New Hampshire is a small state in the far northeastern United States, bordering Maine, Vermont and Canada. New Hampshire's wine industry is still in its infancy; the state's oldest winery was only established in 1994. The good news is that its early vintages are promising, and New Hampshire wines have won national and international awards in the early 21st century. The state is roughly rectangular in shape and covers 24,000 km² (9,300 square miles) between latitudes 42°N and 45°N, making it roughly equivalent to southern France.
The extreme southeastern corner of the state touches the Atlantic Ocean, and it is in this Part of New Hampshire that most wine is grown. Here, the warmer waters of the Atlantic Gulf Stream have a moderating influence on the vineyards, and the warmer winters and cooler summers create a more grape-friendly Climate. New Hampshire is known as the "Granite State", and its rocky hills have proven to be suitable for viticulture. The good drainage and low soil fertility serve to stress the vines, causing them to focus their energy on producing grapes with high concentrations of Aromatic compounds rather than on the leaves and vegetation.
Clément Bärtschi, winemaker and cellarmaster at M Chapoutier, saw little frost in St-Joseph in 2021. Nevertheless, the cool, wet season resulted in oscillating quality. Some wines are excellent, in a fresh, crisp and fragrant style; but the larger proportion lack fruit and joy, with dry, astringent tannins. ‘We’d have called it a lovely vintage – in the 1980s,’ said Jean Gonon of Domaine Gonon. Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for top-scoring St-Joseph 2021 wines See all 400 Rhône 202 ...
Tonight we will find out who will be named Writer of the Year at the BIH Spotlight Awards, which celebrates exceptional talent and achievement from Black, Asian, and ethnic minorities working in hospitality, food, and drink. As a proud sponsor of this category, below Decanter shares more about the finalists and their journeys within the industry so far… ‘I am so proud of the stellar line up of talented professionals in the Writer of the Year category. Their words and stories are ever power ...
St Hilaire is the patron saint of Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, the pretty Champagne village which is famous for scoring 99 on the Echelle des Crus. (This classification of Champagne vineyards was developed in the mid-20th century as a means of setting the price of grapes grown through the villages of the Champagne wine region.) Prime territory That the village missed out on grand cru status by one point is generally agreed to be an injustice – all the more so as it is home not only to the superlative Clos de ...