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.

November is a magical moment for natural wine lovers, wine festivals, glühwein, and of course Beaujolais Nouveau and other primeurs. You see, every year, on the third Thursday of November, we get the juiciest wine from the vineyards of Beaujolais, France. The wine is light, fruity, and juicy and it is a moment of celebration and fun. Now, if you’re in Amsterdam around this time (lucky you!), you’ll find some seriously cool events celebrating this young and vibrant wine.

Did you know, that the form of glass you are certainly using when tasting wine is very recent, it comes from the 70s. Every professional or amateur wine taster uses this style of glass. Restaurants, bars, and other places where wine is important use it too. This glass seems to be the ultimate tool when it comes to tasting wine. How can it be? How and why this simple glass form dominates the wine-tasting world.

This Autumn promises to be rich in natural wine event. Several events are already announced and November is the Beaujolais Nouveau and Primeur wines month. More updates soon. The Grape Escape Beaujolais Nouveau When: 16th November, 6PM Where: Hoston Hotel What to expect: Wine, Snack and DJ sets link Bojo Nouveau 2023 When: 16th November, 4PM Where: La Dilettante Amsterdam What to expect: Beaujolais Nouveau, Snack and DJ sets link

The Chenin Blanc variety is one of the top international grape varieties. From the Loire Valley in France, Chenin was adopted in many countries around the world with more than 35000 hectares planted in the world. Chenin is reputed to be difficult to work with, but it did not impair its popularity. Maybe because of Chenin’s ability to produce a large variety of wines, sparkling, dry wine, orange wine, and even sweet wine.