Albert Jané is a passionate winemaker who is considered to be one of the pioneers of the D.O. Montsant region, in Spain. Coming from a winemaking family in the heart of Penedes, Albert had full confidence in the Do Montsant regionI had the pleasure of meeting him recently at a wine tasting event organised by La Buena Vida. The name of the winery ‘Acustic’ reflects not only the style of wine but also Albert’s philosophy of winemaking. He told Food and Wine Gazette that he likes to make great wines from exceptional vineyards. “It is the grapes and the weather conditions which express the history and reflection of a region and not the winemaker. I firmly believe that wine is made in the vineyard not by the winemaker,” he tells me. “Wine is pleasure, emotion and passion,” he tells me. “When you take a good bottle of wine and listen to what it tells you, it gives you a similar feeling to music. That is why I have used ‘acustic’ for the winery. “I like to think of my wines as being … [Read more...]
Rafael Palacios: Making magnificent white wines in Galicia, Spain
Rafael Palacios does not need any introduction among Spanish wine lovers. Considered to be among the best white wine makers in the whole of Spain, if not the best, he began his new wine project in Valdeorras in 2004 using the Godello grape which is an indigenous white grape variety of the Valdeorras region of Galicia. The Godello grape is a stunning variety that has been rescued and is now attracting a lot of attention. Rafael Palacios recognised the grapes' potential has been making wines which are the perfect expression of the quality of this grape variety. I met Rafael last weekend at a wine tasting organised by Belgian importer La Buena Vida and asked him what it means to be the 'best' white winemaker in Spain. "That's a very big statement," he tells me. "I am very happy to work with the Godello grape and I am extremely happy and proud that I have found my passion. That is important and that motivates me to continue to work to make better wines." Rafael is the youngest … [Read more...]
A tasting of Grafé Lecocq wines
The tasting room beneath the Court of Justice in Namur (Photo by Manu Crooy)When we visited Grafé Lecocq to discover the story behind this Belgian wine 'negociant' that ages wines within the citadel of Namur and then stores the bottles under the cathedral of this Belgian city, we were surprised by the quality of the wine we tasted. Not that we should have been, the winemaker had come highly recommended. But what made the discovery so surprising was the purity of the wines and the winemaker's attention to let the terroir speak for itself. It might sound like a cliché but trust us it isn't. The wines of Grafé Lecocq would be a perfect way to test your knowledge of wines because they reflect a typicity which is not often found these days as many wine producers pander to wine critics who sometimes prefer power and oak over anything else. And I want to stress this in a positive way because I found the wines (even the entry level ones) to reflect the terroir from where they … [Read more...]
Inside the cellars of Grafé Lecocq in Namur: A winemaker like no other
Within the citadel of Namur, the Belgian city that provides a gateway to the Ardennes, lies a tunnel that for more than sixty years has been quietly ageing the wines of one of Belgium's leading wine 'negociants'. The conditions for holding up to 1,200 oak barrels are near perfect. Temperature is constant between 11C and 12C and the humidity reaches over 90% in these tunnels. Bernard Grafé, the CEO of Grafé Lecocq, took me to visit the impressive cellars within the Namur citadel and explains the story behind this incredible wine house. After our visit to the tunnels inside the Namur citadel, he takes me to the cellars of the Namur cathedral and the Courts of Justice, just opposite the house from where the business had started 130 years ago. There he shows me over 500 square metres of storage space with ideal and stable temperatures where the bottles are aged before they are distributed. The cellars have been used pretty much since the business started and had been built to … [Read more...]
10 Sicilian wine producers to look out for
I am preparing a wine tasting for a wine club I form part of in September and the theme is Sicilian wines. I have therefore been researching a bit more than usual about the wine producers of Sicily and also tasting some more wines from this Southern Italian island which produces some stunning wines. This will hopefully be a new series for Food and Wine Gazette on wine producers in different wine regions and countries of the world who are worth looking out for because they produce consistently good wine. In part, this is also inspired by a conversation I had with a reader of this blog who asked how I go about purchasing wines I would be drinking. But that is another story. There are no secrets to buying or drinking great wine. It all boils down to knowing which are the wine producers that produce consistently good wines. A good indication of the quality of the wine is the entry level wine. It might not be stunning but if it is well made it will be enjoyable and you can rest … [Read more...]
