Unicorn wines

by blog on September 20, 2021

Unicorni-copia! Look – don’t touch. In fact, don’t even look. In European folklore, the unicorn is often depicted as a white equine – or goat-like – animal with a long horn, cloven hooves, and sometimes a goat’s beard. In the Middle Ages and The Renaissance, it was commonly described as an extremely wild woodland creature, a […]

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Spotlight on: Les Cailloux du Paradis: Etienne & Claude Courtois

by blog on September 17, 2021

Situated in the heart of Sologne, 35 km from Blois, Claude Courtois and his sons elaborate their wines according to ancestral methods and are zealous advocates of natural wine.  “Nature admits no lie”, as Carlyle said, and Courtois (Claude) often says that his wine is made from “true grapes.” The wines he crafts are a pure […]

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Spotlight on: Clos du Tue-Boeuf, Puzelat family

September 13, 2021

Watch Thierry Puzelat speak about his wines at the Real Wine Fair Since the Middle Ages, there have been records about the lieu-dit “le Tue-Boeuf” and its excellent wines which were enjoyed by the local nobility and the kings of France. The family name Puzelat is mentioned in 15th century documents. History, though, is not the story here. […]

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What is Pet Nat?

September 10, 2021

A Pet Nat (short for pétillant naturel) is a sparkling wine from a single vintage that undergoes a single fermentation. The wine ferments with its own yeast in tank or barrel and is transferred to bottle before the process is completed (with the latent sugar and native yeast combining to continue the ferment). The fermentation continues in the […]

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Doug decants: Kamara Wines, Greece

September 6, 2021

What happens when an entire family is passionate about nature? They abandon city life and move to the countryside. This is the story of Kioutsoukis family (Dimitrios, Eleftheria and their children). Dimitrios Kioutsoukis, with his family’s assistance and inspiration, planted 11 hectares of vines (mainly Greek grape varieties: Assyrtiko, Malagousia, Roditis, Xinomavro) in northern Greece near […]

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Wine Epiphanies: The Tasting Blindside

August 20, 2021

In terms of taste epiphanies, being blindsided is the equivalent of being smacked by a two-by-four – a modern version of the Damascene conversion.We have all been taken unawares at some point and discovered a need we didn’t know we had; a need that was instantly satisfied. This is a tad different to the maxim […]

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Leo Erazo & Chilean Cru Cinsault

August 20, 2021

Itata for now! The old Itata Hills are a fantastic place. The terroir potential for making wines here with special character is great. Leo Erazo’s work is to bring that sense of place into every bottle. In the Itata Hills, the beautiful heritage, the historic old vineyards – over volcanic or over granitic soils -has […]

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Spotlight On: Domaine de la Pépière

August 18, 2021

The estate was established by Marc Ollivier in 1984 and Remi Branger joined him in 2007, followed by Gwénaëlle Croix in 2012. Marc had experience in the winemaking world from working for several years with his uncle in his winemaking estate which is in the same area as Domaine de la Pépière. Remi studied viticulture […]

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100 Great Natural Wines: The New World – Part One

August 11, 2021

This is a series profiling the producers on our list who make natural wines. Within this series we will be highlighting some of the extraordinary and rare bottles and vintages that have helped to shape our appreciation of natural wines over the years. Previous posts from our 100 Great Natural Wines series include Austria, Spain, and […]

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Spotlight on: Benoit Courault

August 11, 2021

Though Benoit is not originally from a winemaking family (his father was a horse trader), he wanted to make wine, and so left the Loire Valley to study oenology in Beaune. While studying, he was impressed by the wines of Yvon Metras and Dominique Derain, and was convinced that these were the types of wines he […]

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