Hermitage Launches Online Charity Wine Auction

Hermitage, the Rhône Valley wine appellation has launched its online wine auction, which is now open for bidding until Tuesday, June 21-  4 pm via the fine wine auction marketplace Bid For Wine https://www.bidforwine.co.uk/legendary-hermitage.

The lots available to bid on have been donated by Hermitage winemakers with some unique vintages for wine lovers and collectors.

The Centre Médical de La Teppe (France) and The Epilepsy Society (UK) are the two charities that have been chosen for the auction, with all proceeds being donated equally between the two.

Hermitage is also hosting their ‘Legendary Hermitage’ event at the Four Seasons Hotel, London, at Ten Trinity Square on Monday June 20th. The event is hosted by several of the Hermitage winemakers which includes a tasting of the prestigious cuvées available on the UK market, and a gastronomic dinner curated by award-winning chef, Anne-Sophie Pic. Chef Pic is the most decorated female chef in the world, with eight Michelin stars to her name.

Michel Chapoutier, president of the Hermitage appellation, said: “Our Legendary Hermitage event is an opportunity to share our wines with the UK wine trade, and along with our online charity wine auction, we are also helping out some charities which are important to our winemakers. We can’t wait to meet everyone and allow them to taste some exciting wines, some of which they won’t have tasted before.”

The auction lots include:

Lot 1 – Maison Les Alexandrins 2020, White – 6 bottles

Lot 2 – Christelle Betton, Arpège 2004-2011-2019, White (3 bottles)

Lot 3 – Maison M.Chapoutier, Vin de Paille 1999, Magnum

Lot 4 – Maison M.Chapoutier, Pavillon 2007, Red, Magnum

Lot 5 – Maison M.Chapoutier, De l’Orée 2007, White, Mathusalem

Lot 6 – Maison Jean-Louis Chave, Red 2015, Jeroboam

Lot 7 – Delas Frères, Domaine des Tourettes 2015, White, Jeroboam

Lot 8 – Ferraton Père & Fils – 6 bottles

Les Miaux 1998, White (2 bottles)

Les Dionnières 2001, Red (2 bottles)

Le Méal 2001, Red (2 bottles)

Lot 9- Ferraton Père & Fils – 6 bottles

Les Miaux 1998, White (2 bottles)

Les Dionnières 2001, Red (2 bottles)

Le Méal 2001, Red (2 bottles)

Lot 10 – Maison Guigal – 6 bottles

Ex-Voto 2012, Red (3 bottles)

Ex-Voto 2012, White (3 bottles)

Lot 11 – Maison Paul Jaboulet Aîné, La Chapelle 2006, Red, Jeroboam

Lot 12 – Maison Paul Jaboulet Aîné, La Chapelle 1982-1985-2009-2012-2015-2016, Red (6 bottles)

Lot 13 – Domaine des Martinelles – 6 magnums

Domaine des Martinelles 2013, Red, Magnum (2 magnums)

Domaine des Martinelles 2015, Red, Magnum (2 magnums)

Domaine des Martinelles 2020, White, Magnum (2 magnums)

Lot 14 – Gabriel Meffre, Laurus 2015, Red – 3 bottles

Lot 15 – Domaine Marc Sorrel, Le Gréal 2018, Red – 3 bottles

Lot 16 – Cave de Tain, Gambert de Loche 2015, Red, Jeroboam

Lot 17 – Maison Tardieu-Laurent 2006, White – 6 bottles

Lot 18 – Maison Tardieu-Laurent 2005, Red – 6 bottles

Lot 19 – Les Vins de Vienne, La Bachole 2010, White – 2 bottles

Lot 20 – Les Vins de Vienne, Les Chirats de Saint-Christophe 2009, Red – 2 bottles

#rhonevalley #hermitage #bidforwine #AnneSophiePic #rhonewine #wineauction #wine #redwine #whitewine #winelovers #winecollectors #wineinvestors #wineandfood #womeninfood #womeninwine #Michelinstarred #Michelin #chef  #RhoneValleyWines

List of Michelin-starred Restaurants in Europe Under 30 Euros

Travel restrictions are FINALLY relaxing across Europe and it’s now time to travel and spoil yourself!  Good News! You can surprisingly dine at a Michelin-starred restaurant without breaking the bank and here is their advice – shift from a dinner reservation to a lunch reservation. Most restaurants offer a menu du jour, or menu of the day at lunch, which is more affordable than the regular tasting menu at dinner.

Chef’s Pencil recently featured a map of the top Michelin-starred “most affordable” restaurants in Europe (under 30 Euros) – here is their top 10 for you to try!

  1. L’Antic Molí, Ulldecona, Spain – 20 euros / person

 L’Antic Molí is one of the best restaurants in Spain and is about a two-hour drive south of Barcelona, ​​is the most affordable Michelin-starred restaurant in Europe. Here, surrounded by greenery and with a beautiful panoramic view, you’ll spend 20 /person for a lunch by chef Vicent Guimerà Sales, if you choose to have lunch in the Espai Bistro.

