Saturday, June 29, 2013

Chateau Mouton Rothschild - The New Museum and Cellars

Château Mouton Rothschild, June 16, 2013

Pauillac, Bordeaux

by Paige Donner


FULL SlideShow HERE

All photos by Anonymous Pirate Photographer c. Paige Donner 2013


L'Art et L'Etiquette

This is the title of the current exhibit at the new Château Mouton Rothschild Museum and Cellars in Pauillac. On display are the famous wine labels dating back to the very first one created in 1924. Below here is an excerpt from the official Château book explaining the new museum and cellars, translated from the French (to the best of my ability):


The call to great artists to illustrate each year the Mouton wine labels was a genius idea; but one that required time to be understood and accepted.

After an initial try, perhaps a bit too early with the label designer Jean Carlu in 1924, at the very first occasion of "bottled at the chateau," Baron Philippe waited until 1945 to definitively establish this practice of adding this artistic flair to his Mouton wine labels which would eventually constitute the visual signature of Mouton - and each one of its vintages.

From that moment until today a passionate collection is enriched each year by a new piece of artwork, which reunites, through the wine's labels, the most famous and celebrated contemporary artists of their day, and the most diverse: from Miró to Chagall, from Braque to Picasso, from Tapies to Francis Bacon, from Dali to Balthus, and even Prince Charles of England!


@ ♥Chérie Du Vin

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Monday, June 24, 2013

Cite des Civilisations du Vin, Bordeaux

by Paige Donner

"The building does not resemble any known shape because it's an evocation. Not of wine itself, but of the soul of wine," explain architects Anouk Legendre and Nicolas Desmazieres from French firm X-TU.

When fully unveiled in 2016, the eco-building that will be the Cité des Civilisations du Vin nestled on the shores of the Garonne will offer a total surface area of 14,000 m2 including 750 m2 for temporary exhibits and 3500 m2 of permanent exhibit space.

The laying of the first stone was celebrated on June 19, 2013 during Vinexpo Bordeaux. Slideshow Below.

INFO:  citedescivilisationsduvin.com

 SlideShow HERE

Inauguration June 19, 2013 Cite des Civilisations du Vin in Bordeaux


Mayor of Bordeaux Alain Juppe and Anouk Legendre, architect of Cite des Civilisations du Vin



All photos c. Paige Donner

FULL Gallery Pictures HERE

@LocalFoodWine


Friday, June 7, 2013

News From Champagne

A few new developments from the Land of the Bubbly...

China Recognizes AOC Champagne Indication Geographique
Image
Jean-Luc Barbier and Wang Wei, CIVC
As one of the world's original AOCs, it is only fitting that China, lovers of prestige cuvées and big buyers of champagne, have come to officially recognize the appellation's "Indication Geographique."
According to the CIVC, champagne's official bureau, this will effectively protect against any possible abuses of counterfeit or unauthorized use of the luxury product and authentication label, of "champagne."
According to Wang Wei, the director of the CIVC's Peking office, "This recognition permits us to use competent administrative avenues against limiting any labeling abuses which, for the moment, very few and instances that do occur are quickly and severely sanctioned."
2012 saw a 52% increase in champagne exports to China relative to 2011, with total imports at two million bottles per year, and growing.  For the champagne market, China ranks #5 in market share just behind the EU.
Courtesy CIVC Communications

@♥Chérie Du Vin


Automatic Champagne Bottle Opener
For the many of us who still believe that Pop! means spells champagne, any good sommelier worth his shirt will tell you that that that "pop" is not at all kosher. The reasoning behind that is simple: champagne is so precious that you don't want to spill a drop of it!
photo courtesy hebdovendredi.fr
photo courtesy l'hebdoduvendredi.fr
Two French inventors, Jacques Pitoux and Piarrick Durex have come up with an automated bottle opener for champagne and other bubbly wines. They explain that though some purists might take offense at their innovation, there are many others - elderly and also women, they say -  who simply find wrestling with an explosive cork a bit taxing. 
The item was a big hit at Spring's Foire à Paris. The inventors demonstrated their Effervescent Bottle Opener shortly thereafter at a small press gathering held at Cattier champagne in the Montagne de Reims. 

