On the Gorgona Island located off the Tuscany coast in Italy the prisoners work in the vineyard to produce among 2700 and 3000 bottles per year. This wine is then being sold at about fifty euros per bottle to several well-known restaurants praising the incredible taste of it. Moreover, you can find it in one of the best restaurants in Florence, rated three stars by the Michelin Guide.

This prison on the Island was founded in 1969 and has been functioning in almost complete isolation from the continent since. It counts forty prisoners who are not wine growers but real bandits and outriders convicted of murder.

The Gorgona Island prisoners are paid by the Marquesi Francesco de Frescobaldi, a 700-year-old wine-grower dynasty, participating in the “reintegration by agriculture” program.

Planted in 1999 on the rich mineral soils of the smallest Tuscany Archipelago island, 37 kilometers off the Livorno port, the vineyard occupies 2,5 acres (1 hectare) facing east.

Abandoned for some time, the vineyard was brought back to life in 2009 by a sicilian prisoner – wine grower, who left his place after serving his sentence to other prisoners sharing the same passion for the vineyards.

A reintegration program where the vineyard gives as much as it receives,

In Vino Veritas …

(photo: copyright Alessandro Bianchi, Reuters)

L’article From Penal Colony to Paradise est apparu en premier sur Blog World Grands Crus.

You can see parts of the documentary here below or the entire in the above-mentioned link. Everyone has the right to make his own opinion.

L’article Vino Business when truth hurts est apparu en premier sur Blog World Grands Crus.

But it’s also an 80 000 bottle production of Château Pommard, of which, 20 000 bottles are of the Clos du Château, to top it all up, 35 000 visitors per year! It is one of the top oenotouristic spots of the Côte d’Or area. With a 6 million Euro annual turnover, the Château Pommard aged over 300 years, is also a symbol of the Burgundy area, and part of France’s heritage.
It belonged to the Laplanche family since 1936; the founder of MGM Constructors, Maurice Giraud, bought the château in 2003. He was the person that created this great art gallery on the Grand crus circuit.
It was during a visit by a fifty year old American, Michael Baum, founder amidst others of founder.org that had a real crush for “this magical place” as he underlined himself.
Domains and Châteaux that are part of France’s heritage are being increasingly sold to Americans, Chinese, Swiss, Russian or Brazilian tycoons amongst others. All these millionaires (if not billionaires) are looking for new toys!

You might argue that the nationality of the owner is not important, it’s the team that is going to allow the tradition to stay and keep the know-how, continuing to make fine wine amateurs, to keep on dreaming. And if, thanks to this financial flow, our domains and châteaux continue to live and develop over time, at the same time providing jobs to men and women that produce this much sought after nectar, we will be able to thank all this foreign wealth.

But please don’t forget dear tycoon friends, that this heritage is ours, and can’t and should not under any circumstances be modified, destroyed or used for any other purpose than that it was designed for; making the best wine in the world.

L’article Michael Baume buy’s Château Pommard est apparu en premier sur Blog World Grands Crus.

A first study has been carried out by Italian researchers, 400 bottles of “Sangiovese” were divided, for one half of them in a professional’s cellar, keeping the wine at temperatures varying between 15º to 16º C, the second lot was stored in a house at a temperature oscillating between 20 and 26ºC. The researchers discovered that small temperature variations accelerated several chemical reactions associated with the maturing of wines, as well as developing new chemical reactions that were absent from wines kept at lower temperatures.
It was noted that after six months of storage at room temperature, the bottles had aged as much as those that had been kept for two years under optimal storage conditions. In other words, a maturing rate that is four times higher!

Wines stored at “home” present fewer anti-oxidizing agents, fewer pigments, and above all, less taste.

Therefore, storing your cherished great vintages under your stairway is not really recommended. If you don’t have an adequate storage area, we recommend that you invest in a maturing cellar, without a glass door and at a constant temperature of 13ºC in the dark with a humidity level of 60%.

L’article Wine matures more rapidly “at home” est apparu en premier sur Blog World Grands Crus.

Everything started in the 16th and 17th centuries. In those days poisoning each other was a regular pass time within a certain class of persons trying to get rid of their enemies by lacing their drink. A refused invitation would have been perceived as being suspect, therefore in order to ascertain that the drink wasn’t poisoned, the guests would clash together their tin or silver goblets with the hosts in order to splash a small quantity of liquid into each others recipient. If the host proceeded to drink it meant that the beverage was not poisoned, hence, the reassured guests could drink the beverage.

It is often said that one should look straight into each others eyes when proceeding to a toast, this is also a result of those troubled times. The person’s eyes allowed the guests to see if there was an eventual reticence after having clashed goblets. If the host did not drink, it meant that the guest’s wine was poisoned.

Of course nowadays this isn’t the case anymore, nevertheless, the habit has persisted, clinking fragile glasses instead of clashing mugs, in order to share a moment of pleasure between friends, spouses or family. It’s the instant of shared emotions and feelings. around a good bottle of champagne or wine. What better way is there, to take the time to share beautiful moments with those that you appreciate?

Therefore, carry on toasting and clinking glasses to “your health” and taste, share and exchange these moments, which seem to get increasingly rare, as time goes by.

L’article Why does one clink glasses before drinking? est apparu en premier sur Blog World Grands Crus.

