Gastronomy and Wine Portal

Katerina Karamfyliduo, a Greek journalist, traveled through the Italian wine roads to the origins of the famous Asti wines. She shared her bright, vivid impressions with the readers of parallaximag.gr and drinks.ua.

Piedmont is a brilliant diamond nestled between Italy’s Liguria, Emilia-Romagna, the renowned Po Valley, and the mountainous regions of Switzerland and France. This region of Italy attracts and dominates the plans of every journalist writing about travel and wine. While there are numerous reasons to visit these charming lands, the wines of Asti are undeniably a major highlight. Piedmont has earned worldwide acclaim for its name, reflecting its unique location at the foot of the mountains. Its well-known climatic conditions are ideal: with cold nights, foggy mornings, and sunny days. These conditions are perfect for outstanding wines. Therefore, Piedmont is famous for its dry and sweet wines, both sparkling and still – ranging from light and fresh to powerful and aged.

At the foot of the Alps to the north and extending almost to the Ligurian Sea, gentle hills and slopes with a special microclimate create a green mosaic of vineyards on the fertile soil, popular among gourmands of this province.

This allows the vines to thrive in ideal conditions and gives the grapes the opportunity to express their aromatic qualities fully. The perfect geomorphology, limestone soils, and microclimate of the region are key factors in including local wines among the best in the world. Additionally, the modern technologically advanced wineries in the region make Piedmont a leader in viticulture compared to other Italian regions.

Piedmont is one of Italy’s most prominent wine regions and one of the most famous globally for its red wines – unique Nebbiolo and Barbaresco. It’s worth noting that Nebbiolo from the north and Sangiovese from Central Italy are two of the country’s most significant grape varieties.

This is, probably, one of the best places for wine lovers in Europe. But it’s not just about the wines. Visitors from around the world come to local estates, cellars, and wineries year-round and in any weather. I recall the incredible experience of visiting the underground Canelli cellars – true cathedrals with arcades and corridors dug into the hills. Due to their unique historical and architectural value, these underground cellars, where wines are stored today, have been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In addition to the estates and wineries themselves, the charming, quiet mountain villages, historical landmarks, and architectural masterpieces of bygone times provide the perfect backdrop for special meals featuring truffle dishes, unique cheeses, and cold appetizers, all accompanied by excellent local wines.

Of course, the highlight comes with main courses of rare Italian pasta varieties, excellent veal, homemade polenta, and impressive casseroles to suit any taste!

Trattorias, restaurants with amazing, updated wine lists, and wineries perfectly suited for tastings, even without considering the natural landscape, are a delight for a fantastic wine tour.

Alongside the region’s star wines mentioned above, Piedmont has another gem – naturally sweet, summer-fragranced, sparkling white wine of the Moscato variety, produced mostly in the Asti region – unique Moscato D’Asti!

Let’s look at its historical roots: the Moscato variety has been cultivated for 1000 years in Piedmont, primarily in the Asti, Cuneo, and Alessandria regions. Giovanni Battista Croce, a Milanese jeweler in the 17th century, is considered the father of Moscato d’Asti, as he managed to produce a lightly alcoholic wine while preserving the natural sweetness of the must and its aromatic qualities. Four centuries have passed since then – until 1993, when Asti Spumante and Moscato d’Asti were awarded DOCG status.

Today, the hallmark of Asti includes fruity notes with floral dominance, delicate playful bubbles, and perfectly low alcohol content, guiding the world of gastronomic pleasures.

The Moscato Bianco grape offers two distinct expressions in Asti Spumante (by the way, the world’s most famous sweet sparkling wine) and Moscato D’Asti. In these two wines based on Moscato, the aroma and all the organoleptic qualities of the grape remain unchanged and are conveyed directly to the glass thanks to gentle pressing of the grapes and incomplete alcoholic fermentation, which allows some natural sugars to remain in the wine.

