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You are here: Home » Food + Drink » Archive » March 2008-1
March 2008-1
Food and Drink Archive: March 1-29 , 2008
Finding wine bargains in the Loire
NewYorkTimes.March 29, 2008
Great vintages send prices surging for wines from high-status regions
like Bordeaux and Burgundy. Money-conscious consumers can either avoid
these coveted years or employ another value-hunter’s technique: looking
beyond those regions for areas that are largely ignored or that make
wines that are unfashionable or confusing or that for one reason or
another have not won over mass-market wine drinkers. Case in point: the
Loire Valley.
> More
First Impression of 2007 Bordeaux
WineSpectator. March 29, 2008
Sure, 2007 is not a great vintage. It could never be exceptional,
considering the wet and gray weather in Bordeaux for most of the summer
growing season. But the Bordelais managed to produce some very good,
even excellent reds: pleasantly fruity, with pretty perfumes, fine
tannins and clean finishes. The 2007s will be reds that we are going to
enjoy drinking for the next 10 or 15 years, without any problem, and
the 2007s are going to be cheap compared to anything else for a long
time.
> More
Michelin's star is on the wane, say top chefs
UKTelegraph. March 27, 2008
Some of the world's leading chefs have criticised the French gastronomy
bible, the Michelin Guide, saying it is out of touch and
"inconsistent". The anti-Michelin movement is led by Marco Pierre
White, who was the youngest chef to gain three Michelin stars, which he
then renounced in 1999. He accuses the editors of geographical
inconsistencies and putting a commercial desire for world domination
above the original philosophy of its founder, André Michelin, to
guarantee French diners a good meal on the road.
> More
French drink less, says report
Decanter. March 27, 2008
The French drink less than previously thought, according to new figures
that question the way the government has been measuring drinking
statistics. The APV (Association Presse du Vin) claims the nation is
only drinking 43 litres per head (a figure on a par with Spain and
Italy), not 54 litres as previously thought. This means the French are
in fact 'moderate and responsible' rather than the biggest drinkers in
the world. The AVP hopes to defang the anti-drinking lobby, which is
becoming increasingly powerful in France.
> More
Tasting Highlights: 2005 Châteauneuf-du-Pape
WineSpectator. March 27, 2008
With the exception of the wines from Château Rayas, all the major 2005
Châteauneuf-du-Papes from that the extraordinary vintage have now been
released. Here's that last batch of late arrivals, including the
single-vineyard, 100 percent Grenache cuvées from Michel Chapoutier as
well as Laurence Féraud's Domaine du Pégaü.
> More
2006 Burgundy Preview
WineSpectator. March 25, 2008
The 2006 vintage in Burgundy produced many excellent whites and
charming reds (outstanding for Chardonnay and very good for Pinot Noir)
but the wines will be expensive--perhaps even more expensive than the
2005s, a vintage that in the long run will be the better of the two.
> More
Tasting Highlights: Côte de Beaune Values
WineSpectator. March 25, 2008
This group of wines features 10 Côte de Beaune reds costing $50 or
less. Like Marsannay in the north, Santenay is a commune that should
not be overlooked in top vintages. They generally offer wines that are
more chunky and earthy in style, but the Domaine Jessiaume bottlings
offer more polish and elegance.
> More
Perrier-Jouet offers world’s costliest bubbly
AP. March 21, 2008
In a tasteless exhibition of conspicuous consumption, French champagne
company Perrier-Jouet is offering the world’s most expensive bubbly at
50,000 euros, or nearly $79,000, for a case of 12. The Perrier-Jouet
officially goes on sale Thursday after a glitzy launch party at Paris'
Opera Garnier. "We have already seen a huge demand," Olivier Cavil,
head of communications at Perrier-Jouet, told The Associated Press.
> More
Best French restaurants in the USA
USAToday. March 16, 2008
The death knell for deluxe French restaurants in America has been
sounded, yet many of America’s French eateries rank with the best in
France itself. A list of the finest includes Le Bernardin in New York,
the French Laundry in California, Jean-Georges and Per Se in New York,
and Citronelle in Washington, D.C.
> More
France discovers organic wine
Time. March 16, 2008
Pioneered in the 1960s by Beaujolais enologist Jules Chauvet, natural
wine-making strives for a pure expression of the vintage and land
through organic farming and the banning of modern cellar practices like
adding laboratory yeasts, chaptalization (adding sugar to increase
alcohol content) and filtering.
> More
France expands booming Champagne region
AFP. March 16, 2008
Like other French wines, champagne-labelled bottles are produced only
from grapes nurtured in a specially designated region -- in this case
319 communes spread across 33,500 hectares (83,000 acres) in northeast
France. Now the INAO institute, which decides the boundaries of the
geographic area entitled to produce under the coveted Appellation
d'Origine Controlee (AOC) label, has expanded the official borders of
the Champagne growing area. The change will boost land prices from
5,000 euros per hectare to a million euros per hectare for the lucky
converts. The change points up the artificiality of the AOC system in
an age when sparkling wines from California, Italy and elsewhere have
challenged the French product.
