We're pleased to announce the latest publication from Ansonia Wines. The Ansonia Notebook is a monthly collection of recipes, stories, discounted wines, and customer recommendations. The August Notebook has just been released.
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Pure Old-Vine Grenache.
Grenache is France’s second most planted grape. Found mostly in the South, as the primary grape in most Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Côtes du Rhône, grenache vines can also live well past their 100th birthday. With age comes lower yields and higher quality.
A Sparkling Blend of Grapes and Cultures.
Alsace is one of our favorite places to visit. Wedged between France and Germany, this remarkably beautiful region has changed hands four times since the 1930s. Its inhabitants identify as Alsatian more than either French or German, and today Alsace incorporates the best traditions – cultural, culinary, oenological – of both nations.
Grenache and Syrah: Violets and Plums.
“Natural wine” is a popular buzzword these days, one with varied definitions and no lack of controversy. Whatever you take it to mean — biodynamic, no sulfites, organic, unfiltered — the goal is the same: to create wine with little intervention between grape and glass.
11-Year-Old Pomerol.
Wine classification can be confusing -- categorization and branding changes dramatically from one region to another. For example, the Old World tends to identify wines by place, while the New World tends to use grape varietal. It seems a minor shift, but it has enormous implications for the way people perceive wines.
New Rosé: Earthy Wild Strawberries. $14.95
After 13 years running Burgundy’s prestigious Domaine de l’Arlot, Olivier Leriche moved south to the rugged and remote region of Ardèche. More than just a change in landscape, the shift presented Olivier with an entirely new range of grape varietals: carignan, grenache, syrah, cabernet, and others.
By-the-Glass Côtes-du-Rhône. $15
Some wines hit a sweet spot between balance, versatility, and price. These are wines to reach for after a long day at work, or to drink while curled up with a book. They’re wines you don’t need to think hard about – uncomplicated, refreshing, and inexpensive.
Crisp, Refreshing Breton Cider. $11.95
Cider has seen an explosion in popularity recently. Everyone from large beer companies to small scale New England farms has jumped into the game, and “craft cider” is no longer hard to find.
Advance Order: 9-Year-Old Grand Cru Red Burgundy
We’ve tasted a lot of wine over the past few weeks: 40 winemakers, three regions, and several hundred wines in all. Friday night, over Breton oysters and Muscadet in a Nantes brasserie, we made the “Best Of” list -- “most memorable meal,” “most exciting new producer,” and “wine of the trip.”
[TravelBlog] Post Twenty-Nine: Fin
We spend the morning putting finishing touches on three weeks of tasting notes. Over coffee we discuss the final lineup for next week's Futures Issue, and catch the noon TGV from Nantes to Paris. At Montparnasse we take a cab to the Latin Quarter, where our rental host is waiting.
[TravelBlog] Post Twenty-Eight: Muscadet
A morning drive through the Vallée de la Loire -- sprawling fields of wheat and corn dotted with grain elevators and crumbling churches. Our first tasting is with a familiar Muscadet producer -- pure and expressive wines showing far more complexity than most expect from the grape.
[TravelBlog] Post Twenty-Seven: Chinon
Coffee, toast, and a collection of homemade jams for breakfast this morning -- back for a third time at the utterly pleasant Hotel Diderot in Chinon. Our first appointment is out in the fields east of Chinon; a young producer we discovered a few years ago when he had just started to bottle his own wines. This year's crop is…
[TravelBlog] Post Twenty-Six: Vouvray
We take our coffee in Amboise, near a bridge over the river Loire. Our first appointment is at 9am -- a young energetic vigneron with only 3 hectares of vines, which he tends on the weekends. His wines are clear and crisp, all Chenin Blanc, both sec and demi-sec; we sample his pétillant-naturale (single fermentation sparkling wine).
[TravelBlog] Post Twenty-Five: Pouilly, Sancerre
Our 9am appointment this morning is in a sleepy town west of Pouilly-sur-Loire, still in the appellation of Pouilly-Fumé. The vingeron is absent, and his quiet, charming mother shows us his two wines. Both are excellent -- round and rich and full of life. The first shows excellent weight and length; the second, an old vine cuvée made from vines…
[TravelBlog] Post Twenty-Four: Champagne
We spend our day off with a bit of sightseeing, and some catching up on email. A short trip north to the Reims Cathedral is well worth the drive. The massive gothic masterpiece, built in stages over thousands of years and carefully restored (with, of all things, Rockefeller funding) post WWI, is magnificent; as the French say, impressionant.