Both wines come from the vineyards of the Asti, Cuneo, and Alessandria regions. The Alps and Apennines create an excellent microclimate for producing one of Europe’s top winemaking products! Some believe that the relative proximity of Alessandria to coastal culture also influences the young, fresh style of the wines.

Asti Spumante DOCG is made from 100% Moscato Bianco; it is a sparkling wine with an aromatic flavor, well-balanced sweetness, and moderate alcohol content (6-12%). It is a very pleasant aperitif, typically paired with first courses, cold cuts, fresh cheese, shellfish, as well as fruits and delicate sweets. The area produces 60 million bottles per year.

Moscato D’Asti DOCG is an especially refined wine, with ripe grape aromas and slightly sweeter, lighter, and more delicate play with floral notes and hints of sage and ripe fruits. Its current appeal lies in its low alcohol content (4.5-6.5%). Moscato D’Asti DOCG is ideal for accompanying light desserts or as an aperitif or digestif at the end of a meal. The production volume is 40 million bottles per year.

Foto: Alʹvaro Fernandes Priyeto, parallaximag.gr

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Katerina Karamfyliduo, a Greek journalist, traveled through the Italian wine roads to the origins of the famous Asti wines. She shared her bright, vivid impressions with the readers of parallaximag.gr and drinks.ua. Piedmont is a brilliant diamond nestled between Italy’s Liguria, Emilia-Romagna, the renowned Po Valley, and the mountainous regions of Switzerland and France. This region of […]

Burgenland, the easternmost of Austria’s federal states, is influenced by the hot, continental Pannonian climate and produces the most opulent and authoritative red wines in Austria, along with complex whites and extraordinarily fine sweet wines. In terms of natural conditions, the regional particularities of Burgenland should not be underestimated.

Region & wine

All the way in the south, the Eisenberg, with its unique soils and light influence of the Styrian climate, offers the best possible conditions for Blaufränkisch grapes, which produce red wines with the finest minerality and incomparable elegance. The Ruster Ausbruch is also one of the most famous sweet wines – in the world and an integral part of the regional viticultural identity. The heavy loam soils of Mittelburgenland and the Rosalia region impart a particular depth of fruit and length on the palate to Blaufränkisch wines, while in the hilly areas west of Lake Neusiedl, this is sometimes enhanced with distinct mineral notes and perceptible tannins.

Schützen am Gebirge, Leithaberg, Burgenland

With its limestone and slate soils, the eastern slope of the Leitha Range provides a unique terroir for complex white wines – particularly for Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay, but also for Grüner Veltliner – as well as for reds produced from Blaufränkisch. Fine Prädikatswein, such as the legendary Ruster Ausbruch, completes the trinity of wines that demonstrates Burgenland’s viticultural expertise.

Hummergraben, Eisenberg, Burgenland

To the east of Lake Neusiedl, Blauer Zweigelt prevails, producing powerful, juicy reds – although Blaufränkisch and Sankt Laurent also manage to yield outstanding results. The Seewinkel region to the south, with its special microclimate, belongs to one of the world’s few true bastions of sweet wine. Here, the high humidity – resulting from the presence of numerous small lakes, or “Zicklacken” – encourages the onset of Botrytis cinerea (noble rot). This enables the regular production of premium Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese wines here. Welschriesling attains exceptional levels of expressiveness in this style, as do other grape varieties like Chardonnay, Scheurebe and Traminer.

Burgenland, Mittelburgenland, Girm-Deutschkreutz

One of the most remarkable aspects of the wine industry in Burgenland has been the pioneering approach of the winegrowers, which has also enabled wines produced from international varieties, as well as powerful red cuvée blends, to achieve the highest level of recognition in recent years.

Ried Ragaberg, Raiding, Mittelburgenland, Burgenland

Following the release of Burgenland’s first regionally typical wine (Mittelburgenland DAC, with the 2005 vintage), other regions have also achieved DAC recognition: Leithaberg DAC, Eisenberg DAC and Neusiedlersee DAC. Since then, the former Großlage (large collective vineyard site) of Rosalia was awarded its own DAC in 2018, together with the Ruster Ausbruch DAC in 2020, making Burgenland’s DAC family finally complete.

