In France and elsewhere, every third Thursday of November is a wine celebration day, “Le Beaujolais Nouveau.” The Beaujolais Nouveau is a 100% Gamay Wine made in the Beaujolais appellation after harvest using carbonic maceration for a few days. It is hosted on the third Thursday of November every year. This cultural phenomenon, even if its modern form is very recent, is celebrated in France and around the world. Until recently, the wine was not so great, and it was only an occasion to party.

If you drive on the national road number 6 in Burgundy you will be surprised to find a place named Gamay, in the city of Saint Aubin sur Loire. Gamay in the heart of Bourgogne how is it possible? Gamay is not the number one cultivar in Burgundy; it is Pinot Noir. In this post, I will talk about the origin of Gamay and its fascinating history, its characteristics, and where you can find it in the world (and not only about Beaujolais).

Most wine-related books, blogs, websites, and wine experts will say that wine appears in the Caucasus region, in the actual Georgia. It is a nice story: the wine appears first in one place and then spreads across the world. But is this what happens? Artifacts were found in the Caucasus region (Today Armenia and Georgia) but, we don’t have any final proof of how and where the wine was first made and grapevine were domesticated.

The grape variety, known today as Malbec has a rich and strange history. It almost disappeared, several times, but always came back. On this page, I will tell you the story of Malbec. The origin of what we call, today, Malbec, is mysterious. It is the cross between an ancient red grape variety from Gaillac (south West of France), the Prunelard, and an almost extinct red grape variety recently identified (1992) in Britanny, near Saint Malot, and strangely called Magdelaine Noire des Charentes.

It is the fall (or autumn on this side of the Atlantic), the season of wine fairs and other wine-related events. Maybe you will buy an unknown bottle or a new vintage from a winemaker you know. But you may have one question that comes back often; can I age the fantastic wine I got from the last natural wine fair? If yes, how long? That is what I will explain here.

Words like Chardonnay, Gamay, Sauvignon Blanc, or Merlot seem to have a clear definition. These are the names of grape varieties, “Cépage” in French or “Vitigno” in Italian. Most people have the same idea about grape variety, similar to race in the animal kingdom, which shares the same properties worldwide and during the time. A Chardonnay is a Chardonnay, after all, they sold bottles of Chardonnay and Merlot, and it should be the same things.

If you are interested in wine, whether it is your hobby or profession or you want to pass the WSET or any other wine-related exams, you may need to read some books. But what kind of book? There are plenty of books about wine and winemaking. So I wanted to share with you some of the books I have. Wine Atlas If you study wine, you must have a wine atlas.

I wanted to share something different you may not find elsewhere: a journey on the Lot Valley in France and its wine. Most of the time, books will teach you about the South West region as if it were a single terroir. This is not the case. South West is a mosaic of terroirs, but some of them share something special. This is the case for the Lot Valley. The Lot River run from the Massif Central in the East to the Garonne River in the West.

There are some myths about sulfite in the wine culture so wrong that they must be busted. Sulfite makes you sick, gives you a hangover, and leaves you with a bad headache. Sulfite harms your health. Natural wine is, only, a sulfite-free wine. These are lies or half-true. I will try to show you why. What are sulfites? Not to be confused with sulfide, are several compounds with an ion sulfate V (often noted SO2-).

It is spring! Well, almost. With the rising temperature comes the desire to drink something lighter than red wine and fruitier than white wine, what about a rosé? But how to choose? Unlike red or white wines, rosé wine has some singularities, starting with the color, rosés come with a large palette of colors than any other wine, from grey to clear red. There are so many appellations and tastes. How to see things more clearly?