8 articles published
Wine regions
France's wine regions, what actually sets each of them apart, and what to expect in the glass.
Languedoc-Roussillon: the south with something to say
For decades, Languedoc-Roussillon meant cheap, bulk wine — the kind sold in five-litre plastic cubitainers to fill carafes at the lowest possible…
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Alsace in the Glass: What Riesling and Gewurztraminer Are Really Trying to Tell You
Some wine regions arrive with a reputation that turns out to be completely wrong. Alsace is one of them. You think you know it — white wines, tall…
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The Loire Valley: France's sharpest whites, from one end of a river to the other
Open a bottle of Sancerre on a summer evening and there it is: that cool acidity, the smell of wet stone, a clarity that cuts right through whatever…
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Burgundy: What Your Glass of Pinot Noir or Chardonnay Is Really Telling You
Some wine regions impress. Burgundy unsettles. A well-opened glass of Gevrey-Chambertin — one of the great red wine villages of eastern France — with…
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Wines of Provence: what that glass of rosé is actually telling you
Pour a Provence rosé on a July evening. The color — pale, almost blush-water — and the scent of fresh strawberry threaded through dry herbs hit you…
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Rhône North and South: Two Terroirs, One Valley Worth Knowing
Pour a Crozes-Hermitage on an autumn evening and you understand immediately why the Rhône Valley keeps pulling people back. There is something direct…
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Champagne: what the big houses don't always tell you about what's in your glass
Have you ever opened a bottle of Champagne without really knowing why you picked that one over another? Brut, blanc de blancs, NV, grand cru — the…
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Bordeaux: how to read the label, the bank and the price
Someone puts a Bordeaux on the table and the questions start. What exactly is this château? Left bank or right bank? Merlot or Cabernet? Bordeaux is…
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