Learning about wine
The Four Fermentations of Bollinger
Once you've visited a few Champagne houses, you think you're starting to understand the process. Forget it. In early March, I visited Bollinger and had to start all over again. I was given a tour of the Champagne house's cellars...
Que syrah, syrah - everything about syrah
What do you think of when you think of Syrah? Côte Rôtie, Hermitage, or perhaps Barossa Valley, or perhaps South Africa. A northern Rhône certainly makes my heart beat faster, but there were several surprises. 🎧 We also made a...
The bubble according to the primal method: method ancestrale
No Champagne today, but another special sparkling wine in the spotlight. During my search for the unknown, I stumbled upon the French town of Gaillac, near Toulouse. Here, the bubbles aren't produced in the same way as in Champagne. A...
Germany is a top white wine region. Everyone knows Riesling, of course. It's fun to see how Riesling is slowly winning over wine enthusiasts. The exact same thing happened to me. At first, you're not interested in it, because "those...
Whole bunch fermentation: the fermentation of whole bunches
Sometimes I really can't figure out how to translate an English term into Dutch. Whole bunch fermentation sounds good, whole cluster fermentation a little less so, right? It's certainly a popular technique among winemakers and wine enthusiasts. "Decanter even had...
Quintarelli: The best Amarone of them all?
It's Wednesday evening and I'm going to taste ten wines from Giuseppe Quintarelli at Wijnhandel Peeters in Rotterdam. It's such a nice way to break up the week. Luckily, my WSET4 classmate Danielle is also with me, otherwise I would...
The Road to Weinakademiker - Part 8 (How much does it cost?)
Think big. I want to become a Weinakademiker. On September 3, 2018, I started the WSET Diploma Course, which ultimately—if you add a thesis afterward—results in the title of Weinakademiker. In part 8, I look back on the past year....
Soave is an idyllic village in the heart of the Veneto region. The old castle walls still stand, serving as a handy guide ("through the castle and then left") during my press trip to Soave at the end of May....
"Hey guys, I don't need a Chardonnay. I don't like it." Oh please, spare me. I don't want to hear it anymore. There are so many different Chardonnays. From clean and pure to creamy and oak-aged. It's a grape that...
Oh, wonderful, we're going to talk about volcanic soils and minerality for a few hours. I can't wait. A wonderful topic. Mind you, minerality is a contentious issue in the wine world, as we can't seem to find a consensus....
Wine FAQ: What is malolactic transformation?
The Wine FAQ section answers your burning wine questions. Have a question? Let me know via email or Instagram. This time it's about malolactic transformation . Conversion, yes. Even though it's often called malolactic fermentation in the wine world, that's...
What I Didn't Know About Sherry (Part 1)
I still remember the first time I drank sherry. I thought it was absolutely disgusting. I had no idea what it was, how it was made, and I mainly associated it with old aunts. Little did I know. As I...