Wrapping up this week’s Nebbiolo harvest reports 2012 is this from Antoniotti Odilio e Mattia in Bramaterra, Alto Piemonte. Here the terroir is very different to that of the Langhe, 90 mins drive south: in the pre-Alps, surrounded by thick forest, on predominantly volcanic, acid soils, the zone of Bramaterra (along with Gattinara and Boca nearby) […]

Stepping out of Bordeaux airport, I was greeted by a clear blue sky, heat and a gentle breeze. With a suitcase full of jumpers and a pair of wellies, I started to feel rather foolish and relieved. Foolish for not expecting the wonderful French autumn weather and forgetting my t-shirts at home and relieved that […]

Stéphanie Caslot, Dme de la Chevalerie, Bourgueil, Loire, France : ‘It started with a little frost on a few parcelles  of gravels on april 16th – bad news but nothing too serious in comparison with some other vineyards of the region – then we had a rainy spring with some very localized hail stormed. We had […]