Bourboulenc

June 3, 2023 1

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food
Perle Blanche

When planning our recent trip to Morocco, none of our small group (which included PWZ’s Susan and Towny) had any idea there would be a winery owned by a man from Châteauneuf-du-Pape. But there we were and there he was. Charles Mélia moved to the small village of Ounara — just 20 minutes east of the seaside town of Essaouira — in 1994, and started Domaine du Val d’Argan.

Earlier in his life, he worked at his family’s vineyard, Château de la Font du Loup (in Châteauneuf-du-Pape) and, after exploring other wine growing areas (Argentina and New Zealand), he settled on Morocco. The climate was perfect for growing Rhône grapes such as Grenache Blanc, Viognier, Muscat, and Roussanne. Sadly, the... [...]

May 24, 2020 2

Cassis: A Timeless AOC

Cassis is the most beautiful AOC (appellation d'origine contrôlée) in France: the vineyards cling to the slopes of a magical amphitheater that plunges towards the shimmering Mediterranean. The Phocaeans (ancient Greeks from Asia Minor) must have been enchanted with these slopes when they first saw them 2,600 years ago. And they did well to plant them to the vine. The perfect exposure, dry and nutrient-poor soils and the cooling Mediterranean... [...]

May 5, 2018 4

Two New Rhône-Varietal Wines Added to the Line-up at Acquiesce Winery

Psst. Acquiesce Winery has added two new white wines to their already exceptional portfolio of Rhône-style wines. Keep this news under your ice bucket because production is small and these 2017 single-varietals of Bourboulenc and Clairette Blanche will be coveted by those in the know. These wines join five other whites in the Acquiesce library of wines –Grenache Blanc, Picpoul Blanc, Viognier, Roussane, and a blend called Belle Blanc—as well as a Provence-style... [...]

March 3, 2018 8

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food
Wine and Spice and Everything Nice

When Susan and Alex were here in December, we went on a bit of a (wine) shopping spree. Shocking, right? One of the wines we bought was a 2015 Le Caillou from Le Clos du Caillou in the Côtes du Rhône appellation. The proprietor of the wine store raved [...]

October 29, 2016 22

OFF THE VIA DOMITIA
IT ALL STARTED WITH A WHITE CHÂTEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE

When I attended the Wine Bloggers conference in mid-August in Lodi, California—one of the largest appellations in California and one intricately tied to Old Vine Zinfandel wines—I did not expect to visit a winery dedicated to producing [...]