Join us in this captivating episode as we venture into the heart of Penedés, Spain, a region renowned for its contribution to the world of sparkling wine, particularly Cava. Our special guest, Pepe Raventós, scion of the esteemed Raventós family, takes us on a journey through the picturesque vineyards that have been integral to the family's legacy in winemaking. Family Heritage: - Pepe shares insights into the rich history of the Raventós family and their longstanding connection with the...

Entering the world of wine as a career path can be as challenging as it is rewarding. It's a realm where passion meets precision, where tasting, talking, and writing about wine is not just a job but a lifelong journey. To shed light on this fascinating but demanding field, we recently had the privilege of hosting a guest who knows the wine industry inside out a prestigious wine magazine editor from Decanter Amy Wislocki. Her insights are invaluable for those seeking a path in the world of...

The #huntervalley Zone is around 200km north of #Sydney. It contains one o Australia’s oldest, simply called Hunter which, with plantings exceeding 2,300 ha, covers a slightly smaller area than the Hunter Valley Zone but the region is also often split, unofficially, into Lower Hunter and Upper Hunter. Lower Hunter is closer to the coast and benefits from some sea breezes, which means it is slightly cooler than the Upper Hunter. The landscape is made up of undulating hills at relatively low...

An underdiscussed and under-appreciated part of the wine journey from the cellar to the end consumer is its storage which often is the cause of wines mature too quickly, losing freshness and downright oxidise. Storing wines in ideal conditions of 12 to 13 degrees with high levels of humidity constant year-round for a long time is not as easy as it may seem, Octavian Wine Services has done just that for the past 30 years. Logistically fine wine storing comes with more difficulties than one...

What are the many wine flavours found in the various wine aromas wheels with descriptions such as strawberries, apple and vanilla? So, when you smell wine, the alcohol volatilises and carries these lighter-than-air aroma compounds into your nose. Each wine can contain hundreds of different aroma compounds and each compound can affect the flavour of a wine. From a chemical perspective, flavours are the manifestation of compounds that are released at different stages during the wine life cycle....

For more than 350 years, the cultures of Africa, Europe and the East have mingled in Cape Town, the gateway to the South African Winelands, a city rich in colourful history and culturally vibrant. It was here that Nelson Mandela, in 1990, took his historic walk to freedom. Today South Africa, a country of enormous diversity, is a peaceful democracy, home to the 'rainbow nation' From the very beginning, nearly 400 years ago, winemaking in South Africa has been on a zigzag course, pulled one...

Skin contact, maceration pelliculaire in french, winemaking operation with the aim of extracting flavour compounds, flavor precursors, and anthocyanins from grape skins into grape juice or wine partly inspired by the likes of gravner in friuli, and traditional winemaking techniques in georgi , winemakers have been experimenting with fermentation and ageing in modern copies of amphorae, made from clay or, occasionally, concrete the term ‘orange wine’ was credited to david harvey of uk wine...

In the second episode dedicated to Cotes du Rhone’s, we explore the sustainability program and the research that is taking place, other geeky episode just what we like! Inter Rhône has three main missions: economic support, promotion of the appellations, and technical support. The latter is embodied by the ‘Institut Rhodanien’, where all our Research & Development is being carried I spoke to Julie Coutton, Intern Rhone, public relations manager to discover what research is taking place...

In this episode, I spoke to Matt Walls author of the book The wines of Rhone about the Southern Rhone with a focus on the Cote du Rhone. To best understand the appellation system is a pyramid with three distinctive stages for the Cotes du Rhone - Cote du Rhone, Cote Du Rhone Village, cotes du Rhone Named village and then the Cru see picture here: https://boutinot-rhone.com/news?start=18 With Matt we talked about how to best understand the terroirs of the Southern Rhone, as there are so many...

Alentejo the largest wine region of Portugal, is also one of the hottest wine region in the world with many sumer days above 40 degrees and is also one of the at most risk to climate change. The region has long known about this risks and formed an association dedicated to its sustanabily and future proofing called Wines of Alentejo Sustainability Programme (WASP) The nine members of the Wines of Alentejo Sustainability Programme (WASP) that have received their sustainable production...

Brettanomyces, also known as Brett, is a yeast that imparts plastic or animal aromas, such as sticking plasters, smoke, leather, or sweaty horses, to wine. To put it differently, Brettanomyces could cause spoilage in wines via the production of volatile phenol compounds. At first glance, these characters may seem unpleasant. However, many wine enthusiasts enjoy them and do not consider low levels of Brett in wine a fault. Brettanomyces belongs to a family of nine different naturally...