Geology

Burgenland – generic winegrowing region is made up of the Styrian and Pannonian Basins, the Austroalpine nappes and the Penninic zone. The Austroalpine nappes consist of several strata of rock with the bottom level of the Penninic zone cropping out in tectonic windows. Sedimentary deposits from the Quaternary are particularly widespread in the north of the region. Coarse-grained sandy gravels with varying carbonate content, originating from the courses of the former Danube, represent more than 60% of the soils here. The Seewinkel gravels in particular are found in about one third of all vineyards in the region. Seewinkel gravels are only covered by fine sediments in a few places, while a loamy, often lime-deficient top layer can be found extensively covering the older terraces. 

A good third of the region’s vineyards are located on the basin’s sedimentary deposits from the Neogene. These vary greatly in composition, in terms of grain size, carbon content and degree of consolidation. They range from clays (which are sometimes silty and sometimes almost pure and non-calcareous) in Mittelburgenland, to hard Leitha limestone. Although there is only a small proportion of vineyards that lie on hard rock, these rocks are very diverse and include dolomite and limestone, limestone schist, clayey schist and mica schist, along with different forms of gneiss, amphibolite and serpentinite.

Photo: © Austrian Wine

Burgenland, the easternmost of Austria’s federal states, is influenced by the hot, continental Pannonian climate and produces the most opulent and authoritative red wines in Austria, along with complex whites and extraordinarily fine sweet wines. In terms of natural conditions, the regional particularities of Burgenland should not be underestimated. Region & wine All the way […]

If you’re looking for an experience that takes you to the heart of the authentic spirit of an Italian winemaking region, you simply must visit the birthplace of Asti and Moscato d’Asti.

Situated in Piedmont, in the northwest of Italy, only a few kilometers from the foothills of the Alps, the shores of the Mediterranean and the flatlands of the Po valley, made fertile by Italy’s most important river, the areas of Asti Spumante and Moscato d’Asti have for centuries been the home of the Moscato Bianco varietal. This is an ancient vine found in many parts of the world, but which shows a particular predilection for the climate and soil of Piedmont, yielding aromatic grapes that express rare and unique scents and flavors that lie dormant when the varietal is grown in other places.

The Moscato Bianco varietal, whose golden bunches are the only ones destined to become Asti Spumante and Moscato d’Asti, thrives on about 10 thousand hectares of vineyards stretched atop rolling hills in the provinces of Alessandria, Asti and Cuneo.

The origins of the local soil are stratified sediments of a primordial ocean basin, giving this area a special geological profile and resulting in a variegated environment that man’s hand has shaped without infringing on its beauty.

A land of ancient hamlets and towns, dotted with castles and period residences, where cellars and tunnels dug into the earth are still in use, aging wines and spumante of excellent quality, appreciated worldwide. After all, it was here that, over a hundred and fifty years ago, the first Italian sparkling wine was born: an Asti Spumante, naturally.

Among the marquee attractions in the land of Asti Spumante and Moscato d’Asti, which in 2014 was the first of Italy’s premier winemaking regions to be declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, the 50^th Italian site, there are Canelli’s Cantine Storiche, in the province of Asti, amazing underground cathedrals of wine, winding for kilometers under the city.

Another must-see are the breathtaking panoramas of the hills, geometrically blanketed by the rows of grapevines, and the medieval towers and strongholds that are scattered throughout the countryside, as well as the natural splendors waiting to be discovered by excursionists.

Last but not by any means least, there is the famously delectable cuisine of the area, which pairs artisanal cold cuts and cheeses and Asti Spumante or Moscato d’Asti, as well as healthy, farm-fresh meat and vegetables and classic Piedmont dishes like vitello tonnato, cold slices of roast veal in a creamy tuna sauce; agnolotti with “plin”, a traditional filled pasts in the shape of a classic candy, or old-time cakes like hazelnut torte and homemade pudding, made with eggs and cocoa.