  1. La Robe, Montaigu, France – 24 euros / person

La Robe restaurant in Montaigu, France, is in the Pays de la Loire region. The dining room is spread over two floors. Here you can taste chef Xavier Giraudet’s lunch dishes at affordable prices.

  1. Hostellerie la Montagne, Colombey-les-Deux-Églises, France – 25 euros / person

The Hostellerie la Montagne – a Michelin-star restaurant located in Colombey-les-Deux-Églises in the Haute-Marne department of France’s Grande Est region.  This is the region where the former French president Charles de Gaulle lived (and later buried). This is why the restaurant’s dining room is called A la table du General (at the General’s table). Chef Jean-Baptiste Natali proposes a lunch ‘menu du marché’, a market menu, starting at 25 euros, consisting of an entrée, main course and dessert.

  1. Les Clefs d’Argent, Mont-de-Marsan, France – 25 euros / person

Another French restaurant, Les Clefs d’Argent in Mont-de-Marsan, is located in the southwestern part of the Hexagon. Here, chef Christophe Dupouy offers a menu that interprets the flavours of the territory in a contemporary key, with an exotic spin. A ‘très chic’ address, where you can stop and try ‘Le Menu Retour du Marché’, three dishes prepared according to the produce of the day and Christophe’s inspiration, available only for lunch from Tuesday to Friday.

  1. Essência, Budapest, Hungary – 25 euros / person

Essência can be found in Budapest, and is the restaurant led by the Portuguese-Hungarian couple Tiago and Éva Sabarigo. Guests can savour an original menu that draws on Hungarian and Portuguese cuisine, choosing a “fusion” tasting-menu that combines the two cultures. Among the most convenient options, there is no shortage of proposals for lunch starting from 25 euros / person.

  1. Hotel Restaurant Le France, Villers-le-Lac, France – 26 euros / person

The Hotel Restaurant Le France is in the heart of the Haut-Doubs. Here, chef Hugues Droz tempts you with creative dishes, capable of blending flavours, colours and great technique. All can be savoured in a warm environment, where design meets the territory, including refined details and decorative elements made with local materials.

  1. Le Mascaret, Blainville-sur-Mer, France – 26 euros / person

Le Mascaret is located in the spaces of a former convent for women in Blainville-sur-Mer, a small town in Normandy. The setting is decidedly baroque, but with a modern touch, while the dishes by chef Philippe Hardy are super-creative and well defined. With a ‘la petite table’ formula, at lunch, guests can try a very economical fine-dining experience: at 26 euros / person, the menu includes dishes revisited by the chef with a ‘French touch’, capable of combining tradition and modernity.

  1. Silabario, Vigo, Spain – 27 euros / person

The Silabario restaurant is located in Vigo, in the region of Galicia, in the north-west of Spain. Here, right under an imposing glass dome that houses the headquarters of the Real Club Celta de Vigo football team, chef Alberto González Prelcic prepares a delicious array of dishes with fresh ingredients from the local market at a very affordable price. The menu, at 27 euros / person, is available from Monday – Thursday for lunch and dinner, while only for lunch on Friday.

  1. Auberge du Cep, Fleurie, France – 27 euros / person

Auberge du Cep is located on a famous Burgundy wine route, in the Beaujolais region. The restaurant is led by chef Aurélien Merot, who stands out for iconic dishes with a very French style, mainly focused on jus and sauces. There are several tasting menus to combine with the remarkable selection of regional wines. Try the ‘menu du marché Grille-Midi’ for 27 euros, served every day for lunch, except Saturdays and public holidays (one starter, one main course and one dessert).

  1. La Grange de Belle-Église, Belle-Église, France – 27 euros / person

The Michelin-starred restaurant La Grange de Belle-Église, located in Belle-Église, in northern France, expresses the quintessence of French gastronomic attitude according to Chef’s Pencil. Directed by chef Marc Duval, who offers dishes prepared with high-quality ingredients and a wide selection of Bordeaux wines and champagnes. The menu du marché is served at midday, during the week (except holidays), and offers fresh seasonal produce.

 

Sources:  Michelin/Chef’s Pencil

#michelin #michelinstar #chef #instachef #wine #winelovers #foodandwine #finedining #gourmet #funsunday #Sunday #travelling #europe #traveldiaries #champagne #burgundy #bordeau #frenchwine #frenchfood #foodie #restaurant #michelinrestaurant #spanishfood #winesofspain #hungarianfood #winesofhungary

The École des Vins de Bourgogne announce “New Immersive Tasting Workshops”

The École des Vins de Bourgogne is now offering four new workshops at the Cité Internationale de la Gastronomie et du Vin in Dijon.

These four innovative workshops will offer a visual, audio, and a gustatory experience.

