Charles Lachaux – Domaine Arnoux Lachaux

It’s not always easy being a rising star. People want a piece of you, judge you based on your latest post on social media or if you’re not present there, they’ll judge you further. Who you talk to, what you wear, where you choose to relax on holiday, what you eat and drink. Being a rising star in the microcosm of the Côte de Nuits, probably the wine worlds’ biggest pedestal, can be even more intimidating.

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Moshe Cohen guest appearance on The Daily Pour S1E42 with Richard Bampfield MW

Interview with Anselme Selosse

Q1. Joining your father in 1974 , what was the catalyst that influenced you to work with nature?

In 1974 when I came back to the estate, there weren’t two ways of practicing viticulture. One that respected the environment and the other that respected it less. Our viticulture had evolved as science had moved forward, and no one questioned that progress. So that was the introduction since the very start of the 1960s, when chemical synthetic molecules substituted chemical – when I say synthetic chemistry I mean organic chemistry – mineral chemistry molecules.

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Jean-Marc Sélèque – Pierry, Coteaux Sud d’Epernay

Ask any 20 something what is one of the most annoying habits of his/her parents and they’ll tell you it’s meddling/ lecturing about their budget.

In the case of Jean Marc Sélèque, it wasn’t only his bank account he was responsible for when taking control of his winery in 2008, it was the entire family’s.

Soon enough he realised that a few pairs of keen eyes were scrutinising every move in the new winery’s balance sheet. He was drawn to biodynamism and quality grapes and they (the family…) were interested in profits, now. Talking of pressure!

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Episode 30 – Champagne Larmandier Bernier with Arthur Larmandier

During a visit to the Champagne region in December 2019, I was lucky enough to catch Arthur Larmandier from the grower, Champagne of Larmandier Bernier for a chat and a tasting.

Champagne Larmandier is one of the finest estates in the Côte Des Blancs. Pierre Larmandier owns 15 hectares of vines from Chouilly in the north, through Cramant, Avize, Oger and in their home village of Vertus, where the winery and family home are based.

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Naoussa in Northern Greece the kingdom of Xinomavro

Naoussa in Northern Greece is the kingdom of Xinomavro. This grape, grown all over northern Greece, finds its best expression here, in the hills surrounding Naoussa city. Nestling in the shadow of Mount Vermio, the 400 hectares of vineyards are scattered in small plots on an area the size of the entire Saint Emilion and Haut Medoc combined. According to Stelios Boutaris, owner and winemaker at Kir-Yianni, one of the leading producers in the region, the Naoussa vineyards resemble the Burgundy plantings, vineyards, carefully selected to best suit Xinomavero , rather than the Bordeaux vineyards of big plots that carpet the landscape.

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Champagne in December 2019

Twilight Over The Montagne de Reims

Racing along the D3 route after a three and a half hour drive from Burgundy, I’m catching the sun setting far behind the Montagne de Reims. The big hill halfway between Epernay and Reims, famous for some of Champagne’s most prized vineyards. The sky is ablaze with red, pink, purple and blue. Outside the temperature is nearing zero and the forecast for the next three days is that it will to get colder still. Luckily for me, the sky stayed blue for most of that December week.

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A visit to Venetsanos-Santorini

I visited Venetsanos winery in May 2019, as a guest of the General Manager, Petros Vamvakousis.

Venetsanos has a very interesting story, as winery built by the Venetsanos brothers in 1947, it was, at the time a very innovative winery. Santorini back then had no electricity, so the idea of placing a winery high up on the cliffs above the port, was to vinify the wine then pipe it down to the port, using gravity, in order for it to be shipped to the mainland.

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Santorini 2019

Santorini is a stunning island. It is obviously different to most other Greek islands because of its huge caldera and the two, very photogenic islands in the middle of that caldera. Paleo Kameni and Nea Kameni (the burnt islands). As well as the sister island of Thirasia.

The cliffs facing the caldera are the real reason people flock here to see the villages clinging the volcanic rockface in a tapestry of white and blue that is uniquely beautiful. The houses are dug into the mountainside creating spaces and alleyways that are begging to be explored.

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