Asti Spumante and Moscato d’Asti are therefore the ideal ambassadors for a land that boasts so many excellences and that fully meets the demands of eco-tourism: green, sustainable, up to date and mindful.

If you’re looking for an experience that takes you to the heart of the authentic spirit of an Italian winemaking region, you simply must visit the birthplace of Asti and Moscato d’Asti.

Niederösterreich is Austria’s largest Qualitätswein wine-growing region. This region is associated with a wealth of different origins and wine styles produced from unique domestic grapes, as well as international varieties.

Niederösterreich is home to eight specific Qualitätswein wine-growing regions, ranging from Wachau in the west to Carnuntum in the east. It can be divided into three rough climate zones: the Weinviertel in the north, the Danube region and its tributary valleys to the west of Vienna, and Niederösterreich, with its Pannonian climate, in the south-east.

Vineyards Kremstal 

Region & Wine

The vast Weinviertel made headlines in 2003, when it was the first wine-growing region in Austria to decide to exclusively use the name of the region to market its most regionally typical wine, namely its flagship, peppery Grüner Veltliner. Since then, the designation Weinviertel DAC on a label guarantees that the wine held within is an aromatic, peppery and refreshing Grüner Veltliner. Since the 2009 vintage, powerful Reserve wines have also been released under this designation. The diverse range of varietals from the Weinviertel includes refreshing white wines, fruity reds and even a selection of sweet wines, which are labelled with Niederösterreich as their designation of origin.

Vineyards Wachau

A number of delightful wine villages are threaded along the Danube from Melk to Klosterneuburg, and along the Krems, Traisen and Kamp tributaries like a string of pearls. Here, Riesling has established itself as a flagship variety alongside Grüner Veltliner. These two varieties express their typical regional characteristics under the designations Wachau DAC, Kremstal DAC, Kamptal DAC, Traisental DAC and Wagram DAC.

Vineyards Carnuntum

The steep crystalline hillsides of the Wachau valley transition into loess terraces in the eastern part of the neighbouring Kremstal, which also influence the character of the wines to a certain extent in the Traisental and Kamptal – . However, this influence is especially seen in Wagram, where Roter Veltliner has become preeminent alongside Grüner Veltliner. In the Kamptal, especially on the Heiligenstein mountain, the conglomerate and non-calcareous soils give the wines their distinctive character. Specialities such as Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay in this part of Niederösterreich – alongside elegant red wines – round out the region’s colourful offering.

Vineyards Weinviertel

 Influenced by the Pannonian climate, Niederösterreich – to the south and east of Vienna – is home to some of Austria’s most outstanding red wines, with Zweigelt and Blaufränkisch in Carnuntum forming the basis for this region’s distinctive DAC wines. Regionally typical white wines are produced here too, centred on Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Grüner Veltliner. In the Thermenregion, Pinot Noir and Sankt Laurent set the tone for the area’s red wines. The white varieties Zierfandler and Rotgipfler are unique indigenous varieties that are almost exclusively found in this area. Niederösterreich is a vast region, whose wines are as diverse as they are outstanding.

Vineyards Kamptal 

Geology

Niederösterreich includes the following geological units: the Moldanubian zone, the Moravian zone, the Molasse zone and Vienna Basin, the Waschberg zone, the Flysch zone, the Northern Calcareous Alps and the Central Eastern Alps. All the major geological units are covered with deposits from the Quaternary, such as powdery loess and coarse-grained terrace gravel, which have a significant influence on wine-growing, Loess is the parent material in over half of the vineyards in this region, providing a good rooting depth and a soil containing varying proportions of lime and dolomite. Almost one third of the region’s vineyards grow on deposits from the Neogene period within the Molasse zone and Vienna Basin. Apart from the conglomerate, Leitha limestone, marl and sandstone that have formed in some places, the dominant rocks here are all unconsolidated. They contain every possible combination of clayey silt, sand, gravel and coarse gravel in various proportions, and can also differ greatly in terms of their carbonate content.

