Wine Education
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Puligny-Montrachet | Burgundy Appellations

Punts | Wine Bottle Indentations

Meursault | Burgundy Appellations

Négociants | Wine & Grape Traders

Wine Trends of the Past 50 years

Alsace | German & French Wine Combined

Carignan | Modest Grape of the d'Oc

Languedoc-Roussillon

Marsanne & Roussanne

Sulphites in Wine
A compound made up of a range of sulphur compounds including Sulphur-dioxide. Sulphites appear in wine in two forms: natural and added. Natural sulphides exist in every single bottle of wine you will drink in your lifetime, as it is a naturally forming compound produced during fermentation.

Pétillant Naturel | Natural Sparkling Wine
Made in the Methode Ancestrale (ancestral method) a 'pétillant naturel’ (Pet Nat) wine is a naturally sparkling product developed in the 16th century. It was in France that this phenomenon began, partly by accident due to the unforgiving climate. While winemakers could produce delicious bottles of wine each vintage, it became an artform to prevent the warm weather of spring and summer from heating up their cellars and bursting their precious bottles.

Sémillon | Sweet Product of Botrytis
Once a widely spread varietal across the world, the Sémillon grape has been reduced to a unique rarity for the high quality sweet wines of Bordeaux and dry whites of Australia. Primarily known for its richness of flavour upon its interaction with botrytis, Sémillon is the key varietal for the longest-living wines in the world, hailing from Sauternes and Barsac.

Corked Wine | What it is and How to Recognise it
Cork is a unique and natural product derived from specifically grown cork oak trees and therefore there is always the chance that bacteria can carry through. No matter how sanitised the corks are, the pores within the product are susceptible to holding onto tiny bacterias (nothing dangerous in regards to your health).

Château Lafleur | Guinaudeau Vineyards
Also known as the Société Civile du Chateau Lafleur, the wine from these are unparalleled and have a finesse to them that has been carried through the prestigious name of Guinaudeau for generations.

Gamay | Banished Grape of Beaujolais

Aligoté | Third Grape of Burgundy
Aligoté has been grown in Burgundy since the 17th century, flourishing greatly among its two greater counterparts. Planted in the pockets on which there were no existing plots of Chardonnay or Pinot Noir, these less expensive areas (such as plateaus and valleys) became the terroir in which Aligoté thrived. As it bloomed into existence as the third varietal of the region, it was granted its own AOC, Bourgogne Aligoté, in 1937.

Wine Glass Styles | Every Wine Catered For
Originating from the Medieval times in the city of Venice, the wine glass as we know it today was formed. Since the 1400s, the general shape and design of the wine glass has remained the same, with a stem, bowl and foot. Yet, within the last century a whole array of different designs and alterations have come onto the market to accommodate almost every major grape variety.

Decanting | The Why and How
Originally it was customary to decant wine before service as it was stored in large amphoraes rather than small bottles, making it difficult to serve wine at a table. Therefore with decanting, the wine could be transferred to a smaller jug or pouring vessel to be carried around by the wait staff. Many years have passed since the 17th century yet it is still common practice to decant certain bottles of wine before drinking. No longer due to ease of pouring (as a bottle of wine is quite easily held in hand) but to ensure the wine is at its peak tasting potential for the drinker.

Pinot Noir | Champion of Burgundy
The history of the name ‘Pinot’ has often been up for debate, some believing it came from the French term pinot meaning pinecone as the small bunches of red grapes are formed in a similar shape to a pinecone. Others suggest it originated from French villages such as Pinos or Pignols, where the grape is said to have been cultivated since the Middle Ages.

French Wine Labels Deciphered

Rhône Valley | Historic Region of Winemaking

Joseph Colin | Branching out from Tradition

Women In Wine | Burgundy Region

Viognier | Back From Near Extinction

What is the 100 Point Wine Scale?

Chocolate & Wine | An Indulgent Match

Merlot | The red grape for white wine lovers

Alvina Pernot | Négoce Winemaker of Puligny-Montrachet

Storing Wine | Do's and Don'ts

Chenin Blanc | From Dry to Sweet and all in between

Syrah | Rhone Valley's Champion

Wine Tools | Corkscrews

Savoie | A Unique Mountainous Wine Region

Cabernet Franc | Hardy Grape of the Loire Valley

Chardonnay | The Versatile White
