Franco Lourens is assistant winemaker with Chris Alheit, and also makes his own wines in the Alheit cellar in Hemel-en-Aarde. I tasted through the latest releases of the Lourens Family…
In Beaujolais: the elegant wines of Domaine David Chapel
David Chapel has a restaurant background, having worked as a sommelier. His father (Alain Chapel) owned a restaurant that had the full complement of three Michelin stars. David also spent…
Visiting the spectacular Ribeira Sacra region with Envinate
Envinate began with four friends, who met studying wine at university, near Alicante. They decided to form a wine company together, and are now making some of Spain’s most exciting…
Valdespino Manzanilla Deliciosa En Rama 2018 bottling
This is the 2018 bottling of the Valdespino single vineyard Manzanilla Deliciosa En Rama. It’s from six casks of the Manzanilla Deliciosa Solera, which comes from the Pago de Miraflores vineyard…
In the Okanagan: the impressive 50th Parallel Estate Winery
When we arrived at 50 Parallel, owners Curtis Krouzel and Sheri-Lee Turner-Krouzel were waiting for us. They look like rock stars, and they have built an incredible winery in the…
What makes for a healthy, dynamic wine region?
I’m just preparing for a seminar on The New Faces of Beaujolais, and it has got me thinking about what it makes to create a healthy, dynamic wine region? As…
Pictures from Ribeira Sacra, Spain: one of the most spectacular wine regions of all
I’m just back from a short trip to Galicia, northwest Spain. One of the regions I visited was Ribeira Sacra, which is one of the most spectacular regions I’ve visited…
Gamay 39, Jean-Marc Burgaud Les Vignes de Thulon 2016
Latest in the Gamay series: it’s a relatively inexpensive but delicious Beaujolais Villages from Burgaud, a producer I really like. He tends to make quite dense, burly expressions of Gamay,…
Okanagan: Culmina Family Estate Winery
Donald Triggs has been an important figure in the Canadian wine industry. A businessman with international experience, he partnered with Alan Jackson to form Niagara-based winery Jackson-Triggs in the early…