Just over 6% of the vineyards here are located on soils that overlay hard crystalline rock from the Bohemian Massif. These areas are dominated by acidic gneiss, granite and granulite. Especially in the area marked by an abundance of foliated paragneiss, layers of amphibolite are common, as well as the occasional layer of marble. A feature worthy of particular mention are the remnants of the mountain range’s first cycle of erosion, which are preserved in the Zöbing formation from the late Palaeozoic.

Explore Austrian through Austrianvineyards.com

Фото: © Austrian Wine

Niederösterreich is Austria’s largest Qualitätswein wine-growing region. This region is associated with a wealth of different origins and wine styles produced from unique domestic grapes, as well as international varieties. Niederösterreich is home to eight specific Qualitätswein wine-growing regions, ranging from Wachau in the west to Carnuntum in the east. It can be divided into […]

Tel.: +34 659 68 25 41
Email: shukhrat.khakimov@gmail.com
Web: www.facebook.com/Shukhrat-Khakimov-Viticultores-103984248882268
Address: Plz Constitución, 7. San Juan de Alicante. 03550 Alicante, Spain

Shukhrat Khakimov & Viticultores – it is an association of winemakers, oenologists, people who are passionate about wine and everything related to it.

Shukhrat Khakimov & Viticultores project was a nominee of the Wine Travel Awards 2021-2022 in nomination Progressive Approach.

Chief winemaker, CEO and founder – Shukhrat Khakimov. He moved from Kazakhstan to Europe when he was a student. He graduated from the Higher School of Agriculture in Angers (Groupe ESA) in France, the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV) in Spain and the Università Cattolica Del Sacro Cuore (UCSCP) in Italy. All research was related to viticulture, oenology, winemaking, viticulture and terroir management. After his graduation, Shukhrat decided to stay in Spain and start his story with the support of friends and family.

The driving force of the project is sustainability; the main goal is the production of non-traditional wines.

Although SK&V is a young project, it already has some inspiring achievements, such as high scores from one of Spain’s most popular guides, Guía Peñin.

Another exciting project from Shuhrat Khakimov – with Luis Campos de Azcarate – the WinexFood, a small family company founded in 2012 with big dreams and goals and a solid mission. WinexFood is a wine and food producer.

Tel.: +34 659 68 25 41 Email: shukhrat.khakimov@gmail.com Web: www.facebook.com/Shukhrat-Khakimov-Viticultores-103984248882268 Address: Plz Constitución, 7. San Juan de Alicante. 03550 Alicante, Spain Shukhrat Khakimov & Viticultores – it is an association of winemakers, oenologists, people who are passionate about wine and everything related to it. Shukhrat Khakimov & Viticultores project was a nominee of the Wine […]

Tel.: +34 965 943 090
Email: info@winexfood.com
Web: www.winexfood.com
Address: Plaza de la Constitución, 7. 03550 San Juan de Alicante, Spain

Winexfood – is a family business founded in 2012 by Shukhrat Khakimov and Luis Campoz de Azcarate. “We are a small company, but with big dreams and goals,” say the project organizers.

Winexfood – producer and wine and food seller from the sunny coast of San Juan de Alicante, Spain. The company produces and exports more than 1,000 brands of wine from more than 70% of Spanish appellations. Wines from Winexfood can be found all over the world – in Europe, North and Central Africa, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, China, Japan, South Africa.

The Winexfood project was nominated for the Wine Travel Awards 2021-2022 in the Brand – the Visiting Card of the Country category and reached the final of the public voting.

Shukhrat Khakimov, one of the founders of Winexfood, is the founder of Shukhrat Khakimov & Viticultores, an association of winemakers, oenologists, people who love wine and everything related to it.

