The Loire Valley Wine Bureau is hosting an all out Muscadet Month in the city of Seattle. Muscadet, originates from the city of Nantes in the West Coast of the Loire Valley, which has a lot in common with its sister city of Seattle. Both are coastal and known for their shellfish. It only seems fitting to bring the Loire Valley “oyster wine” over to Seattle to match with the bountiful offerings of its local oyster farms. Muscadet is an undisputed perfect pairing for oysters, and will be the feature at 18 Seattle area restaurants from September 15th to October 15th. Continue Reading »
The Languedoc AOC* of Southern France has a new classification system designating wines as “Grands Crus du Languedoc” and “Grands Vins du Languedoc”, utilizing already established regions. It was recently confirmed by the Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins du Languedoc (CIVL). Continue Reading »
Rick Bakas and St. Supery Winery are hosting another installment of their virtual tasting series on September 2nd. The idea behind #Cabernet Day is that anyone, anywhere in the world, can contribute to the conversation simply by including the hashtag #Cabernet in their posts on Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, Gowalla, personal blogs, and all other forms of social media. People are encouraged to drink Cabernet the day of, and engage others doing the same with conversation, tasting notes, and suggestions. Continue Reading »
The wine world – particularly in Europe – has been hit hard by the painful blows struck to the international economy. Producers and sellers have had to deal with increased competition, changes in consumer behavior and deleterious farming factors caused by global warming. As a result, France is overhauling several regulations governing its wine production.
Some of the revisions can be seen as a positive step toward updating the country’s rigid and slightly antiquated rules. For example, in 2009, vin de table wines – the bastard bottlings sitting at the bottom of the French viticultural totem pole – were granted permission to list both vintage and grape variety on their labels. Continue Reading »
