valley honey, honey whipped butter and toasted Agassiz hazelnuts.
"It's a concept that is in line with everything we do here at Edible Canada," says Chef Greg Reid. "The flavours we chose are Canadian inspired, which is a true reflection of our menu. It was fun to take a suggestion from one of our guests and marry it with some of my favorite things here at the bistro. They've been a hit with our taste testers and I'm excited to open the window so everyone has a chance to try them!"
Opening on Tuesday, June 11th at 11:00am, the take-out window will run through to the end of summer daily from 11am to 7pm. It is located adjacent to the Bistro entrance and directly across from the public market and Arts Club Theatre in the centre of Granville Island.
Congratulations for sharing your winning idea, Kim! As the winner, Kim will eat from the take-out window all summer long free of charge and is recognized on the menu with "Bring the Payne" – a spicy maple syrup concoction!
About Edible Canada
Edible Canada is a seven year-old business headquartered on Granville Island, in Vancouver, BC.
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Tuscany Food & Wine app by Acqua Panna
by Paige Donner
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Ahhh... summer is at long last nearly here. Dream vacation destinations are beginning to dance through our heads like sugar plum fairies in wispy toutous as the languid summer months of promised sunshine begin to magically reveal themselves before us.
Tuscany. Tuscany, the land of Chianti and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Tuscany, where cold-pressed virgin olive oils beckon as seductively as do its wines and terroir.
Dream vacations, can, however, at times, be more effort than joy, a corelation thoroughly dependent on planning and resources. So if this is your first Tuscan Escape, not to worry. The region's wine producers and local government tourism agencies have gotten together to form a welcoming platform called Tuscan Taste.
Tuscan Taste is a series of outreach events and organized hospitality platforms to make your visit to and exploration of Tuscany as effortless as it is enjoyable. The brand was developed in collaboration with the region's main wine Consorzi to communicate the Tuscan values of quality, beauty, sustainability, taste and tradition.
Why a butterfly: Tuscany springs from the map to become a butterfly. A messenger to the world, heralding the quality of Tuscan wines. Heralding the traditions of a glorious region, and of a culture of winemaking built up
through the centuries. A culture that, right here in Tuscany, has created some of the very best wines in the world. One butterfly, ten, a hundred, even more – as many as there are Tuscan wines. Butterflies fluttering
their wings to take the message of Tuscan wines to the world, and to new and exalted heights.
For the billion and a half of us on the planet right now who are SmartPhone oriented, especially when we travel, we have this fabulous new Tuscany Food & Wine app by Acqua Panna at our fingertips as of this Spring.
The app is offered free for iOS devices and in addition to offering things to do and see - nature, art, history - in the region, it also features mouthwatering pictures and descriptions of local foods, cuisine, dishes, restaurants, and, of course, wines and wonderful wine pairings.
Wines are especially highlighted in the Tuscany Food & Wine app where it features a guide to the many local wineries as well as detailed descriptions of the wines' composition such as alcohol percentage, grapes used and where you can find the wineries for a cellar visit and tasting.
The GPS enabled "Around Me" feature spotlights the restaurants, sites, wineries and other points of interest within a few kilometers of your current location. For those who want to immerse themselves in the languid deliciousness that is the Tuscan Summer, there is even a glossary included on the app that explains the various abbreviations denoting the artisanal Italian local food products and wines which helps you to understand their exact origin and stamp of quality.
OK, then. All set? The app is available for download at:
Long considered the best still mineral water for enhancing all the nuances of wine and food, thanks to its smooth, elegant taste, Acqua Panna represents all the power of nature in the heart of the Tuscan Apennines, with 1300 hectares of natural preserve, a unique aquifer, and a long history of culture, passion and love for the environment.
Acqua Panna
http://www.acquapanna.com
www.facebook.com/acquapanna
About Toscana Promozione
Toscana Promozione is the Economic Promotion Agency of Tuscany, established in 2000 by the local government. Thanks to a network of professional associations, institutions, enterprises, universities and research centers, Toscana Promozione is, today, a concrete platform for overseas enterprises interested in doing business in or with Tuscany.
@♥Chérie Du Vin
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