The Shukhrat Khakimov & Viticultores project was also nominated for the Wine Travel Awards 2021-2022 in the Progressive Approach category.

Winexfood – is a family business founded in 2012 by Shukhrat Khakimov and Luis Campoz de Azcarate. “We are a small company, but with big dreams and goals,” say the project organizers.

All the team of Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte, a Wine Travel Awards nominee in the categories “Must Visit”, “Objet d’Art”, “Progressive Approach”, wishes the WTA community and everyone a Merry Christmas and a joyful New Year!

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGpDsCnzwNs[/embedyt]

Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte, a Wine Travel Awards nominee, lies just south of the city of Bordeaux in the Pessac-Leognan wine region. It is nestled amidst a sea of green woodlands, blooming wildflowers, and vines. To reach the chateau, you’ll have to brave your way down French country roads that far seem too narrow by American standards. The landscape is so verdant and vibrant you will think it’s impossible that you left metropolitan Bordeaux less than half an hour ago.

A 14th-century tower, built during the Renaissance, rises up from the sprawling vineyards, marking the heritage and legacy of the Smith Haut Lafitte estate. It looks as if it was carefully lifted from the hills of ancient Scotland and gently teleported to Martillac.

There is another, smaller tower, nestled toward the rear of the Chateau. It’s unprepossessing. Just one more beautiful piece of the stunning property. But it holds one of the most prized elements of winemaking at Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte. It is a crucial piece of their winemaking prestige. It has no tanks or presses. It never holds any grapes. It’s filled with the warm smell of wood and smoke. The air rings with the ping, ping, ping of hammers hitting chisels. This is the Chateau’s in-house tonnelerie.

It is extremely rare for a chateau to have its own tonnelerie in the modern era. Making your own barrels requires tools and expertise that few chateaux want to invest in. And to do it properly, by hand, is an act of human strength bordering on superpower.

There’s perfection, and then there’s perfection. When asked in a job interview: “What’s your greatest flaw?” One person might say they’re just too much of a perfectionist. But you know they’re not talking about real perfection. The type of perfection that irons its socks. The type of perfection that cleans the sink drain with a paintbrush. The perfection that vacuums its carpets in straight, even rows to get the perfect vacuum “stripes.” This is the level of perfection in practice at Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte’s tonnelerie.

The resident tonnelier, Yann, is as unprepossessing as the tonnelerie tower. From a distance, he looks like someone who could have a desk job. But up close, you begin to see his sinewy physical strength. Take a look at his arms, and you’ll notice something the size and shape of a golf ball directly underneath his right elbow. It’s not a tumor. It’s a muscle.

Barrels can be toasted light, medium, or heavy, and any degree in between. The wood can come from specific forests, but even more particular than that, it can come from specific plots in specific forests. The combination of a certain level of toast with the wood from a certain plot can create dramatically different results.

When Yann first came to the Chateau, he spent months with the Cathiard family, the Technical Director, and the Cellar Master, selecting the perfect wood from the perfect forests. They tested every possible level of toast. They filled these test barrels with wines from different grape varieties and different vineyard parcels. After months in the barrel, they conducted tasting panels together.

After tasting hundreds of samples, the team concluded that there was not one “correct” barrel. Instead, there was a correct blend of barrels, just like there was a correct blend of grapes. So, they created a recipe. The wood from this parcel gets toasted to this level, and this different parcel gets toasted to this different level, and for each three of the first barrels we use, we’ll make two of the second barrels. And we’ll also add one of a third, different barrel from a different plot at a different level of toast.

Following these recipes, the tonnelier makes up to two barrels per day. They’re stacked up in the tonnelerie in all different stages of completion. Some are newly assembled, the form bound together at the top with thick black metal rings, the bottom flaring out like a trumpet. Others look completely finished to the novice eye, but they have hours of shaving, sanding, and polishing yet to undergo.

