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Régions et appellations·Informational
What is Meursault wine?
Meursault is a Côte de Beaune appellation in Burgundy, world-famous for producing some of the richest, most opulent Chardonnay white wines anywhere. The vineyard covers about 395 hectares at village level, including 19 Premier Cru climats totalling roughly 132 hectares. Meursault wines are defined by their broad, buttery style with aromas of hazelnut, fresh butter, and citrus, all underpinned by deep marl-limestone soils that give the wine its signature enveloping texture.
Régions et appellations·Informational
What is Gevrey-Chambertin?
Gevrey-Chambertin is the largest wine-producing commune in Burgundy's Côte de Nuits, covering around 410 hectares at village level and boasting an extraordinary 9 Grand Cru vineyards (including the legendary Chambertin) plus 26 Premier Cru climats. Devoted exclusively to Pinot Noir, it produces red wines known for their power, structure, and some of the longest ageing potential in all of Burgundy. The village appended Chambertin — its most famous vineyard — to its name back in 1847.
Régions et appellations·Informational
What is Hermitage wine?
Hermitage is one of the Northern Rhône's most prestigious appellations, perched on a granite hillside overlooking the town of Tain-l'Hermitage in the Drôme department. Covering just 136 hectares, it produces exceptional Syrah-based reds (up to 15% Marsanne and Roussanne permitted) and complex whites from Marsanne and Roussanne. The finest red Hermitage wines rank among the world's longest-lived, with ageing potential of 30 to 50 years in great vintages.
Vinification et terroir·Informational
What is pressing in winemaking?
Pressing is the step where juice is separated from grape skins, seeds, and stems — and how it's done has a huge impact on wine quality. For white and rosé wines, pressing happens before fermentation (to keep the juice clear of skin contact). For reds, it happens after maceration. The key is pressure: too gentle and you leave good juice behind; too forceful and you extract bitter, coarse tannins from seeds and stems.
Vinification et terroir·Informational
What is amphora wine?
Amphora wine is made in clay vessels — the oldest winemaking containers in human history. Georgian qvevri (buried clay jars) date back 8,000 years, and the technique has been revived by adventurous winemakers from Italy to Australia. Unlike oak barrels, amphoras add no wood flavour to the wine. Instead, the porous clay allows gentle oxygen exchange, creating wines with pure fruit expression, distinctive texture, and a subtle earthy character.
Vinification et terroir·Informational
How is Sherry made?
Sherry might be the most underappreciated wine in the world. Made in a tiny corner of southern Spain (the 'Sherry Triangle'), it undergoes a winemaking process unlike anything else: a living layer of yeast called *flor* protects certain styles from oxygen, while others age fully exposed to air. The solera blending system — where young wine is fractionally blended with older wine across decades — creates consistency and complexity that no single vintage can match.
Vinification et terroir·Informational
How is Port wine made?
Port wine is made by stopping fermentation in its tracks with grape spirit — trapping natural sugar and creating one of the world's great sweet wines. It comes exclusively from Portugal's Douro Valley, a ruggedly beautiful region where vineyards cling to steep, terraced hillsides above the Douro River. The traditional method involves foot-treading in shallow granite tanks (lagares) and then adding brandy to halt fermentation midway.
Vinification et terroir·Informational
What is wine from century-old vines?
Wine from century-old vines is exactly what it sounds like — and it's as rare and special as you'd expect. Vines that have survived 100+ years naturally produce tiny yields of incredibly concentrated fruit. They've pushed their roots deep into the earth, tapping into water and mineral sources that young vines can't reach. The resulting wines have a depth, complexity, and haunting quality that's almost impossible to replicate.
Vinification et terroir·Informational
How do yeasts influence wine?
Yeast is the invisible winemaker. These microscopic fungi convert grape sugar into alcohol — that's the headline. But the side effects are where the real magic happens: yeast produces hundreds of aromatic compounds during fermentation that directly shape how your wine smells and tastes. And the choice between wild yeast and commercial yeast is one of the most consequential — and controversial — decisions in modern winemaking.
Vinification et terroir·Informational
What is the ancestral method (méthode ancestrale)?
