Bordeaux’s signature pastry was borne of necessity, as wineries had an abundance of egg yolks and no use for them. The wineries were not making egg-white omelets, but rather going about their usual wine-making business. An important step in the wine-making process uses egg whites. Toward the end of the wine’s barrel aging process, vintners…
One thing I’ve learned after visiting a few wine regions in France is that popes really liked wine. Château Pape Clément was Clement V’s love. The vineyard was given to him as a gift when he was appointed Archbishop of Bordeaux. It was an ideal grant since the pope (well, back then he was known…
This was the least-interesting wine visit of the week, but the wine was exceptional. There was nothing wrong with the tour; there just wasn’t anything about the operations or history that stood out. I guess that’s probably a good thing when it comes to turning out a dependable product year after year! Though the winery…
Since Pauillac is famous for its dense concentration of outstanding châteaux, we visited a second area winery, Château Lynch-Bages. Here, we toured the facilities, learned about the process and toured the cellars. A unique part, however, was the second-floor museum, situated over the steel vats, where old equipment including transport rails, presses and sorting table…
I’d never tried a Gruaud, but during research this château came up a few times as producing solid, well-regarded wines. That sounded good, then I discovered that it is an organic winery, which set it apart in this region where production is steeped in tradition. Our tour group had eight people, and we received a…
We were looking forward to visiting at least one Premier Cru in the infamous Médoc region, which is about an hour northwest of the city of Bordeaux. Since two of the three first-growth châteaux were closed (Lafite was closed until October and Latour was closed for renovations), Mouton-Rothschild it was. Visiting a top château in…
The main purpose for visiting Bordeaux was to run the Marathon du Médoc, but visiting wineries, or châteaux, was a priority. The area is overwhelmingly vast, with châteaux and vineyards stretching in every direction. We knew we wouldn’t be see many regions, so we aimed to get a general overview of the area and dig…
Bologna is a sprawling, gritty city full of red-brick palazzi, Renaissance towers, arcaded porticos (24 miles’ worth, actually) and vast squares. Though it is a wealthy city that serves as the road and rail hub of Northern Italy, it has a very lived-in feel. Bologna is home to Europe’s oldest university, University of Bologna. The…
We swung through tiny Montalcino to visit a winery and have dinner. It was a quick, but rewarding trip. The town is on a steep hill overlooking the Orcia valley, full of vineyards, orchards and olive groves, surrounded by walls and overlooked by a castle. The many enoteches offer tastings and will sell you as…
This was our favorite wine shop in tiny but saturated Montapulciano. La Bottega del Nobile carries more than 300 labels of Tuscan wine- everything from Vino Nobile dii Montepulciano to Brunello di Montalcino, Chianti Classico, Super Tuscans and more. The young sommelier owner, Cesare, was eager to talk about local wines, show off his wares…