January 17th, 2012
This article is a resource for you to find interesting sites.
I have performed website appraisal on 500 sites and I have ranked only the top 250. Herebelow is an analysis of the results.
The big guns
More people look for food or wine information on the Web in the Autumn that in other seasons. This primarily benefits the established brands. This semester the sites that gained most traffic were (in decreasing order): the Wine Spectator and CellarTracker.
The sites that gained most traffic this year were the same. Conversely fewer and fewer people go and visit the small sites, I mean the ones that do not show in the selection because they are not enough visited. So we may have a vicious circle here : few visitors bring low visibility. Maybe you have to reach out to become famous…
Diversity
The recent holiday season has favoured the big sites. Yet challengers already show in this list. You can expect some to rise higher in the next installment in April.
In the last few years the web offer has immensely diversified. Everybody and their wine supplier now has a blog. There now are many quality wine critics who comment on line. Some belong to the mainstream media, others not. So go on a reading journey by browsing the list of 250 best wine sites!
How to participate
Websites are automatically included in the contest as soon as I learn of their existence. To be eligible to the next issue of the Cellarer wine directory, the below conditions must be met:
- The main topic should be wine.
- Producing estates and wine sellers are excluded. Some of them run wonderful websites but the type of information is different.
If you disagree with the directory criteria, please comment below or e-mail me.
Here are the metrics I use for rating the wine sites. You can follow the directory evolution by subscribing to the feed on websites 
.
Tags: audience, best, blogs, directory, popularity, reference, traffic, wine blogs
Posted in websites | 2 Comments »
December 19th, 2011
The Climate
The Champagne region enjoys very favorable conditions for vine cultivation, even with it’s contradicting northerly location. The rivers and forests help to regulate the humidity. The winters are relatively mild, the summer and fall rich in sunshine and the sun’s rays reflect back on the vines from the chalky soil, permitting maximum heat and light.
The Soil
Champagne is planted on chalk. The Grand Crus generally are on the mid-slopes. The soil is a unique chalk a bit below the constantly fertilized topsoil. Thanks to this cradle, Champagne offers such lightness and refinement. The slopes facing South and Southeast attribute to the vines prosperity, protecting them from the Northerly winds and generously exposing them to the sun. The exceptionally intense light is reflected back by the soil expending the sun’s warmth.
The Areas
As the map indicates, the vine growing region in Champagne primary consists in 4 zones. The Reims Mountain, the valley of the Marne river, the Côte des Blancs, the Aube. The vineyards strive on hills stretching 120 kilometres in length and from 300 metres to two kilometres in width.
La Montagne de Reims
The Reims Mountain zone is part of the Ile-de-France region. It consists of the versant meridian of the Vesle River Valley and expands to the Valley of the Marne River at the highs of Epernay. This is a vast plateau 20-25 kilometers in length and varies from 6 to 10 kilometers in width.
La Vallée de la Marne
The Marne Valley zones incorporates the vineyards situated between the towns of Tours-sur-Marne amd Dormans, extending to the city of Chateau-Thierry — in other words into the Aisne and Seine-et-Marne regions.
La Côte des blancs
The zone of Côte des Blancs is named after the white Chardonnay grapes grown there almost exclusively. The hills face east. The cliffs are perpendicular with the Reims Mountain. It is lower in elevation and stretches about 20 kilometers from the North to the South, between Epernay and the Marne River. It extends to Cote des Vertus in the Congy region and the Cote deSezanne hills. South of this zone, in the Aube region is the Cote des Bars zone, close to the villages of Bar-sur-Seine and Bar-sur-Aube.
L’Aube
This part is rather not known. In 2007 Alice Feiring scouted the Montgueux part of it.
Here is about the expansion of the appellation area.
Tags: AOC, bar sur aube, bar sur seine, chalky soil, champagne, champagne wines, champaign, grand crus, marne river, marne valley, montagne de reims, tours sur marne, vine slopes
Posted in French wine | No Comments »
November 24th, 2011
Here is an overview of the German varieties of white grapes.
Riesling
It is the finest and best known of Germany’s white varieties. Its small grapes ripen late – in October or November. This long, slow ripening period allows it to develop more aroma and a harmonious balance.
Wine: fragrant, fine-fruit bouquet; lively, pronounced acidity; piquant taste; potential for ageing because of racy acidity.
Müller-Thurgau
It is now the most widely planted grape in Germany (23% of total vineyard area). It is a crossing of two varieties, probably Riesling and Silvaner, developed in 1882 iin Geisenheim, Germany, by Prof. H. Müller from Thurgau, Switzerland. The grapes ripen early, usually in September.
Wine: flowery bouquet; milder acidity than Riesling; slight muscat flavour; best consumed while fresh and young.
Silvaner
It is a traditional variety. Its medium-sized, juicy grapes ripen somewhat earlier than Riesling.
Wine: neutral bouquet; mild acidity; full-bodied, pleasant wines; best enjoyed while young.
Kerner
It is a popular new cross, developed from Trollinger (a red variety) and Riesling (a white variety). It has thick-skinned, early-ripening grapes.
Wine: light muscat bouquet; racy, lively acidity; similar to Riesling.
Scheurebe
It is another new crossing — this time of Silvaner and Riesling.
Wine: lively acidity; bouquet and taste reminiscent of black currents.
Ruländer
(Grauburgunder, pinot grigio, pinot gris) is among the best varieties in Germany. It ripens at the same time as Silvaner.
Wine: robust, full-bodied, smooth, soft, and full on the palate.
Other varieties…
There are other white wine varieties in Germany that are just as interesting and which you should try: the fruity, flowery Bacchus, the light, mild Gutedel, the racy, neutral Elbling, or the Morio-Muskat, with its flowery bouquet and pronounced flavour.
As a complement you can read the article on the German wine regions or an overview of the major German varieties of red grapes.
Tags: black currents, blackcurrant, flavour, fruit bouquet, german varieties, german wine regions, germany, juicy grapes, moscato, muscat, neutral, piquant taste, reminiscent, riesling wine, wine varieties
Posted in German wine, riesling | No Comments »
October 20th, 2011
This is an analysis of the ranking of wine sites.
Apps and magazines
3 websites clearly stand out as the biggest information hubs: the Wine Spectator, the Wine lovers page and Robert Parker’s forum. This in part is explained by their quality. It is also explained by the long time they have been known by wine enthusiasts.
Having an off-line reputation clearly helps. This is easiest for the paper media — as illustrated by the presence in the Top 10 of the Wine Spectator, Decanter, Jancis Robinson and Robert Parker.
The incumbents are not going away but web apps now also dominate the Top 10. These are Snooth, CellarTracker and Winezap.
The sites that increased most traffic this quarter are: French Scout (a reference guide), Wine lovers page (a discussion forum), and Cellar Tracker.
In the last few years the wine web offer has immensely diversified. There now are many quality wine critics who blog on line. The Top 100 attempts to highlight writers that you should discover. Only the “better” 20% of the websites are shown. Well, “better” here is not an opinion but an evaluation of which sites are more popular.
What other trends can you see from the rankings?
How to participate
Websites are automatically included in the contest as soon as I learn of their existence. To be eligible to the next issue of the Cellarer wine directory, the below conditions must be met:
- The main topic should be wine.
- Producing estates and wine sellers are excluded. Some of them run wonderful websites but the type of information is different.
If you disagree with the directory criteria, please comment below or e-mail me.
Here are the metrics I use for rating the wine sites. You can follow the directory evolution by subscribing to the feed on websites .
Posted in websites | 8 Comments »