What we’ve been drinking (December)
December is characterised by many long lunches and dinners with family and friends. There is a certain tendency in these cold winter months to switch to red wines, particularly full-bodied reds which are perfect companions to the typical winter dishes served over Christmas. But then, there is nothing like a good white wine to pair with fish dishes particularly when you have spent the Christmas period in Malta and the fish and shellfish are mouthwatering fresh. White wines Trimbach Riesling Reserve 2011: I tend to have a personal preference for German Rieslings although there are some Alsace winemakers which I consider at a par with Germany's best, if not better. Trimbach is one such wine house and this Riesling Reserve was excellent. It is a dry white wine with concentrated fruits while being light. It was ripe, supple and rich yet very dry. It had excellent minerality and a saline finish. This is a Riesling that can get better with age. Pascal Jolivet: Pouilly-Fume 2012: … [Read more...]
Foradori: A great winemaker from the Dolomites
When I met Elizabetta Foradori I had to admit that the wines I was trying were not familiar to me even though I had heard and read about the winemaker since Elizabetta Foradori is considered as one of the most influential female winemakers in the world. I met her at Vini Birre Ribelli in Brussels earlier this month. The winery has been established for more than 100 years in 1901 and was eventually bought by Vittorio Foradori in 1929. The first ever vintage of 'Foradori' was produced in 1960. Elisabetta took over the winery in 1984 after completed her studies at the S. Michele all'Adige's wine school and faced her first vintage. She worked to convert the winery to a biodynamic farming system in 2002 and in 2007 the winery joined VinNatur and started making natural wines. Foradori have been making use of biodynamic farming in their vineyards while diligently working with great care in the cellars for over 10 years. This has led to excellent results. Elizabetta is humble and easy … [Read more...]
Tenute Dettori: Letting nature do the work to produce stunning wines
When I visited Vini Birre Ribelli I must admit that the wines of Tenute Dettori caught me by complete surprise. The winery from Sardegna produces only 45,000 bottles. I had read about their wines a few years ago and knew that they were good but had never come across their wines or tasted them. The tasting therefore was all the more surprising. Paolo Dettori explained the story of this winery to us as we tasted his exceptional wines. There is minimal intervention both during the grape growing and also in the wine making process. At one point I asked him whether he used oak for any of his wines and he said quite strongly and proudly that the wines only make contact with cement/glass and are never aged in oak. The winery prides itself with being as much in tune with nature as possible. Electrical energy in the winery is only used for de-stemming and for the bottling equipment. The pruning, grape stems and pomade are all returned to the earth. They have also reduced the weight of the … [Read more...]
Azienda Agricola COS: A Sicilian winemaker with a difference
Azienda Agricola COS, founded in 1980, is one of Sicily's most well known wineries. Few, however are aware that their wines are natural wines which are extremely low in sulphites and are mainly aged in amphoras (see above photo) like in the old days. I met one of the winemakers of COS, Giusto Occhipinti, at the Vini Birre Ribelli fair organised in Brussels for the first time this weekend, tasting all their wines and discovering what makes them different from other winemakers in Italy and the world. This was the first stand I visited and what was immediately distinct is that unlike common practice they recommend that you start the tasting with the red wines to be followed by their two white wines, because as they say, the white wines are made in a similar fashion to the red wines and hence have a distinct character. But before I report on the tasting, a bit about the story of this Sicilian winemaker from Vittoria, a small Sicilian village in the South East of … [Read more...]
Excellent line-up of wine makers at the first rebel wines and beers fair in Brussels
The first ever Rebel Wines and Beers fair was organised at Tour et Taxis on Sunday (7 December) with the second day of the fair taking place on Monday (8 December). We visited the fair this morning and met with a number of wine producers all of which are producing 'natural wines' or wines which are made with minimal chemical and technological intervention in growing grapes and making them into wine. All the wines we tasted at the fair (around 50 in total) had minimal use of sulphites at bottling. We heard some very interesting stories from the wine makers on how they make the wine and why they produce it in this manner. At the stand of Sicilian winemaker Azienda Agricola Cos we tasted the whole range of wines produced by this Sicilian winery. Unlike convention, they recommended we started the tasting with red wines which was then followed by the white wines since these are produced with the skins on, similar to the way in which red wines are made. Although we were familiar with … [Read more...]