The Chronicle
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19 results across all types
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Chenin Blanc in the Loire: Anjou, Saumur, and the Rise of Terroir-Driven Whites
Explore Loire Chenin Blanc through Anjou and Saumur, where schist, tuffeau limestone, dry whites, sparkling wines, and historic sweet styles reveal one of France’s most expressive terroirs. The post Chenin Blanc in the Loire: Anjou, Saumur, and the Rise of Terroir-Driven Whites appeared first on Cellar Tours .
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The Alpine Wines of Trentino: Mountain Elegance and Terroir
Where Alpine Wines Begin You walk the vineyard before anything is picked. Under the pergola, the canopy filters the light and slows the ripening a little. The ground is still wet from heavy overnight rain. It’s one of those seasons where timing has become harder to judge. You move along the row, noticing how unevenly […] The post The Alpine Wines of Trentino: Mountain Elegance and Terroir appeared first on Cellar Tours .
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Atlantic Cool, Precision Wines: The New Pays Nantais and the Rise of Muscadet Crus
Beyond Muscadet: How Nantes Is Redefining Loire White Wines A glass of Clisson, the stony intensity of Gorges, or a chilled magnum of Saint-Fiacre—today, Nantais village names are becoming more commonplace than the generic ‘Muscadet,’ especially in places like the new muscadotheque.fr wine bar and shop in Nantes, the former capital city of Brittany. The […] The post Atlantic Cool, Precision Wines: The New Pays Nantais and the Rise of Muscadet Crus appeared first on Cellar Tours .
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The Loire Reimagined: From Royal Palaces to France’s Most Dynamic Wines
A River Transformed: Climate, Craft, and the Loire’s New Fine Wines In the vaulted restaurant cellars of the newly opened Maison Maubreuil , the city of Nantes’ first five-star hotel, where I am lodged, my sommelier, Romain, gives me a taste of modern Loire wines. First up, I savor the defining verve and velvety finesse […] The post The Loire Reimagined: From Royal Palaces to France’s Most Dynamic Wines appeared first on Cellar Tours .
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Valtellina’s Vertical Challenge: Nebbiolo from the Alps
Holding the Slope In Gradi (“Degrees”), a documentary on Italian wine and climate change produced by the digital media company Will Media in collaboration with FIVI, the federation representing independent Italian winegrowers, there is a scene shot in the Valtellina region that sets the tone. The view rises above the terraces, filmed from a drone: […] The post Valtellina’s Vertical Challenge: Nebbiolo from the Alps appeared first on Cellar Tours .
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Mount Etna’s Wine Revolution: The Burgundy of Sicily
A Mountain That Never Sleeps Years ago, I went to Sicily in late September with two objectives: the official one was to visit several wine regions for a piece I was researching. The second, I kept to myself: a relationship had just ended, and I had convinced myself that a mild southern climate might help […] The post Mount Etna’s Wine Revolution: The Burgundy of Sicily appeared first on Cellar Tours .
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Rediscovering Friuli: Italy’s Capital of Orange Wines
A Golden Glass on the Border In the northeastern part of Friuli Venezia Giulia, there are the rolling hills that locals call “Collio” on the Italian side and “Brda” on the Slovenian side. While the line dividing the two countries is almost invisible, this was once the front line of the First World War, and […] The post Rediscovering Friuli: Italy’s Capital of Orange Wines appeared first on Cellar Tours .
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Understanding Portuguese Wine: History, Regions & Traditions
Portugal’s New Age of Discovery Portuguese wine producers have taken their art of blending several varieties to new levels, using diverse production and aging methods, whilst recovering and showcasing the potential of native grapes and learning more about soils. Portuguese wines are now made with greater precision, finesse, and elegance: there is less concentration and […] The post Understanding Portuguese Wine: History, Regions & Traditions appeared first on Cellar Tours .
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Vertical Elegance: The Age-worthy Whites of Alto Adige
Alto Adige’s best whites don’t just dazzle young: they age with poise. To quote Jacopo Cossater, “What strikes me about these wines is their stature. Even after all these years they never give in, they don’t fray. They keep their definition.“ the 2016 In der Låmm Pinot Bianco by Weingut Abraham, from independent wine magazine […] The post Vertical Elegance: The Age-worthy Whites of Alto Adige appeared first on Cellar Tours .
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New Wave Algarve: A Wine Renaissance Out West
On top of limestone cliffs at Lagos, I walk through the ochre clay-schist soils of Falésia (Vineyards of the Cliff), a new generation Algarve producer. Falésia makes luminous, terroir-driven wines with a saline edge. The sea is never distant in the Algarve. Henry the Navigator sailed from here during the age of discovery. Now, producers […] The post New Wave Algarve: A Wine Renaissance Out West appeared first on Cellar Tours .
