At Backsberg you will find wines in various quality levels, with whites including Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, and sparklers as well including Viognier. In the fullness of time he became a butcher, then bought the farm that is today Backsberg Estate Cellars. Arco Laamar & Harry Haddon (checked shirt). News S.

As we sat down I took out the wine I brought along, the 2008 Pierre Gonon St Joseph Blanc Les Oliviers , $32, Fruit of the Vines Imports. This is a phenomenal wine, and one of the interesting things about it is that honestly, served blind, there would be no way to peg it as Sauvignon Blanc. Thai food for the western palate.

John Gilman, author of the newsletter The View from the Cellar , joins us again for a Q&A. But being younger than the gentleman I just mentioned, I do not have the same reserves of old vintages of white Burgundy or white Bordeaux in my cellar, and so premox has really hit my collection hard. Are these wines forcibly better?

We’re back with Part Deux of our interview with John Gilman, author of the newsletter A View from the Cellar ( part one is here ). How do you make a screwcap-sealed wine taste and smell like rotting cabbage or burning rubber- put it in the cellar for a few years. German Riesling. And I really don’t understand why. The Loire.

Cousin cultivates Gamay, Grolleau, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, and Chenin Blanc - there is something for everyone in this portfolio. They can be funky and a bit rustic, but they evolve beautifully in the glass and in the cellar, and offer a clean and pure expression of the terroir that is Layon.

began in a French table area and tried some Sancerres (made from Sauvignon Blanc), some white Burgundys (made from Chardonnay) and some white blends. An under appreciated grape here in the Western world is Chenin Blanc. Domaine Francois Pinon from the Loire Valley makes some demi-sec (semi sweet) wines from Chenin blanc.

love French wine, but the good doctor ruled out what he called "the big six grapes" from France, namely Riesling, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Pinot Noir. Chenin Blanc is, in my opinion, the superstar white grape of the Loire Valley. And Chenin Blanc tends to age well, so let's see.

Sancerre, the darling of wine bars everywhere a few years ago, is made from Sauvignon Blanc. Many producers say that demi-sec (off dry) is the best expression of Chenin Blanc. They make many wines, some for drinking young, some for cellaring, like this one from the great Perrieres vineyard in Bourgueil. Enjoy

Cheverny wines are a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, with the Sauvignon Blanc the primary grape at about 70%. Like the great Chenin Blanc grape, also a daughter of the Loire Valley, Romorantin might show best in its demi-sec (off-dry) form. You should try them, honestly.

The entire back wall is devoted to Loire whites, including many differe t chenin blancs from Savennieres, Vouvray, and somethimes the lesser known Montlouis sur Loire, Coteaux du Loir and Jasnieres. We checked out the dark and dank cellar where hundreds.thousands (?) We then toured the facilities.