Wines made from Muscat Ottonel grapes of Moldavie
Discover the best wines made with Muscat Ottonel as a single variety or as a blend of Moldavie.
Muscat Ottonel has the character of a grape variety with a distant lineage. It was first obtained in 1839 and continues to be planted in nearly 2,000 hectares of vineyards around the world. It shows good vigour and promises satisfactory production, of the order of 6 kilos per vine. The bunches, which are rather loose, are quite large, bearing berries with a strong character. A pleasantly musky flavour and a lot of juice characterize the pulp, protected by a medium skin. The bluish-black skin contributes to the exceptional beauty of the vineyards at harvest time. The size of the ellipsoidal berries is another argument in favor of Muscat Ottonel, which is also known as Muscat Ottone or Muscadet Ottonel. Resin, toast, honey and wild flowers are all present in the wines made from this variety. If the foliage, which turns yellow in autumn, is one of its charms, remember to protect the fruit from grey rot and coulure.
Moldova is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, one of many former Soviet states in that region. It is separated from the western shores of the Black Sea by the province of Odessa in Southern Ukraine and Lies just North of Romania and Bulgaria). Moldova gained independence from Russia in 1991. It is now officially called the Republic of Moldova.
The small island of Gorgona, just off the coast of Livorno, isn’t your run-of-the-mill viticultural area – its main purpose is to serve as a penal colony. Not just any prisoner can reside on Gorgona, however. Up to 90 incarcerated men live on the island at a time, alongside 17 residents and a handful of police officers. Prisoners on the island are allowed to stay for a maximum of five years, which must conclude the end of their sentence. After Gorgona, the men are set free. Scroll down to see ta ...
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 ...
Do growers make wine – or do markets? Growers, of course. Yet markets define the scope of the grower’s creative efforts by what they reward or sanction. When markets are neglectful and unresponsive, there’s little the grower can do but conform. It’s a problem the world over. Here’s an example. The river Moselle/Mosel rises to the wet west of the Vosges mountains, then curves in a long green arc heading north through Epinal, Metz and (along the left bank) Luxembourg’s Grand Duchy, turning east at ...