Do you know that wine is grown and made commercially in every state in the union? Many of these wineries are small and local, and some rely on grape juice that’s shipped in from more prolific areas, like California.
Throughout the Unites States, farmers are converting their pastures, fields, and orchards into vineyards — and growing grapes in some unexpected places. Continue reading →
As the days get longer and sunnier in the northern hemisphere here, it’s time to think about wines for summer. We’ve got three suggestions for you from South Africa — where it is actually winter there!
And because #RoseDay is TODAY, June 8, two of our summer suggestions are — you guessed it — ROSE!
Here on Wine Predator, we are excited to share two organic Lambrusco from Bugno Martino, Rosso Matilde, and Essentia, their traditionelle method Lambrusco which is such a new product that their website does not yet mention it.
While most Lambrusco comes from Emilia-Romagna (71%) with some from Puglia (20%), these two come from a small 9 hectare organic vineyard in the Mantovano area of the Lombardy region pictured in orange in the lower right of the map below. Lambrusco from this region comprise only 9% of production.
These two wines definitely defy the expectations most Americans have of Lambrusco, which conquered the market in the 1970s and 1980s with a syrupy sweet low alcohol cherry/grape bubbly. At a tasting in Beverly Hills a few years ago, I learned otherwise, and convinced Sue as well when we tasted, paired and wrote about three from Medici Ermete in June 2017.
Because of a declining interest in this style of wine, the surface area of plantings decreased 41% between 2000 and 2010.
“Biodynamic® agriculture is a philosophy and methodology that views a farm as a self-sustaining ecosystem entirely responsible for creating and maintaining its individual health and vitality without any external and unnatural additions. It is one of the most sustainable forms of agriculture, creating healthier food for healthier people and a healthier planet.”
This is how Demeter defines biodynamics, and this is how Rudy Marchesi and Montinore has practiced their farming since before 2002 when they were first certified. Today, Rudy Marchesi and Montinore are definitive leaders in biodynamic practices in the wine industry Continue reading →
