Wines made from Cabernet franc grapes of Central Coast

When I have some time to myself in the southern Rhône, my favourite place to relax is the peaceful village of Gigondas. I had even more reason to visit this June, as the growers’ syndicate was celebrating the 50th anniversary of the appellation. Over a meal at Domaine du Clos des Tourelles, we had the opportunity to taste wines spanning five decades, including a remarkable 1971 that was still very much alive and kicking. Gigondas has long been recognised as an exceptional site for winemaking, bu ...

Described by Courvoisier as ‘daring’, ‘visionary’ and ‘a first-of-its-kind collaboration’, Courvoisier Mizunara was created by the house’s recently-retired maître de chai, Patrice Pinet, and Shinji Fukuyo, chief blender of Japanese whisky maker Suntory. The project dates back to 2015, when the president of Suntory visited Courvoisier at Jarnac shortly after Suntory took over Beam Global, the Cognac house’s then owner, in a deal worth US$16bn. Pinet expressed an interest in experimenting with miz ...

Jars recovered from the seabed and dating back to the Roman period have offered more clues about winemaking and storage in this era, according to a study that used a mixture of analysis techniques. A combination of chemical markers, plant tissue residue and pollen analysis helped researchers to build a picture about the possible contents of three amphorae ‘wine jars’ discovered near the coastal town of San Felice Circeo, around 90km south-east of Rome. ‘The evidence suggests the amphorae were us ...