It’s safe to say the 700 Years of Completer celebration in October was the first birthday party for a 700-something I’ve ever attended. Not so for the event organizer, Dr. José Vouillamoz, who’s an old hand at this kind of thing — yes, the 700 Years of Rèze and Humagne Blanche party in 2013 was […]
Tag: Valentina Andrei
Mondeuse: The Ghost of Grapes Past
The landscape of Swiss vineyards offered a more complicated puzzle in 1880 than it does today. Not only did viticulture suffer a massive decline during the decades of phylloxera infestation, it endured a mass migration from north to south and an alarming loss of diversity. First, some statistics. Zürich’s area under vine fell from 5,279 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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