You don’t make one barrel from start to finish all in one day. That’s too inefficient. So, while the barrel you assembled yesterday is toasting, you might be inspecting the pieces for a new barrel, or putting the end boards on a second, or finely shaving a third.

But, if you were to go in order, it would progress something like this: first, the oak arrives in pre-shaped pieces of varying widths, stacked on a pallet two meters high. Each pallet is identified by its plot. Just as a good wine is made by rigorously selecting the grapes, a good barrel requires precise selection of its wooden pieces. The tonnelier individually examines each board. He peers across the front and down each side to classify strength and quality. When a tree is growing, the wood grain is where the liquid from the roots gets transported to the branches. So, if a wood piece has a grain that runs from what will be the inside of the barrel toward what will be the outside of the barrel, wine could run through it just like water. Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte does not make leaky barrels.

After examining the boards piece by piece, the tonnelier begins to lay out the barrel on a large, flat table. He alternates between wide and narrow. The pieces with perfect wood grain go towards the bottom. Some of the pieces that seemed riskier can still be used. They are placed towards the top, where the liquid pressure is less. The widest piece in the center of the table is where the bung hole will be.

The barrel is then assembled and toasted over the course of a dozen more distinct stages. Each step is detailed and physically exhausting. The tonnelier then takes things one step further. He sands the entire exterior of the barrel to new-wood perfection. The top ring of the barrel is first shaved with a curved hand chisel, then rough sanded by hand, then finely sanded by hand, then smoothed by hand, until it feels more like glass than wood. The tonnelier explained that even though these outer surfaces will never come into contact with the wine, they are an essential part of quality. “If a barrel is perfect on the outside, that’s how you know it’s also perfect on the inside.”

For all the work that goes into creating an exceptional wine, it is strange to consider that in-house tonneleries are so rare in Bordeaux. The wine will spend most of its time in a barrel before being bottled. But the barrel is even more than a storage vessel. It imparts ellagitannins, whisky ketones, and other essential elements in the structure and elegance of fine wines. A superior wine deserves a perfect barrel.

Patricia Wilcox is a writer based between New York, Bordeaux, and Porto. She is at heart an entrepreneur, owner and founder of Awestruck Ciders in New York. She is currently on an academic sabbatical, pursuing an International Master in Wine Tourism Innovation through Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Université de Bordeaux, and Universidade do Porto.  She is WSET Level 3 Wines Certified with distinction.

Photo credit: Patricia Wilcox

All the team of Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte, a Wine Travel Awards nominee in the categories “Must Visit”, “Objet d’Art”, “Progressive Approach”, wishes the WTA community and everyone a Merry Christmas and a joyful New Year!

Drinks+ talks about a book by Simon J Woolf that all wine and travel lovers can use as a guide.

Briton Simon J Woolf has had a difficult and varied career path: he was a musician, sound engineer, IT consultant, but at some point, wine appeared in Simon’s life. As a wine journalist, Mr. Woolf founded an online magazine about natural wines, began publishing articles in Decanter and Meininger’s Wine Business International, and became a recognized expert on natural, organic, and biodynamic wines. Among Woolf’s literary achievements, there is the prestigious 2019 Roederer Best Wine Book of the Year for “Amber Revolution” dedicated to orange wines. Besides, the New York Times included this book in the Top 5 Best Wine Books of 2018.

We hope that another work by Simon J Woolf, which has recently been released, awaits no less successful fate. The long title gives an exhaustive answer to the question of what will be discussed: it is immediately clear that the book “The Wine Lover’s Bucket List: 1000 Amazing Adventures in Pursuit of Wine” will talk about wine, travel, and adventure 🙂.

The book will come in handy for those wine lovers who prefer wine tourism and interesting trips, during which they can discover new wine varieties, destinations, and regions, to classical tastings and prim wine restaurants. The guide, easily readable and accompanied by atmospheric illustrations, contains stories about vineyards around the world that are worth visiting, sights that tie in with certain wine locations, and must visit events and festivals.

