Wine

August 5, 2017 7

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food
AZ Puts the Pizzazz in Rosé

There I was, minding my own business, sipping a Provence rosé at Revel in Tucson with friends celebrating their engagement. I chose the rosé, of course, and mentioned to server that I was a big rosé fan. By coincidence, the rep from Rune Wines was in that day and, unbeknownst to me, they were tasting Rune’s 2015 rosé. The server brought me a glass “just because.” Apparently, while I was minding my own business, he was paying attention. I was really astonished at the nose, and how unctuous it was on my palate, and how well it paired with our [...]

July 13, 2017 15

IT’S TIME TO (RE) DISCOVER THE ROSÉ BELOVED BY KINGS, POPES, AND WRITERS: MEET TAVEL

I was delighted to learn Tavel was a favorite of Ernest Hemingway.
This rosé’s popularity and fame, though, predates my favorite [...]

July 2, 2017 36

EDITORIAL DEBATE: CAN WE SETTLE THIS OVER A ROSÉ?

Since I began in 2015 to write for Provence WineZine, my colleague and publisher Susan Manfull and I have had a sort of running dispute on why I don’t seem to take rosé as a serious wine. Frankly, she is rather [...]

July 1, 2017 12

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food
Those Summer Nights

While summer isn't the only season to drink rosé, it is incredibly refreshing on a hot summer evening... and that is something we know well in Tucson. Sometimes, it is so hot in the evening (lately, our temperatures have been hovering at 115°F or 46°C) that we don't want a full meal - perhaps just apéro with some nice wine, a little cheese, and a few friends. With a bottle of the 2015 Domaine de Terrebrune Bandol Rosé chilling, we invited a few friends over for some wine and cheese. Simple. Casual. Relaxed. Early in the morning, while it [...]

June 25, 2017 6

DISCOVER PIERREVERT: VISIT CHATEAU SAINT JEAN LEZ DURANCE

There was a moment when we stood outside Château Saint Jean, sipping a rosé blend of Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault, and Roussanne taken directly from the tank, enjoying its distinctly almond nose while looking across a [...]

June 19, 2017 14

OFF THE VIA DOMITIA
THE RHÔNE RANGERS RAISE THEIR GLASSES IN HONOR OF SONOMA RESTAURATEUR SONDRA BERNSTEIN

It was the perfect assemblage to honor the woman who created the “Rhône Alone” wine list: an unusually glorious June day in San Francisco; the Golden

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June 4, 2017 8

Wine and Jazz in Provence

What is the perfect musical pairing for the wines of Provence and southern Rhône? Jazz! There are terrific jazz events held in and about wineries during the summer months throughout Provence and most include wine tasting as part of the festivities. Take a picnic, try the wine, and listen to some jazz--what could be better!

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June 3, 2017 7

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food
Beauty and the Belle

A little over two years ago, I fell in love with a blonde bombshell - a white Châteauneuf-du-Pape. I was somewhat in awe of this wine, and never dreamed I would see its doppelgänger here on these shores. But, as you read on, you will find I was wrong.

Just this past October, Susan Manfull wrote an article for the Provence WineZine about a wine bloggers conference she attended last August in Lodi, California, that included visit to Acquiesce Vineyards. It was then she

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May 28, 2017 12

The Force is with Château Margüi as it joins George Lucas’s Skywalker Vineyards

Rumors, swirling around the verdant green hills of Coteaux Varois en Provence for months, are confirmed: Skywalker Vineyards has acquired the sumptuous Château Margüi, located in Châteauvert in the center of the Var. There, accolade-collecting wines have been produced since 2004 under the meticulous care of Marie-Christine Baylet-Guillanton and Philippe Guillanton who bought

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May 28, 2017 2

April Frost Damages 25% of Château Vignelaure Vineyard

“We are lucky the damage was not worse,” Philippe Bru, Directeur Œnologue of Château Vignelaure, said of the April 29th frost that hit his vineyard, located in Rians, just north of Aix-en-Provence. “I hear that the Center of the Var was hit much worse, especially around Correns.”

That devastating frost, considered the most destructive since

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