It just wouldn’t be July without a trip to New Orleans for Tales of the Cocktail. And this summer, the five-day festival—which brings together the world’s top bartenders and spirits experts—celebrates its 10th anniversary. So, if you’re coming to Tales, here are the five events you shouldn’t miss.
There are some obvious destinations when looking for a Muscadet to drink, top names such as Domaine de la Pépière, Pierre Luneau-Papin, Domaine de l’Ecu and others. I have these pretty well covered on Winedoctor, with some detailed profiles, recent updates and plenty of associated tasting notes
I really can’t abide hanging around waiting for things to happen. Time spent kicking my heels is time lost, and this is especially true when visiting a wine region, the Loire, Bordeaux or otherwise
I have a relationship with high-proof spirits that I admit most resembles a fetish. I love a solid foundation on which I can build my cocktails safely and creatively, and potent liquor provides just that. My first discovery of this phenomenon was when I tasted an old formula for the Manhattan : 100-proof rye whiskey paired with Italian (sweet) vermouth, bitters and orange liqueur
There was a still a soft blanket of snow cushioning the vines at Domaine de la Bergerie when we arrived. France had, until late into January at least, been enjoying a relatively mild winter, drier than the norm in many parts, with hours of sunshine much higher than expected
Dalmore have created the The Dalmore Constellation Collection.
Dom Pérignon is, and has always been, exclusively a vintage wine. I could be content with simply letting the vintage express its characteristics through the wine; however, in a constant effort to push the envelope, it is crucial to go one step further: we embrace the vintage and confront it to the singularity of Dom Pérignon in an act of creation. The growing season shapes a vintage, but rarely as much as in 2003.
And from the broad complexity of St Emilion we now come to a commune both smaller and stylistically, to my mind, somewhat easier to define. And it seems in some way fitting that we come to it now, as we approach the end of my Bordeaux 2011 reports; because sometimes you do have to save the best for last.
The weather gods were smiling that day; the bright sunshine illuminated the stone work all around me, lighting up the gravel of the path and feeding the vines through their just-budded leaves in the vineyard mere metres away. It was the first week of April 2012, and Bordeaux was enjoying clear skies and bemoaning – after long periods of on-off drought – the continued lack of rain.
This year I headed out to Bordeaux a day earlier than I have done in previous years, in the hope that I could expand my coverage of some of the less exalted communes and appellations.