The ancestral method is the original way to make sparkling wine — no second fermentation, no added sugar, no added yeast. Wine is simply bottled before its first fermentation finishes, and the remaining natural sugar creates bubbles in the sealed bottle. It predates the traditional Champagne method by over 200 years, and it's the technique behind every pet nat you've ever enjoyed.
Vinification et terroir·Informational
Why are some wines 'non-dosé' or 'brut nature'?
Non-dosé (also called Brut Nature or Zero Dosage) means a sparkling wine with no added sugar after disgorgement — less than 3 g/L total. It's the purest expression of sparkling wine: nothing to hide behind, every flaw and every virtue exposed. The trend has surged since 2010, driven by consumers who want to taste the wine, not the sweetness.
Vinification et terroir·Informational
What is biodynamic viticulture?
Biodynamic viticulture is a holistic farming approach based on Rudolf Steiner's 1924 principles. It goes beyond organic by treating the vineyard as a self-sustaining ecosystem, using specific preparations (horn manure, horn silica) and following a lunar and planetary calendar.
Vinification et terroir·Informational
How does climate change affect wine?
Climate change is pushing harvest dates earlier (2–3 weeks compared to 40 years ago), raising alcohol levels, lowering natural acidity, and shifting viable wine regions northward and to higher elevations. Some areas benefit (England, Belgium), while others face serious challenges (southern Spain, southern Australia).
Vinification et terroir·Informational
What is precision viticulture?
Precision viticulture is where ancient farming meets cutting-edge technology. Using drones, satellites, soil sensors, and GPS mapping, winemakers can now monitor every square metre of their vineyard in real time — detecting water stress, disease risk, and ripeness variation before the human eye can spot them. It's transforming how premium wine is grown, enabling vineyard-specific interventions that boost quality while reducing water and chemical use.
Vinification et terroir·Informational
Why are grapevines pruned?
Pruning is the most important task in the vineyard — get it wrong and no amount of clever winemaking can save the vintage. Grapevines are vigorous climbers that, left alone, would spend all their energy growing leaves and producing hundreds of small, flavourless grape clusters. Pruning in winter limits the number of buds (and therefore bunches), concentrating the vine's resources into fewer, better-quality grapes.
Vinification et terroir·Informational
What is punch down (pigeage)?
Pigeage — or punch down — is exactly what it sounds like: pushing the floating cap of grape skins back down into the fermenting juice. During red wine fermentation, CO₂ pushes the skins to the surface, forming a thick cap. If left alone, extraction stops and bacteria can grow. By punching this cap down 1-3 times daily, the winemaker extracts colour, tannin, and flavour while keeping the fermentation healthy.
Vinification et terroir·Informational
What is settling/débourbage in winemaking?
Débourbage is the French winemaking term for 'settling' — letting freshly pressed grape juice sit in a cold tank so that bits of skin, seeds, and other solids sink to the bottom before fermentation begins. It's a crucial step for white and rosé wines: too little settling gives heavy, coarse flavours; too much strips away compounds the yeast needs for a healthy fermentation.
Vinification et terroir·Informational
How is white wine made?
White wine is made by pressing grapes — usually white, sometimes red-skinned — immediately after harvest, without skin contact. The clear juice then ferments in stainless steel tanks or oak barrels, preserving freshness and fruit character.
Accords mets-vins·Recommendation
What wine with flammekueche?
Flammekueche — Alsace's answer to pizza, with its paper-thin crust, tangy crème fraîche, sweet onions, and smoky bacon — calls for one thing: Alsatian wine. A dry Riesling brings mineral precision and acidity that cuts through the cream. Pinot Blanc offers rounder, fruitier charm. And Sylvaner, the underdog of Alsace, delivers delightful freshness that makes the smoky bacon sing. Keep it local — it just works.
Accords mets-vins·Recommendation
What wine with sashimi?
Sashimi demands a wine of absolute precision — anything too bold or oaky will overwhelm the pristine fish. Chablis is the gold standard, its flinty minerality and citrus purity complementing every slice without competing. Muscadet sur lie adds Atlantic salinity that echoes the ocean. For sashimi with soy sauce and wasabi, try a dry Alsace Riesling — its acidity cuts through the soy while amplifying the fish's freshness.