Sparkling Wine News
Franciacorta: Harvest Begins and the Grapes Shake off Bad Weather
Vice-president Silvano Brescianini: “A challenging growing year, but one with great promise. Sugar and acidity levels are outstanding, the basis for a vintage of great finesse and longevity. Erbusco (BS), 11 August 2014 – The harvest began today in Franciacorta, with the first clusters Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Bianco coming in to the cellars…
Boutique tour & tasting at Tinwood Estate
I’m endlessly fascinated, not just by the stories of wine production, but of how people came to be in the business of making wine in England & Wales. We hear quite often about people making money in other fields, like medicine or IT, the City or Formula 1 which enables them to make their dream of owning a vineyard…
Boutique tour & tasting at Tinwood Estate
I’m endlessly fascinated, not just by the stories of wine production, but of how people came to be in the business of making wine in England & Wales. We hear quite often about people making money in other fields, like medicine or IT, the City or Formula 1 which enables them to make their dream of owning a vineyard…
Prosecco Today…and a Special Prosecco
The first time that I can remember drinking Prosecco was in Tuscany, over 25 years ago. It was a warm summer afternoon, and we had lunch at an elegant restaurant. First we were escorted to the restaurant’s terrace, and amidst the chirping birds, without our asking, we were served a chilled Prosecco. Needless to say–being…
Poquito Moscato
Summer, 2014 — Guy Anderson Wines has launched Poquito Moscato, targeting independents and on-trade customers in particular. With its distinctive retro-style label on a 375ml fizz bottle and a colourful crown cap, the brand is something a little different. Off to a flying start in export markets, Poquito is destined to make a splash in…
Vallformosa: An Exciting Brut Cava
Spanish wine producers have been watching the amazing success of Italian Proseccos in the U.S., and are taking action to get a piece of the sparkllng wine pie in this country. Previously unimported Cavas are now showing up in the U.S. market. I am delighted by the increasing number of Spanish Cavas that are now…
Prosecco… “what a mess, is it because I love you?”
In the 80s, there was an Italian band that sang “Che confusione, Sarà perché ti amo” (What a mess, is it because I love you?). You can rarely find a song’s title so perfectly close to the wine world. It’s been a while since we’ve been thinking about expressing ourselves and telling the world what we…
Codorníu, Queen of the Cavas
In 1872, Josep Raventós of the Codorníu Raventós family from Catalonia made Spain’s first bottle of sparkling wine using the traditional method (second fermentation taking place in the bottle). Today these wines are known world-wide as Cavas. The Codorníu company, the oldest family-owned business in Spain, itself dates back to 1551, when Jaume Codorníu planted…
Why Prosecco DOC is not a good business for small producers
This morning I came across another article that writes about the Prosecco’s success story. To be honest I am a bit tired of all these articles because they all show big nice positive numbers, but none tells the story from the producers’ point of view, who actually struggle to make it. No one writes about…