Learning about wine
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...
Affordable enjoyment: bring on that Bourgogne Côte d'Or!
Burgundy is pure enjoyment. Unfortunately, that enjoyment isn't cheap. If you want to savor a good bottle, you'll quickly pay a premium. Especially if you prefer villages with an established reputation and a legendary name, like Morey-Saint-Denis or Puligny-Montrachet. Not...
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A look inside Le Pin in Pomerol
The moment you thought would never come. I'm standing on the doorstep of Le Pin, a tiny but very well respected A winery in Pomerol. All sorts of things are racing through my mind, and one image just won't go away. About...
Vignoble du reveur, or dreamer's vineyard. It couldn't have been called anything else if the Deiss family were behind it. In this case, it's Mathieu Deiss, grandson of Marcel Deiss – the enfant terrible of Alsace. Mathieu isn't doing it...
Can I have a glass of corpinnat please?
Corpinnat, dear readers, is the new cava. The region's top producers are tired of having to fight the large, industrial power of the Grandes Marques de Cava and launched the Corpinnat label in early 2019. TL;dr – listen to our...
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....
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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....
Valladolid, the city you've never heard of, yet it really should be on your bucket list. It's just a stone's throw from the vineyards of Rueda, Toro, and Ribera del Duero (and two lesser-known regions) and is a champion of...
"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...
Do I have a favorite wine after all?
#WineWednesday – A weekly column about what keeps me busy in the wine world. This time, I realize I do have a favorite wine, even though I always say I don't. Last week, I spent a week's holiday in Burgundy...
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....
Pardon my French, but I couldn't think of a better title. This wine is très bizarre. The label has white flowers on it, and that's exactly What I smell in this wine. Like standing in a field of fragrant flowers with a...