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Wine Symposium at the Lake Como and a vertical tasting of Armand Rousseau, time stopped for a moment

Spend time on the shores of Lake Como, taste incredible wines, meet great wine figures, passionate connoisseurs and talented tasters, equally humble and smart... the story of 3 days suspended at the Villa d'Este between conferences, tastings and haute cuisine. The world of fine wines is fascinating because it is sometimes associated to the elegance of great moments in life. The Villa d'Este offers an incomparable setting, and welcomes each year since 2008 what insiders call the VDEWS (for Villa d'Este Wine Symposium). An almost intimidating name, heralding a high level programme concocted…

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Grand Tasting 2017: come and meet us!

iDealwine has been a longstanding partner of Bettane+Desseauve, and of the Grand Tasting, the leading wine event they organise. This year, it will take place on the 1st and 2nd of December, in the Carrousel du Louvre, in Paris. We will have several occasions of meeting our customers during this exceptional wine fair that connoisseurs know as unmissable! A few indications on this event and the masterclasses available, for you to get ready! 11 years ago, Bettane+Desseauve created this fair, which gathers the most renowned names from the French vineyard and from the…

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Hospices de Beaune: new records, a raise of €13.5 million

On Sunday 19th November, the 157th charity auction of the Hospices de Beaune was held. A sale that reached the record level of €13.5 million collected, reflecting the frenzy of connoisseurs for great Burgundy wines. An enthusiasm reinforced in recent weeks by the purchase of Clos de Tart by the businessman François Pinault. Last Sunday (3rd Sunday of November), the traditional charity auction of the Hospices de Beaune was held. This hospital institution was founded in 1443 and owns 60 hectares, mostly in Premier Cru and Grand Cru, from legacies and donations. In…

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Champagne Roederer: exceptional tasting discovering the Cristal Vinothèque

The Roederer house organized a few days ago a breath taking vertical tasting of several vintages of the Cristal cuvée, in white and rosé. At the centre, the latest creation of the smart cellar master Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon: Cristal Vinothèque 1995, a wine aged for 20 years in the cellars of the house. A legendary moment, enhanced by a lunch concocted by chef Thierry Marx at the Mandarin Oriental. And with the complicity of the brilliant chef sommelier David Biraud to ensure a service of wines in perfect conditions. The opportunity to revive the…

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iDealwine in Asia

In November, Arthur de Lencquesaing and Alix Rodarie, from iDealwine’s international department are travelling around Asia to meet customers, take part in wine fairs, masterclasses and present iDealwine to new wine lovers. Asia is the fastest growing market for iDealwine, with 64% growth since January 2017. It represents 13.5% of our turnover. Asian connoisseurs mainly buy Bordeaux or Burgundy grands crus, but have an increasing interest for some niche wines and appellations featured on iDealwine, usually harder to find in traditional Asian distribution networks. In their quest for quality, Asian customers spend, on…

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Natural wine, Isabelle Legeron MW

Today "natural" wines are moving things and divide connoisseurs. Yet, these wines have their share of mystery. What is basically a natural wine? Isabelle Legeron’s approach is, in this respect, very interesting. This Master of Wine went in the domains, in the fields to lead the investigation: in the light of her tastings and meetings in the French vineyard and around the world, she reports in this book her journey and provides an independent and convinced perspective. Master of Wine Isabelle Legeron is above all a natural wine lover. That's why she wanted…

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Alcohol easing foreign language conversations

Who hasn’t already felt a little more comfortable speaking a foreign language over a drink? It seems that with moderate consumption, science validates this hypothesis.  Alcohol helping  you to speak a foreign language? This is what Dutch researchers have tried to prove. First of all, don’t worry; we are talking about small quantities of alcohol, of course: this study was conducted with people who had consumed a pint of beer or two glasses of wine. The idea was clearly not to make them drunk, which has rather the opposite effect on your fluency…

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2017: a historically low harvest 

After the superb 2015 and 2016, will the 2017 fall under the curse of the vintages finishing by "7"? If the quality is generally there, the quantities are lacking in certain regions or appellations, with a historically low harvest. Complicated weather conditions On 1st October 2017, the French Department of Agriculture reckoned the harvest was going to be down 18% compared to the five-year average[i]. Wine production is estimated at 36.9 million hectolitres, 19% lower than 2016. The harvest is thus historically low, and even lower than 1991, which also experienced a historic…

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2015 wine: great scores for Northern French regions

The long-awaited 2015 wine announced as exceptional, is now bottled, and can be bought. To guide you through your purchases, iDealwine reviews the situation region by region. And we start with the vineyards from the north of the hexagon, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Champagne, Alsace, Jura and Savoie. Red Burgundies at the top Like almost everywhere in France, in 2015, Burgundy benefited from good weather conditions.  The tone was set in spring: the vintage will be precocious. Flowering took place early June, announcing grape harvest late August and early September. A year also marked by…

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