@♥Chérie Du Vin


Biodynamic Gains Entry In Exclusive Club Trésors de Champagne
Photo courtesy Club du Tresors
Photo courtesy Club Tresors du Champagne
It had to happen sooner or later... Luckily for Sébastien Mouzon, it happened sooner. This winemaker from Verzy, whose family has been cultivating their grapes biodynamically since 2008, can now count themselves as members of the prestigious inner circle known as the Club Trésors de Champagne. 
Seven of the family's 10 hectares are being certified organic and biodynamic. The family has been in Verzy since 1776.  Interestingly, the domaine is planted with Chardonnay. The Montagne de Reims terroir lends their Chard more body without neglecting the variety's elegance and finesse. The Mouzon-Leroux Champagne offers a delightful contrast for grower champagne connoisseurs to the more prevalent mineral-rich Chardonnay wines of the Côte des Blancs. The Club itself was created in 1971 and is considered an elite designation of high-quality grower champagnes.

@♥Chérie Du Vin

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Thursday, June 6, 2013

Tuscany Food & Wine app by Acqua Panna

by Paige Donner

Ahhh... summer is at long last nearly here. Dream vacation destinations are beginning to dance through our heads like sugar plum fairies in wispy toutous as the languid summer months of promised sunshine begin to magically reveal themselves before us.


Tuscany. Tuscany, the land of Chianti and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Tuscany, where cold-pressed virgin olive oils beckon as seductively as do its wines and terroir. 

Dream vacations, can, however, at times, be more effort than joy, a corelation thoroughly dependent on planning and resources. So if this is your first Tuscan Escape, not to worry. The region's wine producers and local government tourism agencies have gotten together to form a welcoming platform called Tuscan Taste. 

Tuscan Taste is a series of outreach events and organized hospitality platforms to make your visit to and exploration of Tuscany as effortless as it is enjoyable. The brand was developed in collaboration with the region's main wine Consorzi to communicate the Tuscan values of quality, beauty, sustainability, taste and tradition.


Why a butterfly: Tuscany springs from the map to become a butterfly. A messenger to the world, heralding the quality of Tuscan wines. Heralding the traditions of a glorious region, and of a culture of winemaking built up 
through the centuries. A culture that, right here in Tuscany, has created some of the very best wines in the world. One butterfly, ten, a hundred, even more – as many as there are Tuscan wines. Butterflies fluttering 
their wings to take the message of Tuscan wines to the world, and to new and exalted heights.

For the billion and a half of us on the planet right now who are SmartPhone oriented, especially when we travel, we have this fabulous new Tuscany Food & Wine app by Acqua Panna at our fingertips as of this Spring.

The app is offered free for iOS devices and in addition to offering things to do and see - nature, art, history - in the region, it also features mouthwatering pictures and descriptions of local foods, cuisine, dishes, restaurants, and, of course, wines and wonderful wine pairings. 

Wines are especially highlighted in the Tuscany Food & Wine app where it features a guide to the many local wineries as well as detailed descriptions of the wines' composition such as alcohol percentage, grapes used and where you can find the wineries for a cellar visit and tasting. 

The GPS enabled "Around Me" feature spotlights the restaurants, sites, wineries and other points of interest within a few kilometers of your current location. For those who want to immerse themselves in the languid deliciousness that is the Tuscan Summer, there is even a glossary included on the app that explains the various abbreviations denoting the artisanal Italian local food products and wines which helps you to understand their exact origin and stamp of quality.

OK, then. All set?  The app is available for download at:

http://bit.ly/tuscanyapp

 

Long considered the best still mineral water for enhancing all the nuances of wine and food, thanks to its smooth, elegant taste, Acqua Panna represents all the power of nature in the heart of the Tuscan Apennines, with 1300 hectares of natural preserve, a unique aquifer, and a long history of culture, passion and love for the environment.

Acqua Panna
http://www.acquapanna.com
www.facebook.com/acquapanna

About Toscana Promozione
Toscana Promozione is the Economic Promotion Agency of Tuscany, established in 2000 by the local government. Thanks to a network of professional associations, institutions, enterprises, universities and research centers, Toscana Promozione is, today, a concrete platform for overseas enterprises interested in doing business in or with Tuscany.

@♥Chérie Du Vin

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