> More
France is MacDonald’s Second Biggest Market
SeattleTimes. March 12, 2008
Despite France’s reputation for good taste and culinary excellence (and
Sarkozy’s recent demand that French gastronomy be declared a World
Heritage), the French love junk food. France remains the company's most
profitable country outside the United States. Last month, MacDonald’s
enjoyed 15 percent growth in Europe overall.
> More
Tasting Highlights: Sancerre
WineSpectator. March 12, 2008
2006 was not a strong vintage for the Loire, which experienced
harvest-time rains that diminished the quality of the crop. The eastern
end of the valley, the home of Sauvignon Blanc, wasn't hit as hard as
the rest of the region, however, so there are still a good number of
outstanding and very good wines to choose from. Here's a selection of
recently released 2006 fresh, racy Sauvignon Blancs.
> More
Amazon may sell wine in USA
Decanter. March 8, 2008
Amazon.com, the world's largest online retailer, is planning to sell
wines to Americans. The company's consumables division has advertised
for a 'Senior buyer, Wine' for its speciality foods group. Amazon's
senior spokesman in London said the company would not comment 'on what
we may or may not do in the future'. In entering the wine business,
Amazon.com will face wide-ranging challenges in delivering purchases to
customers because of complex and varying regulations governing alcohol
sales in the 50 states.
> More
New 2008 Michelin Guide
WebinFrance. March 7, 2008
The 2008 Michelin Guide doled out its coveted “stars” this past week to
restaurants in France. Paris’s 200-year-old Le Grand Vefour tumbled
from three stars to two in this year’s Michelin ratings. The big winner
was chef Gérald Passédat, whose Marseille restaurant Le Petit Nice
became Marseille’s first-ever Michelin three-star eatery.
> More
French cooking legend Willan leaves France for USA
MercuryNew. March 5, 2008
A guiding force in the cooking world for decades, Anne Willan, whose La
Varenne cooking school in Burgundy is regarded as one of the finest in
the world, has moved to California. Wilan, author of "French Regional
Cooking." Her most recent, "The Country Cooking of France," has
followed her economist husband to the USA, where she is adapting to new
tastes. But she misses French cheese.
> More
French group demands Sarkozy action on anti-alcohol lobby
Decanter. March 7, 2008
Vin et Société, which represents the French wine sector, has threatened
to take industry wide action if President Sarkozy does not act on
campaign promises to resolve increasing limitations on wine and spirits
advertising in France. The demand follows a series of recent court
cases taken, and won, by ANPAA (Association Nationale de Prévention en
Alcoologie et Addictologie), the anti-alcohol lobby group that critics
say is killing the traditional joie de vivre associated with French
wine, champagne, and spirits.
> More
Decanter’s Man of the Year in Bordeaux
Decanter. March 7, 2008
Christian Moueix, one of the most respected winemakers in Bordeaux, is
Decanter's Man of the Year 2008. As well as Chateau Petrus, Moueix
manages Magdelaine in St-Emilion, Lagrange, Latour a Pomerol, La Fleur
Petrus, Trotanoy and Lafleur Gazin. Moueix has been 'the reference
point in Pomerol – indeed on the Right Bank – almost as long as I can
remember,' Hugh Johnson said, adding that, in a world of 'hype and big
claims, his calm, invariably courteous voice is as familiar and
reassuring.
> More
Champagne makers eye British vineyards
IHT. March 5, 2008
Climate change makes Champagne growers think of England
In the past couple of years, at least two of the best-known French
houses -- Duval-Leroy and Champagne Louis Roederer -- have looked at
vineyards in Britain, where similar chalky soils and warming
temperatures have prompted interest in British wine-growing. "Warmer
temperatures are making life a lot easier for winegrowers in England,
especially if you are growing Champagne varieties," said wine
consultant Stephen Skelton.
> More
French ban on Red Bull upheld
MedicalNews. March 1, 2008
Europe's highest court upheld a French ban on the Red Bull, the fizzy,
caffeinated drink linked to several deaths. The European Commission
(EC) challenged France's ban after manufacturers complained it was
inhibiting imports. The European Court of Justice upheld the main part
of the EC challenge, ordering France to lift the ban unless it could
prove the health risks. But the court said that the French government
did have a right to ban Red Bull on the advice of its own experts. Only
France and Denmark have banned the drink. Red Bull is Britain's
best-selling energy drink, with 213 million cans consumed last year.
HT: http://frogsmoke.com/
> More
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