Tag: Natural Wine

Wine with Dinner: Randomly Chosen in July

August is summer vacation month in Europe but there will be no let up on these pages. There’s always a lot of wine to taste, especially with the Weber grill at peak capacity, and wineries to visit. August will take me on a couple of excursions: first to Graubünden and Weinguts Donatsch and Adank in […]

The Raw Wine Fair: London 2016 — The Swiss Guard

London is on fire. Apart from its wildly popular tourist attractions, London has evolved into a world-wide advert for provenance-based food sourcing as practiced by hundreds of its ardent chef believers. Quality local and regional foodstuffs are flourishing, family farms are reawakening and sustainable farming practices are restoring the health of the land. Just as […]

Wine with Dinner: Randomly Chosen in April

Thanks! Many of the wines tasted this month were courtesy of François Gauthier, the congenial partner at the excellent wine merchant La Cave de Reverolle, who invited me to their annual spring release tasting in Morges. La Cave de Reverolle is a fantastic source for top-quality French and Italian labels and their Swiss portfolio is […]

Natural Wine Part 2: Whither go the Swiss?

In Natural Wine Part 1: What Is It?—published in this blog on January 5, 2016 (see Menu)— I explored the current understanding of the term “natural” wine and the confusing lack of defining standards. Even though consensus is elusive—and maybe that’s how it should be—there is one thing everyone agrees on: a “natural” wine is […]

A Wine of Note: Domaine Wannaz

Merlot, “Chante” 2012, Coteaux de Léman, Domaine Wannaz, VdP Suisse The poem/tasting note on the front label, roughly translated, reads: “A flash of sour cherries and the scent of vanilla are the perfumes inhaled from the peace pipe of the all powerful.” I’d like to say that about sums it up, but I can’t, because […]

A Wine of Note: Valentina Andrei

Fendant 2014, Valentina Andrei, Valais (chasselas) On a quick visit to one of my favorite wine stores, Le Passeur du Vin in Geneva, I came across this little bit of history modestly floor-stacked among the new arrivals: the first vintage from Valentina Andrei’s eponymous winery. A transplanted Romanian, Ms. Andrei is already a bit of […]

A Wine of Note: Tom Litwan

Pinot Noir, “Chalofe” 2013, Thalheim (Tom Litwan), Aargau In a recent article wine writer and author Jon Bonné makes an obligatory end of year prediction designed to arouse controversy, to wit: Swabia will be Europe’s next great wine region. He notes the wines have already passed hipster muster in Brooklyn and San Francisco and are […]

Profile: Paul-Henri Soler (Meyrin, Geneva)

Every once in a while I come across a winemaker whose character and art defy description. Ladies and gentlemen, I have recently met such a man, his name is Paul-Henri Soler. Mr. Soler came to my attention while I was researching the natural wine movement in Switzerland. He hails from the French side of the […]