This blog began as a record of taking the WSET Diploma, during which I studied and explored wines and spirits made all around the world. Having passed the Diploma and become a WSET Certified Educator, the blog has become much more: a continual outlet for my passion for the culture of wine, spirits, and beer.
I aim to educate in an informal, enlightening, and engaging manner. As well as maintaining this blog to track my latest enthusiasms, I provide educational tastings for restaurants and for private groups. Details can be found on the website, and collaborations are welcome.
Wine is my primary interest and area of expertise and this blog aims to immerse the reader in the history of wine, to understand why wine tastes like it does, and to explore all the latest news. At the same time, beer and spirits will never be ignored.
For the drinker, whether casual or professional, today is a good time to be alive.
All tagged chardonnay
Muscadet is Melon, right? Well, yes—the four Muscadet appellations must be 100% Melon. But the Loire is full of experimental winemakers, so there are other grape varieties planted too though they have to be labelled under as IGP or Vin de France. A brief trip to Nantes saw me sample wines made from Grolleau, Gamay, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Savagnin, Pinot Gris, and Folle Blanche. This is a much more dynamic area than outside perceptions suggest.
Gouais Blanc is a little-planted white grape variety that in the past has been banned in France. It produces indeterminate, high-acid wines, but is indirectly responsible for some of the greatest wine in the world. Through natural crossings, it's the parent of Chardonnay, Aligoté, and Gamay in Burgundy/Beaujolais, as well as Riesling, Furmint, and Blaufränkisch. Without Gouais Blanc, wine as we know it wouldn't exist, nor would our understanding of DNA and grape genetics.
Meursault is a village in the heart of Côte de Beaune famous for producing rich, opulent wines. But things are changing as I found out at a tasting - the wines now are designed to be more expressive of the part of the village they come from.
There is an extraordinary number of appellations within Burgundy. Some of them are quite obscure and provide an opportunity to find good-value alternatives to more famous names.
