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.

It is easy to think that it’s soil that gives the aroma to the wine. After all, if you look at the Bourgogne and Alsace regions, the different tastes of Pinot Noir lust come from something and this something must be the difference in the soil. If this idea is interesting, it is also mostly wrong. If you look at the Bourgogne crues, many of them have different soil types, limestone and clay on one side, granite and Silex on the other.

Strange question, no? However, with climate change, average temperatures will rise from 2°C to 4°C. I already made a post about climate change and the consequences for wine production see here. But recently, I read a paper about climate change in some major wine regions including Champagne, Diversity buffers winegrowing regions from climate change losses and I wanted to share a summary of this paper and my opinion about it.

Should we trust medals and other competition rankings wine present on labels? The shortest answer is no! but you deserve some explanations. If you buy your bottle of wine in a supermarket or traditional wine shop, you have seen this medal, “Medaille d’Or au Concours X” or “Gold Medal wine awards”. This type of medal is everywhere around the world, not only a French thing. How a wine can get this kind of medal?

Beaujolais is one of the most internationally known wine regions in France. After Champagne, Beaujolais is the second most known wine region. Each year we celebrate its primeur. Bottles are available across the world. But do you know the Beaujolais? It has a great terroir and a rich history and it is the birthplace of the modern natural wine movement. The geography and geology of the region The Beaujolais region is located at the east of the massif central mountains, between the city of Lyon in the south to the city of Macon in the north and limited in the east by the Saône river.

In traditional or analytical wine tasting, people think that the nose is the main organ used during the process. It is partly true that, the nose plays a great role during the tasting, the first and the second nose followed by the retro olfaction when the wine is in the mouth. But our eyes can give us a lot of information about the wine that we are about to drink.

You know the gesture, the sommelier looks at their glass, leans it, notes the color and clarity, sniffs the wine, one time, swirls the glass, and sniffs again, finally, the taster puts some wine in his or her mouth and inelegantly stir the liquid in the oral cavity. Seem familiar? This is the way most people taste or try to taste wine. Describing the color, aroma, and the taste of the wine.