Wherefore art thou Armenia? Shining a light on a historic wine region
The scientific consensus is that the roots of viticulture lie deep in the soils of the Caucusus region; yet none of the countries that make up that historic region are players in the today's wine...
View ArticleWinemaking in Armenia
I have documented the terroir and vinous assets that Armenia brings to the table as it launches on this journey back-to-the future of fine-wine production. I discuss its traditional and modern...
View ArticleRegenerative Organic Certification: A "revolutionary" new certification ...
The Regenerative Organic Certification (ROC) is a "revolutionary" new certification for food, fiber, and personal care ingredients that has been developed under the auspices of the Regenerative Organic...
View ArticleA brief overview of Regenerative Agriculture
Following up on my recent post on the Regenerative Organic Alliance Certification program, I thought I should provide some additional background on the topic of Regenerative Agriculture.Regeneration...
View ArticleRegenerative Agriculture: A soils-composition primer
Soil health, according to the USDA, is "... the continued capacity of soil to function as a vital living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals, and humans." Agriculture Victoria defines soil health...
View ArticleRegenerative Agriculture: Soil health and carbon sequestration
The Regenerative Organic Alliance recently announced details of its certification program. This will be of interest to viticulturists the world over so I have begun a series detailing the program, the...
View ArticleMapping the sparkling wines of Italy
A little over seven months ago, I set out on a journey to develop a map of the sparkling wines of Italy. Fairly early in the process I realized that I would have to undertake the task on a...
View ArticleAsti DOCG: Key aspects of the appellation
The most widely recognized Italian sparkling wines are Prosecco, Franciacorta, and Asti. With that in mind, it was a major oversight on my part to omit detailed information on Asti, and its, wines, in...
View ArticleThe white wines of Piemonte: Roero Arneis DOCG
Roero is a small DOCG (DOC 1985, DOCG 2004) located on the north bank of the Tanaro River and running along said bank for approximately 24.1 km (15 miles) between Bra and Govone. The zone is...
View ArticleThe white wines of Piemonte: Gavi (Cortese di Gavi) DOCG
Piemonte is home to two of the world's iconic red-wine regions -- Barolo and Barbaresco -- but its indigenous-variety white wines are also demanding of attention in their own right. I have written...
View ArticleKaras Winery: A New-Armenian-Wine Pioneer
Armenia, one of the candidates for the origin of viticulture, has transitioned from its debilitating role as a specialized Soviet wine producer to one of leveraging its terroir, world wine knowledge,...
View ArticleRegenerative Agriculture: Biochar for soil health and carbon sequestration
In the Regenerative Organic Alliance's Regenerative Organic Certification, soil health and carbon sequestration are key activities in the Soil Health and Land Mangement component of the architecture....
View ArticleBarbaglia Winery: Producing wine within the reclamation project that is Alto...
Nebbiolo is arguably Italy's noblest grape, renowned for its iconic manifestations in Barolo and Barbaresco, two of the world's best known and most beloved wines.But southern Piemonte, while the home...
View ArticleSalvino Benanti on the Benanti estate and the history and future of quality...
The Benanti grasp of the history of quality winemaking on Mt Etna -- and its role in the birth and evolution of that history -- as well as the requirements for success in that industry on a...
View ArticleBenanti Winery: Its "whole-Etna" product strategy and distribution...
From its founding in 1988 as Tenuta di Castiglione, Benanti has exhibited a proclivity for experimentation, innovation, and strategic property acquisition/de-acquisition. And the entity continues in...
View ArticlePiemonte dry white wines: The instances of Favorita and the Malvirà example
My recent experiences with Piemonte dry whites have piqued my curiosity to the extent that I will be exploring the category in greater detail. I explore Favorita-based wines in this post.Favorita has...
View ArticleAn overarching view of oxygen management considerations during winemaking
Bodegas Torres has identified four key factors that are determinative of wine quality:The plant's environmentSpecies and varietiesViticultural practicesEnological practices.In the area of enological...
View ArticleOxygen management: The phenols that are the substrates in enzymic oxidation
In the winemaking-process chart below, our first encounter with oxygen is the concern with enzymic oxidation in the must stage of wine production.The figure below graphically illustrates the concept of...
View ArticleThe roles of Tyrosinase and Laccase in enzymic oxidation
Wine oxidizes when exposed to air via two primary mechanisms: enzymic and non-enzymic oxidation. Enzymic oxidation primarily afflicts wine must and requires the presence of the enzyme Tyrosinase (or...
View ArticleStrategies for combating must enzymic oxidation
Wine oxidizes when exposed to air via two primary mechanisms: enzymic and non-enzymic oxidation. Enzymic oxidation primarily afflicts wine must and requires the presence of the enzyme Tyrosinase (or...
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