Loire Reds Like it Hot: Cabernet-Franc in Touraine Benefits from Climate Change, Producing Lusty, Bold-Flavored Wines. A Baker’s Dozen for $397.

Grape vines are the canary in the coal mine. Particularly sensitive to temperature and rainfall flux—hence the clichéd ‘good vintage’ vs. ‘poor vintage’—vines are among the most effective agricultural tools we have to gauge the effect that climate change is…

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Posted on 2024.08.08 in Chinon, Touraine, Bourgueil, Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, France, Wine-Aid Packages  |  Read more...

The French Climate Divide: 2023 Rosés Show The Difference Between Warm-Climate (Mediterranean) and Cool-Climate (Oceanic) Fruit. Ten Types, Spanning the Two, by Seventeen Producers. A Dozen Rosés $349 – A Holiday Sampler.

Two things that France and the United States share: A red, white and blue flag and a passion for rosé. So, while we’re celebrating both on the Fourth of July, we’ll take the opportunity to offer a springboard to this…

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Posted on 2024.07.05 in Chinon, Sancerre, Côte-de-Provence, Côtes-du-Rhône, Rosé de Loire, Anjou, cassis, Bandol, Menetou-Salon, Santenay, France, Beaujolais, Wine-Aid Packages, Loire, Southern Rhone  |  Read more...

Lure Of The Loire II: A Wide Range Of Red Varieties, Soils And Microclimates Allow For A Diversity Of Wines And Styles By Upstart Generation

The media engine behind French wine seems driven primarily by two wheels—Burgundy and Bordeaux—while the Loire is often relegated to third-wheel status. And it’s not from want of praise: The vivid, crisp, hauntingly aromatic and almost supernaturally focused wines of…

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Posted on 2024.02.02 in Saumur-Champigny, Touraine, Anjou, Chinon, France, Wine-Aid Packages, Loire  |  Read more...

A Dozen Rosés: The French Climate Divide: Northern (Oceanic) vs. Southern (Mediterranean) in Six Types by Six Producers (12-Bottle Pack $246, Tax Included)

With apologies to Mr. Shakespeare, a rosé by any other name would probably be sweeter. The fortunes of pink wine have risen and fallen with consumer tastes, especially in the United States, where rosé has endured a shunning for being…

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Posted on 2021.08.20 in Chinon, France, Bordeaux, Beaujolais, Wine-Aid Packages, Loire, Provence, Southern Rhone  |  Read more...