What’s New?

I was looking back at my blog posts over the past two and a half years since I started Champagne Taste, and I can see a huge shift from posting mainly tasting notes to my current posts that revolve around a sort of wine philosophy.  I love the direction the blog has gone, because I realize that I learn a lot from wine, and apply what I learn to things other than just wine - a lot of the things I’ve learned are life lessons and can be applied to just about anything.

But sometimes I miss writing about tasting notes and direct observations from particular wines, especially my focus on offbeat wines, Sud-Ouest in particular.  I do understand that a blog centering on tasting notes can become quite boring, so here and there I’ll add some notes and weave them into my wine thoughts.

So if you have been reading Champagne Taste since the beginning, you might be wondering, what’s she drinking now?  What happened to the tasting notes and specific recommendations?

Well, I’ve still been focusing on offbeat wines.  And I’ve been teaching myself even more about the “classics” - the more traditional wines.  It’s essential to have a good working knowledge of the classics while remaining open minded toward the offbeat wines.

Since it’s summer, rose’ is what’s happening.  (And if you’re among those who think that all rose’ tastes the same, or that all rose’ is sweet - guess again!)  I generally enjoy rose’ from Provence, with the occasional rose’ from Sancerre, as I love the color, clean feel, and fun flavors and aromas - they’re so refreshing, especially those from Provence.  But I do like to try rose’ from elsewhere.  So with my fascination and love for Sud-Ouest wines, an exciting thing happened recently.  While my parents were on vacation in Newport, RI, they came upon what they tell me is a very cool and well thought out wine shop.  There was an interesting selection of rose’, and what did they bring home for me?  Two from Sud-Ouest - a Fronton and an Irouleguy!  I’m so excited to try them soon, I never thought I’d get my hands on anything like that.

Of course, I haven’t only been focusing on rose’ - I’ve been enjoying some very unique whites and some lovely reds.  I’ve got a few fun Italian reds to write about, so probably in my next post I’ll touch on those - one thing is for sure - Valle d’Aosta producers are making some amazing wines, and while I’ve noticed that they’re a bit pricier than wines from other parts of Italy, for me they’re worth it, due to their uniqueness and expressiveness.  And thanks to a “brown bag” experience courtesy of my boyfriend, I got to try a really “geeky” and fun white from the Spanish side of Basque, which was exciting for me, since I’m usually focused on the French side, Irouleguy.  There’s a cool topic I need to cover soon!

And what else has gotten my attention lately?  Biodynamics.  I never thought I’d say it, but my curiosity has been sparked, and I’m on a mission to learn more before I form a complete opinion on it.

It’s shaping up to be a hot, fun summer, and I hope everyone is spending some time enjoying great wines with family and friends!