In this wine guide, the reader will find both traditional locations and activities (for example, dining with wine in Bordeaux or excursions to picturesque Portuguese villages), as well as rather unusual and fun ways to spend their leisure time.

Do you want to be in shoes of Adriano Celentano, a character from the popular old comedy, who crushed grapes with his feet? The author will tell you which Italian villages offer tourists this exotic attraction. Do you like not only wine, but also cycling? No problem, in the guide, you will find all the hints and tips for organizing bike tours in Champagne.

If the idyll and tranquility of vineyards and pastoral rural landscapes are not your cup of tea, you can find more “urban” entertainment in the guide, such as excursions to the wine gardens of Vienna or visits to the famous wine repositories of Rome.

In the margins of the book, you will find the author’s brief notes on the characteristics of each wine region and the top 5 best local wines that you should definitely try. We wish you all a pleasant reading and an equally pleasant stay! 🙂

Drinks+ talks about a book by Simon J. Woolf that all wine and travel lovers can use as a guide.

The author of “Honcharna Hora” (the “Potter’s Mountain”) non-commercial wine project is Anton Liapin, a garage winemaker. He established his production in Kharkiv Region, where he grows grapes and produces a quality product. He has been growing the varieties that belong to both Vitis vinifera and complex interspecific hybrids.

The winery’s name reflects its location: the village of Novaya Vodolaga was the land of potters, and many pottery fragments are still found in the ground. Anton Liapin decided not to ignore this historical feature: you can see various pottery fragments on each bottle.

On numerous occasions, Anton Liapin’s wines participated in competitions and won medals. For example, at the All-Ukrainian Tasting Competition for the best Ukrainian wine Uwines Awards 2019, Chardonnay 2018 from “Honcharna Hora” won a bronze medal. At the same time, in 2019, within a framework of the project “Wine Games”, which regularly conducts various tastings, the same Chardonnay 2018 was ranked 6-th among the specimens from all over the world. At the competitions among winemakers of Kharkiv Region, 5 wines from “Honcharna Hora” were ranked first in their respective categories: 3 in rosé, 1 in white, and 1 in red.

Anton Liapin believes that garage winemaking initially presupposes an author’s approach to winemaking, experiments with technology and verification methods.

Recently, the winemaker began experimenting with Pét-Nats: he used Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Citron Maharacha, and Johanniter varieties; those were primarily blends with various proportions.

The author of “Honcharna Hora” (the “Potter’s Mountain”) non-commercial wine project is Anton Liapin, a garage winemaker.

Winery Narovylo is one of the most promising microwineries in Ukraine. Its founder and chief winemaker is Valeriy Narovylo.

The winery has Italian equipment: several presses, crusher, as well as tanks for primary and secondary fermentation, and reservoirs with floating lids for storing wine materials.

In 2014, Valeriy Narovylo obtained a conclusion confirming high quality of his wines from the laboratory of the National University of Food Technologies.

Over the years, he has achieved a lot both in terms of quality and range variety. The winemaker has achieved prominent results in both vectors: mastering still wines and trying his hand with sparkling classics. His experiments with the release of Pét-Nats may also be defined as successful. During VI All-Ukrainian Tasting Competition “Variety and terroir. Micro-winemaking”, Narovylo Cabernet-Merlot 2019 won in the “The Best Red Blend” nomination.

In addition, Narovylo produces whiskey. At the Craft Ukrainian Whiskey tasting competition, which was held in 2020 by the Ukrainian Craft Distillers Association, Narovylo whiskeys ranked second and third in the category “Aged whiskey from other raw materials”: TM Narovylo’s corn-based whiskey with added rye ranked second, and TM Narovylo’s rye- and rye-malt-based whiskey ranked third. We predict that Valeriy Narovylo will surprise the admirers of his craftsmanship more than once, due to his brilliant new drinks.

Winery Narovylo is one of the most promising microwineries in Ukraine.