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Vincent et Marie Tricot: a new find in the Auvergne
The problem about wine fairs is that there's just too much to take in. Even at a small fête du vin like the one we went to at the weekend at Chassignolles in the AuvergneMy normal rule is to try a...
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Thierry Germain of Domaine des Roches Neuves: taking his wines to new heights
It was pouring the day we visited Thierry Germain of Domaine des Roches Neuves in the Loire the week before last. Absolutely tipping down. And it was a leaf day so the fact his wines tasted so great...
View ArticleWhy Noma serves natural wine
As if natural wine needed a boost right now along comes this interview on eater.com with Noma's wine director Pontus Elofsson on why Noma has turned its back on Bordeaux and is serving natural wines,...
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How do natural wines last so long once you open them?
Last night we got back to France and shared the remains of a bottle of Mas Coutelou’s Le Vin Des Amis 2011* we’d left in the fridge a week before. It was delicious - as good as the night we’d opened...
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Fête du Vin, Chassignolles - small but perfect
There was music. There was dancing. There were three days of feasting - and of course there was wine - litres of it! The tiny fête du vin the the Auvergne village of Chassignolles two weekends agom...
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L'Ami Chenin: a good place to stay in the Loire
Here’s another good place to stay if you’re a natural wine fan - L’Ami Chenin in Saumur which we - or more accurately - my diligent researcher of a husband - chose because it was just down the road...
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Le Raisin et L'Ange, Fable 2009
This is exactly the sort of red I like to drink in summer - well, to tell the truth most times of the year.We ordered it on our way back from France when we stopped another night at the Auberge de...
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What on earth are enzymes?
Certain aspects of winemaking - yeasts, oak-ageing, filtration and fining are pretty clear but what about the use of enzymes? Even the comprehensive Authentic Wine by Jamie Goode and Sam Harrop only...
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Wine Naturally is back!
You might well have wondered if I’d given up on natural wine since it’s been a year since I last posted. The answer is no - I’ve quietly carried on drinking it, every so often thinking I must write...
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A grape called Humagne
This blog is not just about the hardcore 'natural' wine world, it's about the esoteric byways of wine drinking and you won't stray much further off the beaten track than this wine I was sent by Swiss...
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Could the Bergstrom fire have been caused by biodynamic treatments?
I was gutted to read about the fire at one of my favourite Oregon wineries, Bergström, that destroyed much of Josh Bergstrom's equipment and personal wine collection. It's good to know the local...
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Is Sager & Wilde set to be London's hippest wine bar?
Given the high profile casualties (Artisan & Vine and Green & Blue) that have befallen the London natural wine scene over the past couple of years it's not surprising the city's newest wine...
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Le Rouge et Le Blanc natural wine magazine
One from Trevor*: "If you haven't come across it before the quarterly wine magazine "Le Rouge et le Blanc" is an invaluable resource. (Unfortunately only published in French!).It's been going for 30...
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Terroir wine bar, San Francisco
Read any list of the world’s best natural wine bars and Terroir in San Francisco is sure to be included so I was determined to take it in on my 2 day visit to the city the week before last.To anyone...
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Bordeaux top for pesticide use in Que Choisir survey
Photo © lightpoet - Fotolia.comIn case you missed it there was an interesting - and rather alarming - report last week from the French consumer group Que Choisir. It tested 92 bottles of wine and found...
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Our last bottle of Stephane Cossais Le Volagré
Trevor pays tribute to one of his favourite winemakers."We said goodbye to an old friend last night. We drank our last bottle of the stellar chenin "Le Volagré" 2006. We had friends over for supper...
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Olivier Cousin must wait till March to learn his fate
Photo by Jim BuddThose who follow this blog probably already know this news but the decision on Olivier Cousin's high profile case has been put back until March 5th next year.If you remember Cousin was...
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Two natural wines from Fattoria La Vialla
It's been interesting to watch the progression in winemaking at Fattoria La Vialla, an organic Tuscan estate I visited four years ago.I went to cover the olive oil harvest but found they produced a...
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Plateau: a great natural wine bar in Brighton
“I look every week at your blog to see if it has been updated” said Thierry Pluquet mournfully. “It never is. ”How could I not respond to such a heartfelt rebuke? You always reckon it doesn’t matter...
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Are women more tolerant of natural wine?
I’m not sure what’s in the air but there’s been a lot of impassioned debate about natural wine this week - both pro and anti.Natural wine advocate Isabelle Legeron referred to it in the Guardian as...
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