Tagged with "wine education"

Vines in the region are weeping as they come out of dormancy. Baby vines are already at the wooly bud stage but more established and older vines are not.

It seems pertinent, having moved to a small village that falls within the geographical boundaries of the Vouvray appellation, to have a closer look.

It’s a while since we caught up with Jean-Francois Mérieau. We’re big fans of his wines and are really excited he’s now only half an hour away from us.

The Chateau de Nazelles is a wonderful 16th century manor set amongst beautiful tranquil gardens, perched on the limestone hillside in the countryside.

Things are really taking shape here at le tasting room in the Loire valley. Our new home is semi-troglodytic (partially built into the rock face).

You’ll often see the word ‘clos’ mentioned on a wine label. A clos is a walled vineyard or a vineyard that used to be enclosed by walls (not always still standing).

You might think that not much goes on in the vineyard in December but in fact it can often be a busy month. There are lots of tasks that need to be tackled.

Think of something between a baked or roasted potato, crispy on top yet soft in the middle and oozing buttery juices. This is the Hasselback potato.

Like most people, we tend to spend a bit more on wine at Christmas. So is it important to take vintage into account when buying your wines for the festive season?

Smoked salmon is something that always makes an appearance on our table over the festive period. Here are a few wine pairing ideas for you.

Off-beat to say the least. Jean-François Merieau’s Tu le Boa is an extraordinary wine. In 2000 he made just 1500 bottles from tiny yields (around 20hl/ha) of Sauvignon Blanc.

The biodynamic approach to growing grapes includes burying cows’ horns in the winter and digging them up again in the spring. What’s that all about?