Welcome to the first episode of the 3rd season of the Looking Into Wine podcast! Timorasso? What is that you might ask? Timorasso is a white Italian wine grape variety grown primarily in the Piedmont wine region of northwest Italy. There it is used to make aromatic wine with some ageing potential On the palate, Timorasso is known for an exceptional balance of mouthwatering acidity and characteristically high alcohol. Classically, it’s a wine with no rough edges. One that coats the mouth...

We Coming back on the 19th of September on monthly basis and many great guests to joining us.

With the rise in popularity of Rose Wines especially those of the province region, A multitude of look-alike rose' have found their way into the markets, from wineries chasing the sales and to the wine region in which rose' have been traditionally made the style has shifted to mimic this of the Provance. With my guest today Elizabeth Gabay MW we are exploring the effects of the rose sales growth and production and what controversiality she is seeing in the market. From the standardization...

Pignolo is promising red grape variety native to the friuli region of northeast Italy, probably first cultivated in the hills of Rosazzo in the colli orientali. Pignolo is a very shy bearer and it was generally ignored by local growers who preferred other, more productive grape varieties until, like schioppettino, it was given a new lease of life by a EU decree of 1978 authorizing its use in the province of Udine. Total plantings of Pignolo Nero were only 93 ha/230 acres according to the 2010...

Loved by wine critics but a stranger to broad commercial appeal, Riesling is a light-skinned, aromatic grape of German origin which is also responsible for some of Germany's greatest, and longest-lived, wines. Riesling is made in a range of styles but generally produces crystalline, aromatic white wines with notes of citrus, wax and lanolin, with a light to medium body and plenty of fresh acidity. Although widely associated with the wines of the Mosel and Alsace, Riesling is planted all over...

Chablis has been one of the hardest wine regions to learn for me while studying for the WSET Diploma, in the blind tasting is my Achilles heel I never get it right! Well following my ideas of covering regions and topics that I found fascinating and hard while studying, this episode was bound to happen! Chablis is the name of a town and an appellation that lies in the valley of the River Serein in the northern-most part of Burgundy. 110 kilometres northwest of Dijon, it has a slightly...

The final episode on English wines is out now! We went to Kent to Visit Simpsons! https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/wines-of-kent-with-simpson-wine-estate-english-wine/id1525851408?i=1000557684410 Kent is a county in southeast England and one of the leading areas for wine production in the UK. A range of still wines is made, predominantly whites from cool-climate German-developed crossings such as Ortega and Bacchus. However, as is the case for other parts of southern England, the...

Sussex is classified as having a maritime climate and is one of the sunniest and warmest areas in England. Rainfall per annum is typically in the 650 to 850 range (25.5 to 33.5 inches). Projections regarding climate change have prompted optimistic suggestions that Sussex and neighboring areas may in a couple of decades supplant the ever-warming Champagne region as the world center of sparkling wine. Nevertheless, the climate throughout the south of England, remains marginal for still wine...

The third episode of the English mini-series on English wines explores Cornwall with Sam Lindo of Camel Valley Estate. https://www.camelvalley.com/?msclkid=b4bf09daa60a11eca885d38a7ebd41e9 A brief history ex-RAF pilot Bob Lindo and his wife Annie planted their first eight thousand vines in 1989, they never dreamed of the phenomenal success they would achieve within 2 decades. They had bought their farm in the heart of the Cornish countryside several years earlier. The second generation,...

In the second episode of the English Mini-series, we explore Hampshire and the English viticulture with Nick Crombie, head Viticulturalist of Hambledon Vineyards. Hambledon Vineyard is England's oldest commercial vineyard which was planted by Major General Sir Guy Salisbury-Jones in 1952. In the present day, current owner Ian Kellett has a meticulous, scientific approach to wine production and has researched his vineyards to understand their micro and macroclimate. The wines are made...

Great Britain is a premium wine-producing region, with around 650 vineyards in England and Wales covering some 2,750 hectares and producing sparkling and still wines. English and Welsh's wines have won many prestigious awards recently and Stephen Skelton is one of the leading authorities on the wines of the UK who has been working in those vineyards for over 30 years! The wines of Great Britain is a comprehensive survey of the history of UK wines, as well as of the current state of the wine...

English wine is growing in popularity and is increasingly recognised as a premium wine-producing region, The most popular grapes varieties grown in English vineyards are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Bacchus, as well as Pinot Meunier, Syval Blanc and Ortega. According to WineGB, some 3,500ha of vineyards are now rooted in UK soils, with 690ha added in 2019 and the number is growing year by year. One of the two principal reasons for this astonishing turnaround has been the switch in English wine...

We are starting the second part of season two by speaking about something that I wish was available while I was doing my advanced studies in Capstone California. California Wine Institute is offering VIP Access to level the one: ttps://tinyurl.com/CWIUKVIP Leave a comment or review to let us know if you enjoy it! Capstone California is the new website, developed by California Wines under the auspices of Wine Institute, is an up-to-date information resource on California wine with...