http://www.vinecole.com/blog Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:22:57 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Just put together our plan to celebrate Grenache with the rest of the world. The 24th of September is International Grenache Day where winemakers, professionals and lovers around the world get together to celebrate the, often over looked, Grenache. As a variety it is one of the more complex and ... http://www.vinecole.com/blog/?p=83 Today we held our first public Family Tasting and I am delighted to say it was a roaring success. We had 11 adults tasting 8 wines from across the Languedoc-Roussillon and 5 children, aged from 3 to 10, tasting 8 juices 'blind'! Together they got to learn how to identify ... http://www.vinecole.com/blog/?p=78 I have often been asked whether organic wines give hangovers or not!! My reply is usually that drinking enough of anything will give a hangover, organic, biodynamic, cheap, expensive.... However it is often found that organic wines do not give the painful headache in the middle of the forehead as this ... http://www.vinecole.com/blog/?p=75 Death by chocolate might be a better title to this blog!! The other night we ran a Wine and Chocolate Tasting at Vinecole. Not an obvious marriage as, on the whole, chocolate kills most wines. However I like a challenge and thought it only fitting to get into the 'Easter' ... http://www.vinecole.com/blog/?p=62 They do you know. Last night we ran a Wine and Oyster Tasting and we had a room full of Dutch and what fun they were! Christophe from L’Espandon fishery in the under cover market at Les Halles in Narbonne, came laden with oysters and taught us about all the different styles, ... http://www.vinecole.com/blog/?p=56 Whilst the snow that keeps falling is not doing any damage to the vines, in fact it does them much good, it is certainly making me turn to warm and hearty reds rather than refreshing whites! Likewise with the food that I am eating, my body naturally craves rich ... http://www.vinecole.com/blog/?p=49 En route to London with a stopover in Sancerre. I thought the UK had the reputation of having all forms of weather in one day, but after my drive through France today , the "Hexagone" runs it a close second. I left the Languedoc at lunchtime under clear skies but with ... http://www.vinecole.com/blog/?p=48 I have just read Tim Hanni's blog on wine and food pairing and how it is all in the mind and that no wine really works with food unless heavily seasoned and acidic. This is an entertaining read, especially from a man who has spent a good deal of his ... http://www.vinecole.com/blog/?p=45 Here I am just back from London and the launch of Alastair Sawday's "Special Places to Stay" guide, featuring French vineyards with hotels/Gites/Chambre d'Hotes accommodation. Domaine Gayda and Vinecole were featured and the Sawday's team held a press and reader launch last week in central London. It was a jolly ... http://www.vinecole.com/blog/?p=37 This is without doubt a most spectacular time of year when you live in a wine region, the colours of the vines and the trees are absolutely stunning. What is especially amazing is that only two weeks ago the harvest was still in full swing, we are in the coolest ... http://www.vinecole.com/blog/?p=33