A Swedish student in wine gives her impressions of France.

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A fruity little number from Les Vignerons de la Cave de Fabrezan, in Aude. This wine rings all the right bells, with well defined depth of flavour. Excellent deep notes of dark red berries and a warm spicy glow. This is followed by a cooked wild cherry high note. An excellent wine and fantastic value at just under 6€ a bottle.
This is a medium to full bodied wine best suited to rich foods and would go well with chocolate desserts!

This wine won a Bronze medal at the Concours General Agricole Paris 2006

© Richard Randall

Wine Around the Web:

• http://thepour.blogs.nytimes.com/
• http://www.vinography.com/
• http://www.drvino.com/
• http://www.graperadio.com/
• http://www.goodgrape.com/
• http://www.spittoon.biz/
• http://winecast.net/

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Wineries of Wisconsin and Minnesota

Product Description

Wine. The word calls to mind vineyards descending stark Spanish hills, vats lining Tuscan villages, fashionable singles crowding California tasting rooms. But anyone who hikes or bikes back roads in the Upper Midwest sees grapevines twining over fence posts and twisting up trees. Smooth, delicious wines are made from those grapes, and from the wild berries and cultivated fruits grown in the region. Wineries of Wisconsin and Minnesota is a user-friendly guide to fifty-five wineries, ranging from small family-farm operations to the largest, best-known wine producers. The book’s centerpiece is a series of thirteen “wine trails” that paints a picture of each winery’s setting and unique flavor and includes detailed information and maps for visiting the wineries. Author and wine expert Patricia Monaghan explores the colorful history of Wisconsin and Minnesota wines, including the geology and climate of the region; the history of Upper Midwest grape growing; the heritage of country wines; and the major wine regions in the area. Delightful sidebars feature tidbits of wine information, from recommended pairings of food and wine to unusual local wine lore.

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Organic practices are important, but they’re just one small part of sustainable practices. Learn more about sustainability with Michael Honig, the passionate president of Honig Vineyard and Winery in Napa Valley.

Honig Vineyard on the Net:

• http://firstcrush.wordpress.com
• http://www.ecospace.cc/
• http://www.winecountrygetaways.com
• http://caveatemptyer.blogspot.com

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A nice cheap table wine (Vin de Pays d’Oc) from Skalli Family Wines/ Couleurs du Sud. At a bargain basement price of 2.40€ a bottle, it is cheaper then most soft drinks/sodas. Given its price you would expect something on the rough side of vinegar, but you would be pleasantly surprised. It is a very drinkable wine, with a good balance of rich ripe red fruits, with a back tannin note. Given its price and good flavours I had planned on using some of it to make a red wine sauce, but the idea vanished, when the wine vanished!!!!
All in all,this is an excellent value wine and well worth buy a few bottle for every day drinking.

© The Wine Connoisseur

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At Shafer Vineyards, it takes a team to make one of Napa Valley’s top Cabs. The team, which balances hard work with fun and learning, includes CEO John Shafer, president Doug Shafer (his son) and winemaker Elias Fernandez.

Shafer Vineyards on the Net:

• http://tastecincinnati-food.blogspot.com
• http://staynlearnmore.blogspot.com
• http://foodandwineblog.com

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Moulin de Breuil is located in Montesquieu des Albères at the foot of the Pyrenees mountains.
The wines got a good even balance of ripe woodland fruits, with just the right tannin levels to take of the background sweetness of the wine. It is a nice fresh light bodied wine. It seems to hold its flavour well, even when a bit on the warm side. I open the bottle at 17c and its been in the air (glass and bottle) now for a while and the room temp is 28c and it is holding up well. This makes for a good summer wine, that can be enjoyed outside without it ending up tasting sour. Excellent value at just over 4€ a bottle.

© The Wine Connoisseur

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John Levenberg, winemaker at Bedell on Long Island, explains how different fermentation regimes produce different styles of wine. Plus, John demonstrates the delicate art of the punchdown to Wine Spectator news editor Eric Arnold.

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Chateau l’Hospitalet is a part of the Gerard Bertrand group of wineries and is located just outside of Narbonne.. Some of the wines can be a bit hit or miss but this AOC Coteaux du Languedoc is on target. Nice even warm red berries. It is aged for 12 months in light oak, adding a nice mellow spice note, with just a glimmer of liquorice, with a slight mild tannin finish. All in all, a good value medium bodied red wine at around a 4€ bottle. It would well be worth stocking up on this wine because of its giveaway price.

© The Wine Connoisseur

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A Limoux wine maker is in custody after blowing himself up, whilst making a home made bomb. He reckons it was to be used to blow up some trees that he want to move. There is a very good chance he is a member of CRAV, a militant group of wine makers who are very big here in Aude. They’ve been very active of late because of the way wine makers in Languedoc have been treated. Bulk wine buyers have been forcing them to sell their wine at lower and lower costs, by holding out of buying it, until the maker needs to shift it, to make way for new production. There governments done little help, in fact some would say they are the root cause of the current unrest.
If the word on the street is to be believed, things only lot set to get worse. It will be interesting to see what happens at harvest time.

Wine around the Web:

• http://rockssandfruit.blogspot.com/
• http://www.wannabewino.com/
• http://wildwallawallawinewoman.blogspot.com/
• http://wine-by-benito.blogspot.com/
• http://winecentric.blogspot.com/

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The Evin law of 1991 must have been hiding in a cupboard and smoking crack cocaine, because it’s come back mean and very nasty indeed.
Wine and alcohol related websites, could (and will) soon be wiped off of the internet here in France, if the new proposals get passed (and they will).
The proposals call for limited hours a site can be viewed online, and a total ban on third party retail sites.
The lunatics are finally taking over the asylum. At this rate it will not be long before we see a ban on the sale of alcoholic drinks in public places!
These new proposals will have little or no effect on corporations involved in the alcohol trade, but they will hit independent wine and beer makers hard. You can bet there will also be a negative effect on wine tourism and wine exports.
The internet is a wonderful way for small and medium size businesses to spread the word about their products, both on a national and global scale. Cutting off this avenue of marketing is just insane, especially when the French wine industry is in its current dire condition.

Wine News Around the Web:

• French appellation seeks name change
• Château Cos-d’Estournel Buys Chateau Montelena
• Keep the Cheap Wine Flowing
• The Bernard Hickin interview: Jacob’s Creek, with asides on closures, residual sugar and alcohol
• Alexander Armstrong’s passion for wine
• France continues to set the standard for global fine wine production
• French Winemaker Buys Judgment of Paris Winner
• Home Winemakers Classic: Choice wines, fine fundraising

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In Barbaresco, the local grapegrowers’ coop makes super wine at a great price (the ‘01 scored 93pts and cost $55, which is a relative bargain). Wine Spectator’s Jo Cooke dropped in as the village came together for harvest.

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A  nice well rounded Fitou from Mont Tauch of Tuchan, Aude. Good even dark red colour. Nice soft cherry ( the kind you get in a jar/can) hit the palate, with soft mellow spice mid notes. It comes with a mellow warm finish.A good medium bodied wine for all seasons. Good value at around 5.50€ a bottle.

© The Wine Connoisseur

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Meet Philippine de Rothschild, and you’ll understand why Chateau Mouton-Rothschild produces one of the most collectible and recognizable wines in the world. The Baroness –and her wines– are iconic and exceptional.

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