By Panos Kakaviatos As I finalize this post, I have just returned from Vinexpo in Bordeaux where I attended the annual Fete de la Fleur, a big party meant to celebrate the flowering cycle of the vineyard. But the French word for shattering is coulure and, given the constant rainfall in this crucial flowering period, […]

Over 40 years ago, when Jacques Lardiere was just in his second year with the venerable domain of Louis Jadot in Burgundy, he proved his skills in a vintage that challenged everyone. In some years, France encounters an extreme heat wave known as la canicule and so it was in 1971. “It was even hotter […]

Albert Mann is one of the best domains in Alsace today. They make excellent  crémant wine, pure and dry Rieslings, rich Pinot Gris, zesty Gewürztraminers and among the very best possible Pinot Noirs from Alsace today. So I was not surprised that their entry level Riesling, Albert Mann Cuvée  Albert Riesling 2010, was being served […]