Red Wine

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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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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May 7, 2017 31

Musings of a Wine Maven
Alternative Facts and the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition

It would seem there is nothing unequivocal in the tag line to the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition (SFCWC) logo proclaiming it to be “The Largest Competition of American Wines in the World.” So you can imagine my surprise when I was reviewing its listing of medal winners of the 2017 event held in January and started noticing clearly foreign-sourced wines copping some

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April 16, 2017 7

Diary of a Master of Wine in Provence
La Maison des Vins de Côtes de Provence Reopens with Great Fanfare

While Provence has been making wine for over 2000 years, its wine has not always had the fame it has today. Wine needs to reach foreign shores to be recognised, to be drunk by people who will write and praise the wine, to be acknowledged. For 2000 years the wines of Provence have been consumed, largely by locals. During the past 200 years it has been appreciated increasingly by tourists and over the past 20 years, thanks to the boom in rosé sales, it is highly regarded internationally.

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April 9, 2017 7

Diary of a Master of Wine in Provence
Côtes de Provence, Prowein, and Coteaux Varois

One region, one new vintage, two countries, three colours, three appellations, three departments, four fairs… Round one of my official tasting season is over, and now is time for a brief retrospective pause to think about them and the rosés tasted. Concentrating on research for my rosé book means that I often didn’t have time to taste all the reds and whites I want to – that is something to look forward to this autumn.

The one region is Provence with three of the four tasting events being for Côtes de Provence, Coteaux Varois and Coteaux d’Aix who together make up 95% of the region’s production, and held, respectively in the departments of Alpes Maritimes, Var and Bouches du Rhône. The fourth event at Prowein, in Germany, was for the three regions together. The two countries were France and Germany.

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April 7, 2017 17

Musings of a Wine Maven
Lord Save Us, Martha Stewart is Selling Wine Again

Never a quitter, Martha has shaken off the debacle of her failed venture with Gallo a decade ago to come back at the unsuspecting wine consumer with a new wine marketing scheme. Unable then to successfully sell her Martha Stewart Vintage label at fifteen bucks a bottle, her name is now attached to a box of six of her favorite selections for $59.99, served up in a wine club framework. Hmmm, if a fifteen buck wine made for her by Gallo couldn’t sell, why then these ten buck finds (introductory price) from California, Spain, Italy and France?

There are at least two rosés from Provence, the region that has taken the U.S. by storm with its immensely popular pink wine

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March 22, 2017 10

CHÂTEAU PEYRASSOL: THE MARC OF SUCCESS

We had a blizzard last this week. Winds were whipping across our house and, at times, it seemed through our early 18th-century home. The day-long storm dumped about a foot of snow by the time it was all over. Temperatures were way below freezing

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