Viniferaboutique News and Blog

To celebrate Christmas and New Year we are launching a new customer code, for all first time customers to get £10.00 off their first order. Please use the code “New09″ at checkout. This is also as a means for new customers to test our wines which we are sure you will enjoy.

Seasons Greetings,

Vinifera Boutique

We are pleased to see that three of our wines have been included in Sarah Ahmed’s Wine Detective Christmas Selection!

http://www.thewinedetective.co.uk/wine-of-the-month/a-christmas-selection-box-naughty-and-nice/

Just a reminder that last orders for Guaranteed Christmas Delivery is the 18th of December.

As we just added our organic mixed case from the Loire, here are some thoughts on natural, biodynamic and organic wines.

Organic wine …

The ‘organic’ concept has attracted the attention of many people in the last years, with hopes of natural products having possible health benefits. One way to approach the subject or organic wines would be to look for wines that have been certified to be ‘AB’, such as by Ecocert. The other one would be to go after the passionate wine makers who actually are really looking to take care of their soil, vines and wine, and through this are able to produce superior wines. These producers sometimes label their bottles with the symbols or write “vin de raisins issus/cultives en agriculture biologique”, but also often do not.

Natural wine …

Wines, unlike other agricultural produce, are only half way done once the grapes are picked. Then they need to be produced into wine using special techniques, equipment and additives. Natural wines can be thought of as having been made in the most natural way possible. There are various degrees of “naturalness” and different aspects which make it difficult to produce a fully natural wine. Some of the mains aspects of natural wines are: handpicked grapes, natural yeast and therefore naturally occurring fermentation, without added sugar, without acidification, and without addition of sulphur. The addition of sulphur can occur at bottling however or at the end of fermentation, but the idea anyhow is that really the minimum is used. More sulphur is required in white wines as it has acts as a preservative and an antioxidant. Usually natural wines are also not filtered. However there are wines, or bottles of wine, which are made purely without added sulphur, in certain years. These are definitely interesting, yet can be surprising!

However, when some people have tried ‘natural wines’ for the first time, they have often not been too impressed. Unpleasant smells requiring ‘breathing time’, oxidation or simply spoilage are traits that have left some customers unconvinced. This does not need to be the case as natural wines vary greatly in price, type, region and production methods

Biodynamic wine …

However when one finds a truly passionate winemaker, they can sometimes additionally use the philosphies of Biodynamic agriculture, which can lead to an impressive quality in their wine. The flavours and quality can be very different and completely superior to certain standard wines made from the same grapes. Similarly to organic wines, biodynamic wines can be certified as such by bodies such as Demeter. However, various Bio-dynamic principles can be used in winemaking, regardless of whether or not they are certified. Once certification is used, it can be applied just to the grapes grown, or also to the winemaking techniques used.

One of the main factors is that the soil, especially at the top levels, which can be significantly more rich if proper procedures are used to take care of it.  For example, according to one of these producers, biodynamic farming “encourages the plant to resist disease and helps to revive the microbial life in the soil”. Biodynamic farming goes further than organic however, as there are many special procedures used to take care of the farm or vineyard, which can be regarded as its own organism. In short, special natural ingredients are used in the compost and lunar cycles and stars are taken into account when growing the vines.

In general, passionate winemakers can use natural or biodynamic philosophies in certain areas to achieve superior results, yet the expertise of good winemakers guarantee that they also taste good. It is not always the case the organic, natural or biodynamic wines need to taste good if the quality aspect is neglected, however they can be superior even in blind tastings if produced well.

Both of the wine producers in our mixed cases are certified organic, however Domaine Mosse additionally uses biodynamic farming principles as does Breton for some of their wines. Please see the mixed case description for more details about the wines.

Vinifera Boutique is selling the following wines together as a sample of this expertise combined with passion.

Our selection…

The Vinifera Boutique Biodynamic case consists of four very different wines and some can even be somewhat surprising to people unfamiliar with the Loire.

Our suggestion for this case:

Domaine Breton Trinch! – Drink for fun and enjoy.

Domaine Breton Les Perrieres – Serious wine, this can be thought of as comparable to a Bordeaux in quality, yet different in style.

Domaine Mosse – Le Moelleux – This sweet, or semi-sweet wine comes from a producer who really knows his sweet wines. This could be a perfect desert wine to end one of the holiday dinners.

Domaine Mosse – Anjou Blanc – Poultry or white fish – perfect for the Christmas period!

Vinifera Boutique is adding mixed cases of wine leading up to the holiday period!

We have just added our first mixed case – the Chateau Mayne Lalande and Emtion de Mayne Lalande tasting special.

Look our for Organic “Biodynamic philosophy” cases next…

Please not that the front page promotions all last until the end of the week, so please check the cellar section for more great deals.

Vinifera Boutique has just added two more producers to it’s list from the Bordeaux left bank. Both wines are from the Médoc area of Bordeaux, more specifically from Haut-Médoc.

