With the arrival in 1987 of Michel and Marc Chapoutier at their family’s negociant house of M. Chapoutier, a total change of style emerged from the cellars in Tain l’Hermitage.

Gone were wines that were aged too long in old wood, and in their place came in hugely powerful examples of Hermitage and other reds from Crozes-Hermitage, Saint-Joseph and Côte-Rôtie. Elegance has now been added to the power of the wines, which are produced bio-dynamically from a 240-acre estate.

Recent purchases of vineyards in Australia (Mount Benson), in Côteaux d’Aix-en-Provence (Domaine des Béates), in Côteaux de Tricastin (Domaine des Estubiers) and in Banyuls in the late 1990’s show the family’s expansion policies.

Winery:
18 avenue Docteur-Paul-Durand - 26600 Tain l’Hermitage
Phone: 04 75 08 28 65

I’ll profile more well-known Shiraz wineries in the future. Please subscribe to the Shiraz feed.

Here is a general solution: don’t bother. You’ll taste other wines.

A winery has decided to take advantage of this recall impulse. Oxford Landing ships its South Australian Shiraz wine with a tear-off tab with all the useful information. When at the party you can peel the tab off the back label: the winery has very much increased its chance of you buying another bottle.

I heard about this idea from Ben Terrett. Here is the original post.

On this website here is a list of white wine varietals.
Here are articles on other quality websites about: red wine varietals.

White wine grapes

Chardonnay

It is currently one of the most popular if not the most popular dry white wine variety in the world. It is planted in almost every wine producing country and is one of the easiest varieties to grow. Chardonnay has only begun to gain in popularity and importance in South Africa in the last ten years. Chardonnay generally benefits from oak and is especially complex when it is barrel fermented as well as barrel aged. However, over-oaking has been a common fault of some the first Chardonnnays that were produced in the Western Cape. Winemakers in the Western Cape are now careful to not let oak overpower the elegant and zesty citrus characteristics of the wine.

Chenin blanc

This grape is the Cape’s most popular white variety with about thirty percent of her vineyards producing Chenin Blanc. Chenin Blanc in South Africa is also referred to as “Steen”. In South Africa it produces a wide range of wines from sweet to dry, including sparkling and still wines. Its dry wines are fresh and fruity and Chenin Blanc’s sweet wines and botrytis dessert wines are becoming more fashionable.

Colombard

This variety in South Africa makes fresh wines with crisp acidity. They often possess tropical fruit aromas and are a good companion to seafood. Colombard isalso used in South Africa for brandy production.

Rhine riesling

This variety, from German clones, is also referred to as “weisser Riesling” in South Africa. With a little age this wine can develop a resinous or oily character that is accepted as desirable in Europe. It is more complex and scented than Cape Riesling.

Cape riesling

This variety is thought to be related to crouchen blanc a French variety used for table wine production. It tends to be steely and can develop a pleasant honeyed flavour with some maturation.

Sauvignon blanc

South Africa has recently received great attention as a world class producer of Sauvignon Blanc. There are many microclimates in South Africa ideally suited to thegrowing of this variety. The South African Sauvignon Blancs tend to be dry and grassy. Its plantings have increased since the mid 1980’s and continue to do so.

Red wine grapes

Cabernet sauvignon

Most of the great red wines of Bordeaux and some of the finest wines of the New World are based on cabernet sauvignon. It is often blended with Cabernet Franc and Merlot and its flavour is reminiscent of blackcurrants or cedarwood. It demands aging in small oak barrels, and the best wines require several years of bottle age to reach their peak.

Cabernet franc

This variety possesses qualities similar to those of Cabernet Sauvignon, although they are a little less pronounced in cabernet franc. It is an important part of Cape blends and is often blended with cabernet sauvignon.

Cinsaut

Formerly known as Hermitage in the Western Cape of South Africa, it produces light wines and is most often used as a blending wine to increase accessibility at an early age. Cinsaut is one of the parents of Pinotage.

Merlot

This variety takes second place to Cabernet Sauvignon in most premium red wine blends. Merlot is fragrant and usually softer than Cabernet Sauvignon. It also shows best with oak maturation, but usually requires less bottle maturation before it is ready to drink. Some believe that the growing conditions in South Africa do not require Merlot to be blended in with Cabernet. Merlot bottled as a varietal is becoming more and more commonplace in South Africa.

Pinotage

It is a unique South African grape made from a cross of pinot noir and cinsaut. It was developed locally in 1926. It is hardy in the vineyard and generally produces a wine that is full bodied with good fruit flavours and a distinctive spiciness, but often referred to as possessing a “sweetish acetone” flavour. Previously thought to be early maturing, it is now believed that pinotage benefits from extended maturation.

Pinot noir

The grape from which complex and elegant wines are made in Burgundy There are several new vineyards in South Africa making pinot noir that show great promise. The Pinot Noir wines in South Africa are clean and lively with the flavour of ripe cherries.

Shiraz

This grape is also known as Syrah. It makes a soft and rich wine often characterized by smoky and chocolaty aromas. It matures faster than cabernet and is sometimes blended with it to speed accessibility.

Zinfandel

This variety probably originated in Southern Italy as the Primitivo grape. It is planted by only a few Cape wineries, and the first examples have been very good, especially when they receive enough oak maturation.

Selected websites show other articles on: South African wines.

The Rhône Valley is beautiful. Currently the Cornas part is threatened to be uglified. In France, the entity for building authorisations is the municipality. So the debate should grow locally during the campaign for the next municipal elections in March 2008.

Anyway here is a primer on a prominent local grower: Jean-Luc Colombo.

From his beautiful farm high up behind the village of Cornas, Jean-Luc Colombo manages to be a domaine owner, a negociant and a wine consultant for many of the most important producers in the region.

His vines, forming Vignobles Jean-Luc Colombo, occupy 55 acres in the appellations of Cornas and Côtes du Rhône. The benchmark from these vineyards is the Cornas Les Ruchets, a powerful syrah with 45 percent new-wood aging. A recent addition to the range is La Louvée which is a special vineyard selection.

As a negociant, Colombo keeps the wine he buys in the producer’s cellar rather than bringing it to his own.

Jean-Luc and his wife, Anne, founded Le Centre Oenologique des Côtes du Rhône in 1984. As a consultant, his influence, particularly in the use of new wood for aging, has been considerable in the Rhône valley. His winemaking style is international.

Winery:
Pied La Vigne
Cornas
Phone: +33 (0) 4 75 40 36 09

Guigal is a big name in Côte-Rôtie, where vines have been cultivated for 24 centuries. With his cuvées such as Brune et Blonde, La Turque, La Mouline and La Landonne, Marcel Guigal has led the revival in the appellation that has put it among the top red-wine regions of France.

Guigal winemaking incorporates the pure fruit from low yields in the vineyard with new oak in the cellars. Recent additions to the whites include strict temperature control during fermentation.

Having taken control of Vidal-Fleury, the other major négociant in Côte-Rôtie, Guigal now manages more than a third of the production of the appellation. The firm also produces a white Condrieu and larger quantities of Côtes du Rhône.

Winery:

Château d’Ampuis

69420 Ampuis

Phone: +33 4 74 56 10 22