The Wine Voyage

Table of Contents - Why Argentine Wine Is Different - The Major Argentine Wine Regions - Argentine Wine Regions Compared - The Grape Varieties of Argentine Wine - Pairing Argentine Wine with Food - Buying Argentine Wine: What You Need to Know - Argentine Wine in Corporate Events - Further Reading There's a moment in every wine drinker's journey when Argentine wine stops being "oh, that's good Malbec" and becomes something you actively seek out. It happened for me when I first tasted a high-altitude Malbec from Luján de Cuyo — the kind of wine that has dark fruit intensity but an elegance I didn't expect from South America. Since then, Argentine wine has consistently overdelivered. Argentina is the fifth-largest wine producer in the world and, by any measure, the most dynamic. It's a country that took a borrowed grape (Malbec from France's Cahors), moved it to the Andes, and produced something entirely its own. And it didn't stop there. Why Argentin...

Table of Contents - What Makes the Loire Valley Unique - The Four Zones of Loire Valley Wine - Loire Valley Wine Styles at a Glance - How to Pair Loire Valley Wine - Buying Loire Valley Wine: What to Look For - Loire Valley Wine and the Vintage Question - Corporate Wine Tasting Experiences - Further Reading If I had to choose one French wine region to spend a week exploring, it would be the Loire Valley — no contest. It runs for over 600 miles through the heart of France, producing a staggering range of styles, from bone-dry sparkling Crémant to luscious late-harvest Quarts de Chaume. No other single appellation in the world covers so much ground, both literally and stylistically. Loire Valley wine doesn't dominate wine lists the way Bordeaux and Burgundy do, and that's exactly why it rewards the curious drinker. You get serious quality at prices that still feel reasonable, and wine styles that are genuinely hard to find elsewhere. What Makes the Loire Valley Unique The Loire R...

Table of Contents - What Makes the Loire Valley Unique - The Four Zones of Loire Valley Wine - Loire Valley Wine Styles at a Glance - How to Pair Loire Valley Wine - Buying Loire Valley Wine: What to Look For - Loire Valley Wine and the Vintage Question - Corporate Wine Tasting Experiences - Further Reading If I had to choose one French wine region to spend a week exploring, it would be the Loire Valley — no contest. It runs for over 600 miles through the heart of France, producing a staggering range of styles, from bone-dry sparkling Crémant to luscious late-harvest Quarts de Chaume. No other single appellation in the world covers so much ground, both literally and stylistically. Loire Valley wine doesn't dominate wine lists the way Bordeaux and Burgundy do, and that's exactly why it rewards the curious drinker. You get serious quality at prices that still feel reasonable, and wine styles that are genuinely hard to find elsewhere. What Makes the Loire Valley Unique The Loire R...

Table of Contents - What Is Pinotage? - What Does Pinotage Taste Like? - Pinotage Styles Compared - Where Pinotage Grows Best - How to Pair Pinotage with Food - The Cape Blend: Pinotage's Best Team-Up - How to Buy Pinotage - Common Pinotage Questions - Corporate Wine Tasting: South African Wine Discovery - Further Reading Every wine-producing country has a grape it can call its own. France has its Malbec (well, Argentina borrowed it successfully). Spain has Tempranillo. Germany has Riesling. And South Africa has Pinotage — a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault that was born in a laboratory in 1925 and has since become the most divisive grape in the southern hemisphere. I love that about it. Pinotage doesn't try to be anything other than itself. It's polarizing, occasionally difficult, and at its best, completely compelling. If you've only encountered it at the cheap end, I'd encourage you to try a serious Stellenbosch Pinotage before writing it off. What Is Pinota...

Table of Contents - Why Portuguese Wine Stands Apart - Key Portuguese Wine Regions - Essential Portuguese Wine Grapes - Understanding Port Wine - Portuguese Wine and Food Pairing - Portuguese Wine Value Guide - Three Bottles to Start With - Portuguese Wine in Corporate Events - Further Reading Portuguese wine is one of the great undervalued categories in the world. The country sits in the Atlantic southwest of the Iberian Peninsula with a winemaking history stretching back 2,000 years — and yet for decades it was known internationally for little more than Port and Mateus Rosé. That oversight is increasingly corrected by a new generation of producers making some of the most interesting, genuinely distinctive wine anywhere on earth. Portugal is home to around 250 indigenous grape varieties found nowhere else. Its wines taste like nothing from France, Italy, or Spain. The diversity is staggering — from featherweight sparkling Vinho Verde on the Atlantic coast to brooding, age-worthy reds ...

Table of Contents - Why Portuguese Wine Stands Apart - Key Portuguese Wine Regions - Essential Portuguese Wine Grapes - Understanding Port Wine - Portuguese Wine and Food Pairing - Portuguese Wine Value Guide - Three Bottles to Start With - Portuguese Wine in Corporate Events - Further Reading Portuguese wine is one of the great undervalued categories in the world. The country sits in the Atlantic southwest of the Iberian Peninsula with a winemaking history stretching back 2,000 years — and yet for decades it was known internationally for little more than Port and Mateus Rosé. That oversight is increasingly corrected by a new generation of producers making some of the most interesting, genuinely distinctive wine anywhere on earth. Portugal is home to around 250 indigenous grape varieties found nowhere else. Its wines taste like nothing from France, Italy, or Spain. The diversity is staggering — from featherweight sparkling Vinho Verde on the Atlantic coast to brooding, age-worthy reds ...