Cru Bourgeois “Classification”, or more correctly “Labelling”

The Cru Bourgeois Classification has an interesting, yet controversial history. In short, it was started almost 80 years ago in 1932 with 444 Chateaux, then in 2000 a law was passed to reassess the Chateaux. In 2003 the number of these Chateaux were considerably reduced. Accodring to the 2003 rules, the classification is made up of 247 Chateaux in three categories, 9 wines of ”Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel”, 87 ”Cru Brougeois Supérieur” and 151 ”Cru Bouregois”, to be reassessed every 12 years.

More recently in 2007, the 2003 classification was cancelled, the Superieur and Exceptionnel terms were removed and it would be illegal to use these terms. Complaints were made and impartiality was also blamed. Later it was decided that the term ”Cru Bourgeois” would however be maintained but that in the future it would signify quality, not be a classification as such.

Most recently, at the end of 2008, the ’Alliance des Crus Bourgeois’ is looking to assess the 2008 wines in order have these wines be the first recognized in 2010 under the new rules. This will be an annual exam to assess the 8 AOC medoc areas. It will consist of a visit to the vineyards and an audit through a blind tasting. There are 270 members currently in 2009, covering roughly 50% of Médoc.

*Below the old 2003 classification is included in order to remind us of the 2003 classification while we await the new results and to see if this will hold, hopefully this time.. Our 2006 Aurilhac and 2007 Mayne Lalande are both part of the older classification and the new one to be used in 2010. These wines fall right in between the cancellations, legal changes and new rules being introduced. The basic principle ofcourse remains that great bottles of wine will be the same regardless of the labeling, but many of these bottles can remain in history as unique in terms of labelling.

Chateau D’Aurilhac – Cru Bourgeois – Saint Seurin-de-Cadourne – Haut-Médoc

This is a wine from the Saint-Seurin-de-Cadourne with a clay-limestone soil, made by Erik Nieuwaal. The more recent vintages of Aurilhac wine have changed considerably since the 1990’s. This can be clearly be seen through the labeling which has changed from a traditional white to a strong yellow and blue, but also the style is more approachable for the modern wine drinker. The Aurilhac 2006 wine we have chosen is definitely one to keep for many years in terms of its style and the vintage. It is an extremely dark, almost black wine, with dark berries and chocolate, showing good depth.

Chateau Mayne Lalande – Cru Bourgeois (Superieur) – Listrac-Médoc

Listrac-Médoc is a sub-region in Bordeaux just under the more famous St-Julien, Pauilac and St-Estèphe, and just above Margaux. Chateau Mayne Lalande is located in this Listrac Médoc region. Very strictly this region is sometimes considered inferior to the other three very best Haut Médoc sub-regions, however there are definitely great wines here. The Chateau Mayne Lalande has been very popular in recent years where some vintages sell out quickly. We will be featuring the 2007 full bodied bordeaux blend of Chateau Mayne Lalande and the 2007 Emotion de Mayne Lalande.

These 8 wines do not necessarily need food matching, but certainly can be even better with food. These are just general guidelines, as we are simply trying to simplify and make suggestions. We welcome any comments! True, some of these we feature, but we also enjoy non-French or more readily available wines.

Aperitif

Waltraud Torres Riesling – a surprising riesling from Spain

Principe de Viana Chardonnay – fresh, fruity, intense!

Late night refreshment after dinner

Bajoz Crianza – simple late night refreshment

Croft Pink Port – this fresh, fruity port can also be served as an aperitif, enjoy chilled

Enhancing any occasion

Mikael Bouges ”La Bulle” – sweet sparkling wine to enhance any occasion

Simply enjoy to drink with friends

Jurtschitsch Gruner Veltiner – simply to enjoy with friends

Domaine Breton – Trinch! – the name is a ”synonym” for drinking

Sweet Wines

Domaine Mosse – Le Moelleux – semi sweet wine, very approachable

Vinifera Boutique are very pleased to see such good ratings for the Loire white wines..

http://www.thewinedoctor.com/tastingstrade/viniferaboutique2009.shtml

As Vinifera Boutique await their Bordeaux wines to arrive, a wine tasting in Paris was the perfect opportunity to look more at the next selection…

Not for summer thirst quenching from the large area, but a fine selection for your meals as they were intended.

We are proud to present the brand new Vinifera Boutique website, making it easy for you in the UK to purchase superior quality wine sourced from independent French vineyards.

It’s never been so simple to enjoy authentic, hard to come by French wines at great prices.

You will often not find our range of wines in UK shops because Vinifera Boutique works with small independent French vineyards that do not already serve the UK market, yet are increasingly popular in France.

We rigorously test every wine we offer to ensure our customers are getting the best quality produce. What’s more, we also ensure that the vineyards receive a fair price for their wine that reflects its providence and their hard work. For our customers we try to match our prices as closely as possible to the French vineyard prices, so that you receive the same treatment as you would at the vineyard in France.

The website is easy to use: browse our selection of delicious wines which changes every week, choose which wine (by the case) you would like to buy, then simply click to order. Your order will be processed and dispatched direct right away!

We’d love your feedback and comments on the new website so we can give our customers the best possible experience when shopping with us. To let us know your thoughts, please send us a message through the contacts page.