A new 600L demi-muid from Franz Stockinger will cost around 3000€ – a substantial investment for a grower to make bearing in mind that 5 years later its resale value will only be 500€.
Investing in new oak barrels is a serious business.
Growers here in the Loire tend to only put a small percentage of their wines into new oak as wines from here tend to be medium bodied and too much new oak can dominate the wines.
Last night I made roasted butternut squash and sticky chicken thighs with a white miso, brown sugar, black vinegar & sesame oil sauce.
Sadly I have to report that after an extraordinarily difficult year in 2016 due to frost, the Loire has yet again been hit hard in 2017.
This week has seen high temperatures again here in the Loire valley (and all over Europe).
French people are very secretive about mushrooms. They don’t let on where you can find them in case you go and pinch them yourselves.
Did you know that freshly grated coconut freezes brilliantly? I’ve had a bag lurking in the back of the freezer for ages.
Walk into any cellar in the Loire valley during harvest time and the chances are you’ll see wooden barrels with lots of chalk scribbles on the side.
