Search Results: champagne
What is a Muselet?
A Muselet is the wire cage that fits over the cork of a bottle of Champagne or sparkling wine to prevent the cork from emerging under the pressure of the carbonated contents. Bottles were initially corked with pieces of wood with oil-sponged cloth, and then plunged in wax. They discovered very quickly that it was not sufficient to sustain…
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An Irrefusable Invite and A Sneak Preview: Krug Part II
Part of the deal here is that one of the wines is a secret for the next few days. Needless to say it’s Krug, it’s vintage Krug, and it will be the next vintage to be released. We tasted it against the lovely 2000 Krug and two different batches of Grande Cuvee: one based on…
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Krug’s New Release: An Irrefusable Invite for a Sneak Preview
Whilst not best known for my self-discipline, offers that simply CAN’T be refused are few and far between. One such offer came late last year: would I like to hop on a couple of trains and spent a little time with Olivier Krug and his team for a sneak preview of the next vintage to…
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Simpsons Wine Estate
Ruth & Charles Simpson of the Languedoc-based winery, Domaine de Sainte Rose have taken on a new challenge, to produce world-class sparkling wine in England! The Simpsons are preparing to plant the first ten hectares (25 acres) of vines (of a potential 30 hectares/90 acres) in Kent, this May. “We chose Barham in Kent due…
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Jenkyn Place Vineyard
Jenkyn Place is the brainchild of property investor and entrepreneur, Simon Bladon. Originally from Yorkshire, Simon and his wife, Rebecca, moved to Jenkyn Place in Hampshire in 1997 and, after extensive renovations, turned their thoughts to the abandoned hop fields next to the property. Simon, who loves a good challenge, decided to plant his first vines – Chardonnay, Pinot Noir…
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Pruning The Vines
I recently visited the Champagne region carrying out some research into new champagnes (new in the sense they have no presence in the UK market) and I am delighted to say that we discovered some amazing new champagnes. I’ll blog more about these soon, but one thing I love about visiting the region is that…
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An Introduction To Sparkling Wine
I remember my first trip to New York. I went with work and got put in business class, which I’d never travelled in before. I was nailing all the free stuff in the lounge before the flight, and then once we got on the plane there were only about 10 of us in the whole…
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Italian Sparkling wine
There are 20 unique wine regions in Italy with over 350 types of grape. The major types of sparkling wines from Italy include Prosecco, Asti Spumante, Lambrusco and Franciacorta. Prosecco is made from the white Prosecco grape ‘Glera’. Prosecco is also a region in Veneto, northwest Italy. Most Prosecco wines are meant to be enjoyed young and fresh. The…
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Production of Cava
Cava is the second largest traditional method wine by volume in the world, after Champagne. The Cava Denominacion de Origen (DO) was established in 1986. The Cava DO covers five regions in Spain: Cataluna (where the majority of production is based), Aragon, Navarra, Pais Vasco and La Rioja. Production is only about two-thirds that of Champagne, approxiamtely…
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