Grower-Maker Delphine Colin’s Blanc de Blanc and Cuvee with Pairings
You probably already know that Champagne is a sparkling wine from Champagne and only Champagne, a region in northern France where growing conditions are challenging. But if you only buy Champagne at a grocery store or big box store, consider branching out to discover there’s more to that family tree in Champagne! For example, you might want to try wines that are made by the person who grew the grapes; these are called grower-maker wines and this is indicated on the label with an RM for Récoltant Manipulant (French for “grower-producer”).
On Sat. October 4, 2025, France won the World Tasting Championship with 135 points for the fourth time at Juraflore Fort des Rousses in the Jura, France. China came in second with 118 points, Australia third with 114 points, and first time competitor Macau came in fourth. Congratulations to all of the competitors, organizers, and sponsors! Read more about this year’s competition here.
But what were the wines they tasted? How hard were the wines to discern? How did the other 36 teams do? What about Team USA— how did it go for the home team? Continue reading →
In the 2025 World Tasting Championship, held today October 4 at Juraflore Fort des Rousses in the Jura, France, the French have regained the title after a final round with China, Macau, and Australia vying to win with a Hungarian Furmint leading to victory. This makes four championship titles for the French since the contest began in 2013.
What’s one of the most widely planted and well loved but not well known grapes in the world? Known as Garnacha in Spain, Grenache in France, and Cannonau in Italy, this versatile grape plays well with others and produces everything from blends to easy going rosés to nuanced red wines in styles from lighter and fruity to richer and fuller bodied. Thriving in hot, dry climates, this grape becomes the backbone of many red blends around the world, most famously in the Rhône Valley, Spain, and Australia. Typically enjoyed young and fresh with spicy, citrus, and raspberry notes, it has the potential to age and develop deeper notes of leather, tobacco, and chocolate while maintaining its medium acidity and deceptively light appearance.
Winning Wines from the Ventura County Fair with Summer Pairs
Tis the season for county fairs! Famous for showcasing homemade goods — from quilts to jams to flower arrangements and yes, wine too! The Ventura County Fair has had an amateur division for wine for many years, but it was just last year that a commercial wine division was added. In 2024, only 20 wines entered, but in 2025, we had twice as many with the majority made here in Ventura County. Much of the fruit is local too, but grapes from anywhere in California were eligible in 2025.
2022 Cocco Ilaria “Ponderata” Spoleto Trebbiano Spoletino DOC, Umbria, Italy Paired with Carbonara with fried zucchini
Fact: The wine world lacks women in wine. But Ilaria Cocco didn’t let this stop her from replanting her grandfather’s 3.5 hectares (about 7 acres) of vineyards in the Montefalco region of Umbria north of Rome, south of Florence and east of Tuscany. The vineyards had fallen into disrepair, and he died in 1998. With her father’s help in 2000, she replanted and brought the Montefalco vineyards into healthy production using organic practices as much as possible.
Ilaria Cocco in her Montefalco cellar
But soon Ilaria realized she wanted to make wine from her grapes and to carry on her grandfather’s tradition of winemaking Continue reading →
What wine would you open after seven weeks of travel visiting vineyards in Tuscany, Romagna, Puglia, Umbria, and Austria with a few days each in Florence, Rome, and Vienna? A wine that says welcome back to the complexities and chaos that is today’s United States of America? A wine that speaks to the pleasures of being beside the cool Pacific Ocean again? A wine that pairs well with American summer fare like a fresh apricot feta salad with pecans and a burger? And jet lag?
wine predator.............. gwendolyn alley 