As we progress in our wine journey, broader understanding tends to break into multiple layers, and this is where it gets both challenging and interesting. To illustrate, lets talk about the difference between ‘Appreciating a Wine’ and ‘Judging a Wine’. Many wine schools teach about the structured manner to appreciate a wine which primarily impliesContinue reading “HOW TO EVALUATE QUALITY OF WINE”
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HOLD IT LIKE BACCHUS
Bacchus (c. 1596) is an oil painting by Italian Baroque master Michelangelo Caravaggio which shows a youthful Bacchus reclining in classical fashion with grapes and vine leaves in his hair, fingering the drawstring of his loosely draped robe. On a stone table in front of him is a bowl of fruit and a large carafe of red wine. He holds out aContinue reading “HOLD IT LIKE BACCHUS”
THE TRICK OF WINE
Throughout history wine has intermingled with almost all spheres of human activity and particularly so with Art. Here is one such painting created in 1640s which depicts an interesting anecdote. It is named as The trick of the wine, and done by the famous 17th CE Florence artist Baldassarre Franceschini, also known as Il Volterranno. TheContinue reading “THE TRICK OF WINE”
Cold Soak in Winemaking
As we know, during making of a red wine, the grapes picked from the vines are crushed to form a ‘Must’. This is followed by addition of Yeast to make wine by the process called as Fermentation. Often winemakers add a pre-fermantation stage too by means of a “Cold Soak”. Pioneered by the famed innovatorContinue reading “Cold Soak in Winemaking”
EMERGENCE OF ADVERTISEMENT AS A MARKETING TOOL FOR CHAMPAGNE
Turn of the previous century or more precisely from 1870s to start of WW1 were heady times in France. It was peak of industrial revolution, economic prosperity and peace. Eiffel Tower was inaugurated, streets and homes had incandescent light bulbs, Wright Brothers flew their first successful flight. It were days of celebration too. Films, MoulinContinue reading “EMERGENCE OF ADVERTISEMENT AS A MARKETING TOOL FOR CHAMPAGNE”
Sustainability in winemaking
At first there was purely natural wine – from the grapes picked and left overnight in a tumbler which got fermented by the natural yeast present on grape skins. Maybe this produced enough wine for consumption by a man and his family. But then may be driven by greed or sensing profit making, he plannedContinue reading “Sustainability in winemaking”
Asti and Alba – The Prodigal Siblings
“Barbera d’Alba is an elegant woman with finesse that you can dance with whereas Barbera d’Asti is determined, powerful, intense, a woman you gotta watch out for…”, that’s the quote by the renowned winemaker Luca Vietti in an interview with the Wine Spectator magazine sometime back. These two wines happened to be in focus duringContinue reading “Asti and Alba – The Prodigal Siblings”
My name is Marius, Marius Chapoutier
My name is Marius, Marius Chapoutier » sounds akin to the famous tag line of Mr Bond, however this was said by Mr Marius, the gentlemen seen on the label of the eponymous wine, many scores before Ian Flemming even conceived the idea of 007. He uttered it as a young boy, quite innocuously asContinue reading “My name is Marius, Marius Chapoutier”
Grover Zampa Vineyards – Unfolding of a wine revolution
Ravi Viswanathan, the chairman of Grover Zampa Vineyards has revealed his plans to transform the company into a multi-faceted, modern, diversified, globally competitive and a sustainable wine business. Ravi has made the road map for the same and also infused a lot funds into the company through private equity route. Whereas the plans are ambitiousContinue reading “Grover Zampa Vineyards – Unfolding of a wine revolution”
Economics of Champagne
Grower Champagnes (Récoltant-Manipulant) are those that are produced by the same estate that owns the vineyards where the grapes are grown. Now here lets talk about economics of making and selling champagne by the grower himself. Its evident that he would make a profit only if he is able to sell his champagne at aContinue reading “Economics of Champagne”