The Vine Route

Authentic winemaking 101: A natural work cycle

Tom Fiorina — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 18:06:15 +0000

One of the requirements of my oenology studies in France is a three-month winemaking internship. I chose to do mine with Didier Barral, a Languedoc winemaker who I’ve written about several times before on this blog. With his cows roaming freely in the vineyard, close to 50 pigs free-ranging nearby, and a beyond-biodynamic biodiversity philosophy, [...]

Authentic winemaking 101: Burning stakes

Tom Fiorina — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:42:49 +0000

George Taber, author of Judgment of Paris,takes a look at the Bargain Wine Revolution

Tom Fiorina — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 11:27:11 +0000

I met George Taber, the author of Judgment of Paris, the 2006 wine book that told the story of the seminal 1976 blind tasting in Paris where a panel of top French wine experts choose unknown California wines over some of France’s finest wines, at the 2011 European Wine Bloggers Conference. This tasting shocked the [...]

Going wild about salad in the Languedoc

Tom Fiorina — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 17:30:01 +0000

“Would you like to pick some salad?,” my maître de stage, Didier Barral, asked me one afternoon late in my wine-making internship required for my French œnology diploma. We had just finished moving the 50-or-so semi-wild cows that he allows to graze in different parcels of his vineyard after the grapes are harvested. This twice-weekly [...]

Authentic-winemaking 101: The sorting table

Tom Fiorina — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 12:53:09 +0000

Authentic-winemaking 101: The grape harvest

Tom Fiorina — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 13:32:10 +0000

Authentic-winemaking 101: Tank preparation

Tom Fiorina — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 08:14:19 +0000

One of the requirements of my œnology studies in France is a three-month winemaking internship. I chose to do mine with Didier Barral, a Languedoc winemaker who I’ve written about several times before on this blog. With his cows roaming about in the vineyard, close to 50 pigs free-ranging nearby, and a beyond-biodynamic biodiversity philosophy, [...]

The day our best friend died, Saint Peter couldn’t get his robe clean

Tom Fiorina — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 17:20:34 +0000

Two-thirds into my three-month-long, French winemaking internship, and you might except a blog post about the ‘vinification du vin’ or ‘décuvage’ or some other aspect of making wine. That will be for a subsequent post, however, as I want to pay tribute here to a special friend. . A mid-October lunch in Italy’s Alto Adige [...]

Contextual pleasures: NYC chic meets Corsican mystique

Tom Fiorina — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 19:35:49 +0000

The perception and enjoyment of food and drink are often dependent on the context in which they are experienced. This phenomenon was clearly illustrated to me during my recent vacation in Corsica, an island of mystical beauty. I had eaten at the Ferme de Campo di Monte last year while researching the northern Corsica wine [...]

The Knights of the Overladen Table

Tom Fiorina — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 15:03:58 +0000

I recently became…a Knight. A Knight of the Commanderie of Faugères, that is. Readers of this blog will recognize the name of Faugères, a Languedoc wine appellation just north of Béziers. I’ve already published several articles about Faugères wine and winemakers on The Vine Route blog, having been introduced to this area by a friend [...]