We know that the invention of wine occurred somewhere in what is now Georgia (the Eastern European country not the home of Coca-cola) and in Mesopotamia (around the actual territories of Iran and Iraq) around 2000 BC. Sparkling wine is far more recent. The first human looking to make wine or beer didn’t know anything about the science and technologies behind bubbles and carbon dioxide. For a long time beer and wine were still beverages.

Bourgogne wine region is the temple of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay with a little niche for the Aligoté variety. But no Gamay. However, Gamay was present in the region and Beaujolais, Lyon, and Loire Valley. Why can we not find Gamay in Bourgogne? Well today we can, some winemakers start to grow Gamay, and it can count about 20% of the grape in the region, but only since the creation of the AOC system in 1935.

Wine reduction is a common flaw that is often misjudged. It exists because of the presence of sulfur compounds. But is it always a fault or can it give some flavor and character to the wine? Before answering this question, we must understand reduction. Reduction is caused by volatile sulfur compounds originating from various sources during the fermentation process. It can cause a real fault, the wine will smell of rotten eggs or backwater, but it can also produce certain desired flavors, such as gunflint or citrus zest… The subject is indeed controversial.

I was listening to a YouTube channel, the one from Konstantin Baum Debunking WINE MYTHS from The Drops of God Apple TV Show about the TV Show “The Drops of God”, a fiction about wine based on a manga. Yes, I also learn there is a manga about wine. One episode was about a rare grape variety, the Lignage, from the Loire Valley, and only a few bottles are left, in a restaurant in Japan.

Sulphite is the oldest known wine additive. In almost every bottle you can have in Europe, you will notice the “contains sulphite” or equivalent sentence on the label. But what is sulphite, why is added during winemaking? And what about Natural wines? You may think that sulphite is a product of the industrial revolution, like artificial fertilizer and other chemicals. Wrong! sulphite is added to wine since the Roman Empire. It was one of the oldest additives in winemaking with water, honey, resin, and lead (fortunately the last one is not used anymore).

15 km away from the city of Lyons, between the Beaujolais and Côtes du Rhone appellations, you can find a small appellation called Coteaux du Lyonnais. With only 207 hectares, this AOC produces red wine and a few white and rosé and it is divided into a north part and a south part. Red wine is produced only with Gamay, white wines use Chardonnay, Aligoté, and rarely Pinot Blanc. The region is known for its wine production since the Gallo-Roman age.

When talking about the French vineyard, most people can talk about five to six wine regions: Bordeaux, Bourgogne, Loire, Alsace, and Rhône. Some may include other vineyards like Jura, Provence, or even Savoy. But rarely the Sud Ouest Region is mentioned, some may have heard about Cahors, Gaillac, or Monbazillac, but the region is mainly unknown. Here in Amsterdam, finding any bottle from there is difficult. But this area has a very rich historical wine tradition and a rich terroir.

Not so long ago, natural wines from Jura were easy to find and most often affordable. You could effortlessly locate a bottle of your favorite winegrower in a cave and enjoy it with friends like any other wine. Today, it has become a luxury if only you can find one. Today, however, it has become a luxury to find such wines, primarily due to Jura’s growing popularity among wine enthusiasts. You can find videos on YouTube featuring wine experts and sommeliers praising the quality of these wines.

Since 2011, on the 17th of April of each year, people celebrate the Malbec grape variety around the world. The “Vino Argentino Bebida Naciona” (Argentina Wine) organization makes April 17 the Malbec World Day. So let’s take a few minutes to explore Malbec, which almost disappeared and was renewed and its history in the world. Malbec grapes produce medium-sized with dark blue-black color berries. The grape clusters are relatively loose. It is part of the “cotoide” grape family.

The phylloxera appears in Europe during the second part of the 19th century and destroy a major part of the European vineyard. The first apparition of what we call natural wine dates back to the sixties. At first, these two elements seem unrelated, but they are more related than you can think. Let’s talk about vine anatomy to start, a vine plant is composed of a wooden part, the stump, the roots, and an aerial vegetal part.