The sensory evaluation of the wine could be divided into 3 parts, the color and the clarity of the wine, the aroma and finally the taste itself. The first one uses our sight, the second use our capacity to identify volatile compounds, and the last one identifies the mechanical action of the non-volatile constituents of wine. In this post, I will talk about the last one, sensation that wine give you when it comes to your mouth.

Wine faults are a very complex and multidimensional matter. There are different wine faults, and different ways to talk about them. And not all wine faults are created equals. Some are very distinctive, and some are more subtle and only experienced noses could detect them. But there is more, some faults can become part of the personality of a wine or a terroir or can ruin a wine. Because there is always a threshold.

On the 8th of December 2023, a tiny revolution will appear in the wine world. At least in Europe, well the European Union. The European Union decided to review what should be put on the label of a bottle of wine. There are some rules already in place for what you can put or not on the Label. The name on the label should not mislead a consumer or usurp a protected appellation.

Strangely enough, yes, wine is produced in Paris. The production yields fewer than 2000 bottles per year. The most know vineyard is situated in Montmartre, behind the Montmartre Museum, other vineyards are located in Belleville, in Bercy, in the XVIII arrondissement, and a secret one near Les Buttes Chaumont. The wine is confidential and often made with Pinot Noir, Gamays, Pinot Menier, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay, though other varieties can also be included.

Recently, I was talking to some people about how you can divide French wine regions. Various approaches can be employed to elucidate the organization of wine regions in present-day France. Excluding Brittany, Normandy, and the Nord regions from France’s viticultural map, vineyards are spread throughout the rest of the country. With nearly 400 distinct appellations, where can we begin? ok there are some vineyards in Brittany and also an IGP appellation for wine from Calvados.

Last summer, I was in Bordeaux, exactly in the Côtes de Bourg vineyard. I remember the intense heat and the blazing sun, not the typical summer weather I use to enjoy in the past. While it’s important not to conflate isolated extreme weather events with broader climate patterns., but there is one reality climate change is real, and it will have consequences in the wine world. Let’s take a look at some of them and also at how winegrowers and winemaker can adapt their practices to the changing climate.

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.