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?

Recently, someone asked me for some advice about taking some courses for WSET and I found myself disarmed. To be honest, I never paid attention to it before migrating to Amsterdam. With My formal education in biology, history, history, art, and finally enology, I didn’t feel the need to have a specific curriculum for wine. I’m France, where I come from, you can have a primary or professional education in wine at all levels, from vocational schools to universities.

I have written a few blog posts about the adverse effects of climate change on wine Production. From Champagne to Bordeaux, not to forget Bourgogne. Several adverse effects can impair conventional and natural wine production, drought, late frost, and limited availability of indigenous yeast. Some research papers suggest that the wine will change, with lower acidity and higher alcohol level. Some of these papers suggest that in some wine regions of the world, making wine could be economically challenging.

Bordeaux, the renowned French wine region, finds itself at a crossroads. Last year, 10 percent of the 110000 hectares of vineyard were doomed to uprooting. Many winemakers struggle to survive, and the prices of ordinary Bordeaux wines have plummeted. Shockingly, some supermarket shelves now display bottles priced at less than four euros—a disheartening reality when you consider that the bottle alone costs more than one euro. These economic woes have even sparked farmer protests in the region.

Have you ever detected the delicate scent of violets in a glass of red wine, the fragrant rose notes in a Gewürztraminer, or the hibiscus whispers from a Lambrusco? Perhaps you’ve even encountered the sweet orange blossom aroma in a Muscat. Those fragrances are a fascinating aspect of wine. Let’s explore the science behind these enchanting scents and learn how to interpret them. At the heart of floral aromas lies the grape variety itself.

If you’re passionate about natural wine, you’ve likely encountered various logos on wine bottles; “Agriculture Biologique" in France, “Bio Agri Cert” in Italy, and “Agro Bio” in Portugal, you may also notice the “Demeter” or “Biodyvin” logo on a bottle. These labels are the certification for organic and Biodynamic farming. Let’s delve into the differences between organic and biodynamic and the relations they have with natural wine. Organic farming is mainly a reaction to industrial farming that emerged between the two World Wars and expanded just after the Second War.

Four bottles of wine among five are bought in a supermarket. People choose their wine during their grocery shopping. They put one or two bottles between tomatoes and eggs. Only one bottle among five is bought in a wine shop, all kinds of wine shops, from “Gal en Gal” in the Netherlands or “Nicolas” in France, the UK, Belgium, and Germany to your local natural wine dealer. The place of Natural wine is very small in this market, so is it possible to find Natural Wine in your local supermarket?

When I started thinking about Muscadet for this blog post I found something amusing, There is truly fascinating is the unexpected connection between Amsterdam and the sun-kissed vineyards of Nantes, where Muscadet is made. During the 17th century, Dutch vessels from Amsterdam and elsewhere in Holland, traveled to the bustling port city of Nantes to bring back casts of the local wine. But here’s the twist: They do not really drink the wine, they had a different purpose in mind making brandy.