Between the Landes forest, the Garonne and the Pyrenees, the Gascony hillsides cover the Gers dePartment and part of the Landes and Lot-et-Garonne departments. The vineyards occupy the same area as Armagnac, a brandy still produced in the region, but whose volumes have declined in favour of vins de pays (now PGI). Under the influence of a mild oceanic Climate, it is fairly wet in the west, drier in the east, especially in summer. In the west, the subsoil of tawny sands is of marine origin, covered with boulbènes; in the east, it gradually gives way to molasse, a rock resulting from the erosion of the Pyrenees.
The soils are either stony and chalky (peyrusquets) or clayey and Deep (terrefort), retaining water well. The Condom region, the driest, has its own name (Condomois). The main Grape varieties cultivated are white: Colombard and Ugni blanc, the varieties of armagnac. Generally associated, sometimes completed by Sauvignon and Chardonnay, they give lively white wines with an exuberant fruitiness.
UK-based Berry Bros & Rudd said it will start selling capsule-free wine this month, beginning with its ‘Own Selection’ Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2019, produced for the company by Château La Nerthe. The fine wine and spirits merchant said it also planned to remove capsules from other Own Selection products in a phased initiative that aims to reduce packaging, preserve materials and avoid waste. While some wines for longer-term ageing are considered to benefit from capsules, Berry Bros & ...
After a two-year hiatus due to Covid, the UK Sommelier of the Year competition was back with a bang and saw Arnese bag the highly-respected title on Monday 18th July 2022. He pipped this year’s runner-up Agnieszka Swiecka (The Five Fields Restaurant) and 2019 runner-up Gareth Ferreira (Core by Clare Smyth) to the post. The competition is organised by The Caterer in partnership with the UK Sommelier Academy (UKSA) – a new non-profit organisation, officially launched yesterday – which provid ...
Winemaker Derek Mossman Knapp, of Chile’s Garage Wine Company, introduced the group’s ‘Old-Vine Revival’ project in the UK this month. This included a first UK tasting of its new-release Old-Vine Revival País 2021 wine. Garage Wine Company’s Maule-based project focuses on producing wine from previously-neglected old vines, while at the same time supporting local farming communities. Born out of the Covid pandemic, the initiative enabled farmers to work in their local vineyards, which also elimin ...
