What conditions are necessary for a great wine? | Part 2
Getting all the right climatic conditions to make a great wine is quite a tall order! Part 2 of this guide looks at the importance of timing in the vineyard.
Domaine Mongeard-Mugneret: Burgundy wine between wisdom and ambition
Let’s go to the Côte d'Or, with a focus on Domaine Mongeard-Mugneret located in Vosne-Romanée, between the legendary Château du Clos Vougeot and the small village of Nuits-Saint-Georges. The family has been taking care of the vines for more than eight generations! The story begins in 1620. The reputation of Mongeard-Mugneret is due to its old-age, the finesse of its wines, the subtlety of its terroirs and the extent of its domain. The combination of the vines of Eugène Mongeard and his wife Edmée Mugneret gave birth to an important property of 30…
Major Winegrowing Regions in Europe: France on the Podium
Eurostat, the European Union statistics office, has just published its latest figures, based on the most recent EU survey on the structure of the winegrowing sector (carried out every five years). The figures are interesting, and sometimes even rather surprising! 2.4 million holdings cultivating 3.2 million hectares (ha) in the EU: In 2015, the European Union recorded 2.4 million holdings cultivating 3.2 million hectares (ha) of vineyards. The average area per holding was 1.3 hectares, with significant discrepancies between different countries. The overwhelming majority of land, 2.5 million hectares (78%), was dedicated to…
Climate: winegrowers fear the consequence of a mild winter
In recent weeks, widespread enthusiasm about the quality of 2015 vintages has given way to growing concern about the current mild winter and its implications for the 2016 harvest. Winegrowers had been saying it months before their optimism spread throughout the wine sector when the harvests were over: 2015 was an excellent year for almost all France's vineyards. The long period of warmth in June and July, tempered by the rain in August and followed by good temperatures in September created the ideal conditions for grapes to ripen. There should not be any…
The influence of yeast on wine aromas
A recent study conducted by four researchers from Auckland University (NZ) demonstrates the evidence that regional microbial signature impacts the aromatics of a wine. A scientific approach that confirms a common understanding of the correlation between yeasts and terroir. What is a yeast? A yeast is a microscopic fungus consisting of single cells that enable wine to ferment. Yeasts are commonly used in bakery and have the function of “lifting” the bread. Saccharomyce cerevisiae is the name given to the yeast responsible for the alcoholic fermentation in grape juice. What is the role…
Are “old vines” really old?
Chances are, you’ve bought a wine with the term “old vines”, or "vieilles vignes", on the label. But when can a vineyard really be considered “old”? A vine is not unlike a human being. When it is young, between four and eight years old, it has the charms of childhood and the wines are usually mild and full of freshness. Between eight and 14, it reaches adolescence: it grows in all directions and is difficult to control. The viticulturist needs to tame the vineyard to prevent it from producing weak grapes without personality.…