For the young woman under thirty it would be:

A rose, slightly sweet, fine and light for the aperitif or a light summer luncheon, such as a rose Bonbon from the Diables domain. A fine, dry white wine, very aromatic and lightly unctuous, this can be found in the Clos de la Coulée de Serrant, issued from the Nicolas Joly domain. We then propose an extremely aromatic red wine, with mellow tannins but nevertheless extremely warm, such as the Domaine de Pignan from the Chateauneuf-du-Pape vineyards. And to follow, a well-matured and very fresh brut rose Champagne, we suggest L’oeil de predrix from the Dehours domain.

For those aged between thirty and forty, they would be more inclined for:

A powerful and refined rose that is long in taste such as the Made in Provence, from the Domaine Saint Lucie. A mellow white wine, well balanced garnering beautiful freshness and fruity notes, such as the Clos Jesbal, Vendanges Tardives issued from the Zind-Humbrecht domain. An elegant red, with complex aromas like the Burgundy, Gevrey Chambertin 1er crus Les Champeaux, from the Alain Burguet domain. Finishing off with an exceptional white champagne Blanc de Blanc, extremely refined, with creamy bubbles that lingers magnificently in the mouth, such as the unique, Salon Champagne.

Women over their forties, the perfect age, based on experience, having understood the pros and cons of life and knowing how to enjoy it, will tend for:

A woody rose wine, with fine aromas and beautiful texture, wrapped up in a great length in the mouth, a Provence such as the Chateau d’Esclans from the Domaine Sacha Lichine is perfect. A brilliant white wine, having a complex bouquet, solid and well structured with a good acidity, with pure and mineral notes, a Burgundy such as the Corton-Charlemagne from the Georges Roumier domain. A red wine with the following characteristics; complex, lingering in taste, powerful and extremely elegant, a Burgundy such as the Echezeaux, Grand Cru from the Romanée Conti domain. And finally an absolute must, a Blanc de Blanc vintage champagne, capable of transmitting the flavors of an exceptional “terroir”, with a strong personality, of great quality and possessing a fabulous complexity, reflecting nature magnificently, this is perfectly illustrated by the incredible Jacques Selosse champagnes.

Well ladies, what do you think of all this?

L’article What women expect … est apparu en premier sur Blog World Grands Crus.

Burgundy , the Loire wine, Alsace, Languedoc Roussillon, Provence or Champagne, our stars are domain and chateaux owners and for some of them the vineyards are exploited by themselves.

There are no Grand Crus, but, quality wines with a future, produced with elegance, love and passion , as on the movie screen!

Wine, is a source of inspiration and pleasure, treat yourself to a session with moderation … with the wine of your stars.

And if Amélie Nothomb is right, ladies, drink Champagne, as from her opinion, it is the only drink that makes women beautiful!

L’article GLAMOUR WINES OF OUR TERROIRS est apparu en premier sur Blog World Grands Crus.

Let’s bring these figures to a more concrete scale: China has 1.351 billion people against 65.7 million for France.

Let us now calculate: for China, 155 million cases for 1,351billion inhabitants, that means about 0.11 cases per capita. For France, 150 million cases for 65.7 million people, that is 2.28 cases per capita.

So on average, the French still consume more than twenty times the quantity of red wine than the Chinese. We are therefore far from being dethroned by this country, 15 years ago, China knew nothing about wine, and wine consumption in general was zero (0%), yes you heard right, zero! It was only around 2005 that the Chinese really did start getting interested in Bordeaux wines hereby causing the price spikes of the latter.

Without being chauvinistic, France, the country of wine history, with its incomparable wine regions and its Grand Crus delighting the many aficionados since many a year hasn’t said her last word and will keep her place on the throne.

L’article THE CHINESE DRINK MORE RED WINE THAN THE FRENCH… ALL IS RELATIVE est apparu en premier sur Blog World Grands Crus.

Myth or reality, this wine is a marvel, be it by sail or not, it’s what dreams are made of

Protected designation of origin vineyard, of only 7 hectares, its slopes overlooking the Loire river. Produced from the Chenin grape, the vines are over 40 years old on average and over 80 years for the older ones. Partly grown by hand and horse labor, the production offers about 25,000 bottles per year of a particularly well-polished wine.
Nicolas Joly, practises the biodynamie, a source of complexity, a moose, an additional purity. And as he says, ” to see vine growing becomes again an art, it will be necessary to understand and to use advisedly the strengths which dominate the Earth “.
Watch out, to take advantage completely of its purity it is recommended to open the bottle in advance, treasure of the Valley of Loire deserves some patience, so that it shows itself in totally.

Enjoy the tasting.

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L’article LOIRE VALLEY: WINES TRAVELLING UNDER SAIL est apparu en premier sur Blog World Grands Crus.

You’ll need a wall and a shoe. Begin by removing the tin capsule from the bottles’ neck . Then take your shoe and slide the bottle at heel level. In order to slowly pull out the plug , you must tap the heel of your shoe against the wall several times ! Don’t be too violent with the risk of ending up with an open bottle with the wine all over the place, or having to redo your plasterboard wall as well as your white paint !

I forgot to tell you that this infallible technique is reserved only for good bottles! Unfortunately for cheap wine drinkers , this technique only works with real corks !

Here is a filmed demo:

L’article How to open a bottle of wine without corkscrew? est apparu en premier sur Blog World Grands Crus.