Price ranges: €20-€29

Time: 40 minutes to one hour

Maximum number of participants: 18

All courses are open to people with mobility issues

 

  • An Introduction to wine tasting: Decode the techniques and vocabulary of wine tasting and learn how to describe a wine in terms of how it looks, smells, and tastes.

Three wines, €20 per person

  • The Impact of vintage: This workshop explores the bearing a vintage might have on a wine, and explores single varietal cultivation, typical in Bourgogne, how a wine changes over time, and aging potential.

Three wines, €20 per person

  • Bourgogne Terroir Wines: Learn about the notion of terroir in Bourgogne through grape varietals, winegrower expertise, the hierarchy of the 84 appellations, and the Climats.

Four wines, €20 per person

  • Food and Wine pairings: Explore the diversity of Bourgogne wines by pairing them with local gastronomy. Tasting of five wines with five regional specialties.

Five wines, €29 per person

For more information and to register, visit the École des Vins de Bourgogne website at https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/

If you are currently traveling through France, drop by……bookings are now open!

#VinsBourgogne #Bourgogne #Vin #Bourgognewines #Bourgogne #wine #winelovers #frenchwine #wineeducation #BourgogneTerroir #foodandwine #winetasting #gastronomy #vin #winecollectors #wineinvestors #wineknowledge

Cru Bourgeois Classification Raises the Environmental Bar

L’Alliance des Crus Bourgeois du Médoc announced this week, by press release, that it has significantly raised its environmental standards.

Route des Chateaux, Vineyard in Medoc, amous wine estate of Bordeaux wine, Gironde, France

from the next reclassification exercise (in 2025), all wineries designated crus bourgeois will be required to have demonstrated HEV Level 2 environmental certification. Those seeking classification at Supérieur and Exceptionnel level will be required to have HEV Level 3 certification.

In addition, from 2022, all properties seeking to use their crus bourgeois certification will need to present their wines in bottles that weight no more than 390g (a 22% decrease in the current maximum bottle weight).

The organization states: “with sustainability in mind, the Crus Bourgeois du Médoc has shifted to bottles with less weight. The classification was eager to become a part of the global movement towards more sustainable bottling and packaging, as championed by the famous wine critic Jancis Robinson”.

#winetour #winetours #bestofwinetourism #winetourism  #wineexperience #winetravel #wineyards #vignes #vignoble #winemakers #vigneron #terroir #vinrouge #redwinelover #hautmedoc #crusbourgeois #crusbourgeoisdumedoc #environmental #medoc #sustainable #winenews

New Sweetness Scale for Alsace wine labels

A standardized sweetness guide will be required on all Alsace wine labels starting with wines produced from the 2021 harvest.

While most French wines are labeled by origin, wines from Alsace are indicated by grape variety and location information, including if the wine is from one of the 51 grand crus. Now wine buyers and trade can also consult the bottle for a visual sweetness scale or one of the following appropriate terms.

The New Alsace Wine Sweetness Scale

The new sweetness scale is straightforward.  The scale is in both English and French. Dry (sec) sugar content of the wine does not exceed 4 g/l

  1. Medium-Dry/demi-sec: sugar content of the wine is between 4 g/l and 12 g/l
  2. Mellow/moelleux: sugar content of the wine is between 12 g/l and 45 g/l
  3. Sweet/doux: sugar content of the wine exceeds 45 g/l

This change was prompted by the Alsace wine industry and centers on sweetness guidelines already in place in the European Union.

“In Alsace, we produce many different styles of wine, from dry wines to sweet wines to sparkling wines,” says Foulques Aulagnon, export marketing manager, for CIVA (Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins d’Alsace) which is also known as the Alsace Wine Board. “This new standardized sweetness guide doesn’t affect how we produce our wines, but gives greater clarity on the style of what’s in the bottle.” Crémant d’Alsace, traditional method sparkling wine from the appellation, already has sweetness guide regulations and isn’t impacted by this new round of rules.

In addition to labels, the new system applies to advertising, marketing materials, invoices, and other containers. This is designed to be helpful to trade partners such as educators, retailers, and sommeliers.

According to CIVA data, export sales of Alsace wines grew by 22.4% in 2021. With more buyers outside of France, this move provides further understanding to new customers that may not be as familiar with what Alsace has to offer.

* According to EU regulations, “Dry” represents sugar content does not exceed 4 g/l (or 9 g/l if the total acidity in grams of tartaric acid per liter is not more than 2 g/l lower than the residual sugar content). “Medium-Dry” represents sugar content of the wine is above 4 g/l but does not exceed 12 g/l (or 18 g/l if the total acidity in grams of tartaric acid per liter is not more than 10 g/l lower than the residual sugar content).

#alsacegrandcru #alsace #riesling #whitewine #wine #wineharvest #winelover #alsacewine #grandcru #vinalsace #alsacegram #pinotgris #gewurztraminer #vin #vinblanc #wein #winenews