http://reignofterroir.com Wine Blog Mon, 30 Apr 2012 19:16:10 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Just when it seemed the debate over the use of sulfites in wine couldn't get any more acrimonious, along comes a promising new technology which threatens to bring peace.   Though dried fruits typically contain 10 times the sulphur dioxide (SO2) found in wine and SO2 levels in fruit juices frequently equal ... http://reignofterroir.com/2012/04/26/the-end-of-sulphur-in-wine-pct-on-the-horizon/ Happy Earth Day. How to celebrate? For my part, I have a very low carbon-footprint activity in mind. I have also prepared this account of a visit I recently made to Domaine Virgile Joly to speak with the man himself, Virgile Joly. Located in Saint-Saturnin ... http://reignofterroir.com/2012/04/21/virgile-joly-the-steady-hand-of-a-winemaker/ Sometimes you choose; sometimes you are chosen. Last December, while in Montpellier, France to attend a showing of my Portuguese documentary, Mother Vine, at the Fest'afilm Festival, I had the extraordinary good fortune to meet one of France's leading oenologists, Jean Natoli and geologist, Philippe Combes, his associate. ... http://reignofterroir.com/2012/03/29/languedoc-roussillon-the-genesis-of-a-film/ If you've ever driven the Highway 1 between San Francisco to Santa Cruz, chances are quite good that you turned off to visit the small farming town of Pescadero. Once there, certainly for every bicyclist, you've visited the local landmark Arcangeli Grocery. Remember the freshly baked bread? ... http://reignofterroir.com/2012/03/22/sante-arcangelis-john-benedetti-santa-cruz-mtns-ava/ From February 20th to the 22nd of February, the Parc Des Expositions, outside of Montpellier, is transformed by a grand celebration, VINISUD, The International Exhibition of Mediterranean Wines and Spirits. A bi-annual event, this is how it describes itself:   "VINISUD is the showcase for the world’s leading wine region, the ... http://reignofterroir.com/2012/02/13/vinisuds-digital-seachange-a-talk-with-ahmad-monhem/ A few kilometers from Cabrières, south of Clermont l'Hérault in the Languedoc, rises the massive limestone Pic de Vessou, the 480 meter summit of which once served as an ancient Roman outpost. Unsettled December weather brought fast moving clouds, curtains of rain on the horizon, long-lived rainbows, and sudden ... http://reignofterroir.com/2012/01/04/clos-romain-the-quiet-work-of-time/ Greybeard writes…   Vine Diseases are not my specialist subject, in fact before last week I knew practically nothing about them, but for some reason a casual reading of a blog post from Jim Budd set me off on a major tangential internet sortie.   Jim’s post was entitled "Bourgueil and Saint Nicolas ... http://reignofterroir.com/2011/12/21/the-rise-of-grapevine-trunk-disease/ The year is winding its way towards the Christmas and in the northern reaches of England winter’s icy touches are already starting to be felt, but as Europe and America’s wine now sits in tank and barrel there’s still plenty of news and views to look at in the wine ... http://reignofterroir.com/2011/12/11/greybeards-corner-winters-hold-2011/ "I'm not too particularly interested in how deep the color is and how pronounced the bouquet is and how high is the total acid and how low is the sugar. To me, is it something I enjoy drinking and want more? If so, then it is good. ... http://reignofterroir.com/2011/11/22/george-taber-of-bargain-wines-and-culture/ What follows is a bit of a departure for Reign of Terroir. Normally a space for a quiet conversation about some aspect of wine science, (agri)culture, wine history, or an international winegrowing region, today here is heard the constant throb of the diesel engines of a fishing vessel. ... http://reignofterroir.com/2011/11/09/portugal-new-bedford-mass-the-ties-that-bind/ I've recently returned from the European Wine Bloggers Conference (EWBC) held this year in the town Brescia, east of Milan. The province of the same name is home to Italy's prime region of sparkling wine production, Franciacorta. Being a great lover of Champagnes in all their miraculous diversity, ... http://reignofterroir.com/2011/10/29/notes-on-the-wine-culture-of-turkey/ By the time you read this harvests all over the Northern Hemisphere will have ended or be well on their way to finishing. 2011 has been a challenging harvest in both Europe and America but for different weather related reasons.   In Europe vine development was accelerated by as much as 5 ... http://reignofterroir.com/2011/10/23/greybeards-corner-harvests-end-2011/ It is with great pleasure and humility that I announce the US premier of the my documentary Mother Vine at the Santa Rose International Film Festival this Friday, September 16th. As some regular readers know, Mother Vine it is a deep and abiding testament of love for the country ... http://reignofterroir.com/2011/09/15/mother-vine-the-united-states-premier/ Rodrigo has http://reignofterroir.com/2011/09/08/quinta-nova-the-heroic-viticulture-of-the-douro/ Summer’s end has come and as the northern year slips towards shorter days and colder nights it’s time for my monthly roundup of the greater wine world and my miniscule corner of it.   Wine News: South Africa hit the headlines for the wrong reasons with the release of a report from ... http://reignofterroir.com/2011/09/04/greybeards-corner-august-september-2011/