We can all agree that rosé is ideal for warm weather, and we can probably also agree that climate change is leading to a bit too much warm weather. And that does not necessary lead to more rosé, since the…
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Posted on 2022.06.24 in Sancerre, Gigondas, Tavel, Côte-de-Provence, Côtes-du-Rhône, Rosé de Loire, Anjou, France, Wine-Aid Packages, Loire, Provence, Southern Rhone  | Read more...
‘More bang for the buck’ or ‘more bounce to the ounce’? —choose your idiom and see how well it applies in Southern Rhône. Two factors contribute to the ocean of wild, hedonistic and affordable wines from the ground floor of…
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Posted on 2022.05.26 in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, Tavel, Rasteau, Vacqueyras, Lirac, Cairanne, France, Wine-Aid Packages, Southern Rhone  | Read more...
Like a great character actor in film—the bit player you recognize but can’t name—Grenache is everywhere and nowhere at once; it makes an appearance, leaves an indelible impression, then moves on. Grenache is the Paul Giamatti of grapes. A vigorous…
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Posted on 2022.05.23 in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, France, Wine-Aid Packages, Southern Rhone  | Read more...
A Membership Subscription to ‘The Champagne Society’ Gift Lily Bollinger once said, “I only drink champagne when I’m happy and when I’m sad. Sometimes I drink it when I’m alone. When I have company, I consider it obligatory; I…
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Posted on 2022.02.02 in Pauillac, Moulin-à-Vent, Sancerre, Saumur-Champigny, Côte Chalonnaise, Rully, Givry, France, Bordeaux, Beaujolais, Penedes, Burgundy, Champagne, Wine-Aid Packages, Rioja DOC, Loire, Southern Rhone, Navarra, Ribeiro  | Read more...
Wine is evolution. The flavors behind that simple metaphor are as vast as any spectrum; it can be seen in grape vines aging gracefully, producing fruit that is increasingly concentrated and complex—it is obvious when a vigneron hones the craft…
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Posted on 2021.10.16 in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, France, Wine-Aid Packages, Southern Rhone  | Read more...
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...
Lieux-dits are a wine lover’s Google Earth; a satellite view of an appellation focused on a tiny, representative parcel. Not all vineyards have lieux-dits, and among those that do, not all are created equal. In general, it’s a term that…
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Posted on 2021.08.15 in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, France, Wine-Aid Packages, Southern Rhone  | Read more...
Tastes in wine run hot and cold and so do the climates that produce them. Nearly every commercial vine on earth is grown between 30° – 50° latitude (both north and south), but that range offers an almost endless array…
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Posted on 2021.07.02 in France, Wine-Aid Packages, Languedoc-Roussillon, Loire, Provence  | Read more...
Many a storied French château can trace their origins to the Romans—far fewer can boast a heritage dating back to the Greeks. But Marseilles—founded in the Sixth Century BCE as Massalia—is a scant seventy miles south of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and it…
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Posted on 2021.04.29 in France, Wine-Aid Packages, Southern Rhone  | Read more...
Charming Provence. Between olive groves and pine forests the rocky landscape is wild with the fragrant garrigue that marks its wines. This picturesque southern French region on the Côte d’Azur is famous for its rosé, but with a little bit…
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Posted on 2021.03.14 in France, Saturday Sips Review Club, Provence  | Read more...