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The Soave Renaissance: Veneto’s White Wine Revival
Learning to Trust My Own Taste When I first began writing travel stories for the Italian press, I often fell back on a kind of provincial reflex. To pitch a destination, I would cite the authority of others: maybe the New York Times had just named it among the “25 Places to Visit This Year,” […] The post The Soave Renaissance: Veneto’s White Wine Revival appeared first on Cellar Tours .
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Portugal in Perfect Pairings: Wine, Food & Harmonização
Portugal in Perfect Pairings The word for pairing in Portuguese is harmonização, fitting for a country where broad wine styles and abundant native grapes ensure a wine for every dish: Vinho Verde whites, regional Lisbon wines, fuller reds from the Douro, Dao, Alentejo, and Bairrada, plus iconic fortified Port, Madeira, and Setubal. A good rule […] The post Portugal in Perfect Pairings: Wine, Food & Harmonização appeared first on Cellar Tours .
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Portuguese Wine Labels Explained: A Complete Guide for Wine Lovers
Reading Between the Lines of a Label Portuguese wines are riding a big wave. The surge of interest in quality Portuguese wines, increasingly made to showcase sensational expressions of local grapes, their specific place and region (with less impact of oak), and wine labels evolving to become more contemporary in style. Understanding the label is […] The post Portuguese Wine Labels Explained: A Complete Guide for Wine Lovers appeared first on Cellar Tours .
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Lake Garda’s Liquid Luxury: Lugana’s Elegant Whites
Where the Alps Meet the Olive Groves Its most enthusiastic admirers, the Germans, call it Gardasee and often prefer it to the actual sea. For decades, they’ve come south not for the Adriatic or the Tyrrhenian, but for these waters—vast, calm, and improbably Mediterranean. Lake Garda is not only Italy’s largest lake, but it is […] The post Lake Garda’s Liquid Luxury: Lugana’s Elegant Whites appeared first on Cellar Tours .
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Sweet Discoveries: Moscatel and Fortified Wines of Portugal
Introduction: Beyond Port and Maderia Name a country that has a rich and varied fortified wine production, such as Portugal. I bet you can’t. Port and Madeira wines are renowned as being amongst the world’s finest age-worthy wines, but Portugal’s strengths in fortification spread further afield to the plains and hills of Setubal, the Douro, […] The post Sweet Discoveries: Moscatel and Fortified Wines of Portugal appeared first on Cellar Tours .
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Piedmont’s Hidden Reds: Beyond Nebbiolo
You know Barolo. You might know Gattinara. But have you met Grignolino? Federico Ceretto’s story reflects a deeper tension shaping Piedmont’s identity. The Ceretto family, alongside the Gaja family, were among the first to transform Barolo and Barbaresco from local wines into internationally recognized symbols of prestige, pioneering a new marketing model that helped position […] The post Piedmont’s Hidden Reds: Beyond Nebbiolo appeared first on Cellar Tours .
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Madeira: The Fortified Wine That Defies Time
Introduction How long would the Madeira linger? Such was the impact and intensity of Barbeito’s 1988 Madeira Sercial that I decided to time the duration of the wine on my palate. The finish lasted several minutes, largely thanks to the wine’s darting, arrow-like acidity. The three-decade-old wine reflected the essence of fine Madeira: refreshing […] The post Madeira: The Fortified Wine That Defies Time appeared first on Cellar Tours .
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Trentodoc Sparkling Wines: Italy’s Mountain Metodo Classico
Introduction: Italy’s Premium Traditional-Method Sparkling Wine Cyclically, the wine world seems to grow enamored with new buzzwords. Over the last 10 years, it has been all about “drinkability,” with the rise of what the French call “vins de soif,” or “thirst-quenching wines.” More and more, I find myself looking for qualifiers that don’t sound as […] The post Trentodoc Sparkling Wines: Italy’s Mountain Metodo Classico appeared first on Cellar Tours .
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A Guide to Port Wine: History, Styles, and Modern Trends
Introduction Looking at the hilly municipality of Gaia (as Vilanova de Gaia is known) across the river from downtown Porto city, the historic Port house names are illuminated in big letters on boards, breaking through the rolling mist. Port, a fortified wine known for its long aging ability, is by far the best-known cultural asset […] The post A Guide to Port Wine: History, Styles, and Modern Trends appeared first on Cellar Tours .