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Wine-tasting

How to describe wine like a French sommelier

Winemaker Jonathan Hesford provides a beginner’s guide to talking about flavours, smells and preferences in French

French supermarkets prepare to launch traditional ‘Foires aux Vins’

The annual event sees many wines on offer at lower-than-normal prices but the involvement of supermarkets in wine sales is still considered controversial by some

Wine tips: ‘Acidity is a balancing act with sweetness and tannins’

Vigneron Jonathan Hesford explains how acids affect the way a wine tastes and reveals some winemaker tricks

magazine

Are there bargains to be found at France’s Foires aux Vins wine sales?

The annual sales generally run from September to October. We look at how much of a saving you can expect to make

Wine tasting basics: describing the smell, the flavour and the texture

Wine maker, Jonathan Hesford, tells us how to describe wine and why we prefer one wine to another

French wine rules despite sour grapes at ‘Judgment of Paris’

We look back to May 1976 when a momentous wine tasting bruised French egos... but they had the last laugh

What makes the perfect French wine fair?

'Wine fairs are the perfect opportunity to discover local wines that are not in the supermarkets or taste and buy wines direct from producers from outside your region'

From a French vineyard: The science behind why wine goes bad

Eventually every bottle of wine will become 'over the hill', says Jonathan Hesford, who walks us through how some wines taste off, yet why some faults are a good thing

French wine tasting: How to sound like an expert

A brief guide on key terms to learn the 'language of wine' and sound like a seasoned wine connoisseur

How the wine of France’s royal court has been reborn again

A wine served only at France’s royal court until the Revolution has been saved from extinction for a second time, and the grape is being grown once again.

200-years of Australian-French winemaking cooperation

Today, French consumers may be indifferent to Australian wine but there is a 200-year history of winemaking cooperation between the two countries, as Michael Delahaye explains.

Zero-waste winemaking technique means more flavour and taste

How one French researcher's innovative method is using fermentation to unlock flavours normally hidden in the pulp left over from winemaking.

The rise of rosé wine in France, plus taste trends to note

Jonathan Hesford on taste trends and the most ‘Instagrammable’ of French tipples.

Are hand-picked grapes the hallmark of a true quality wine?

Human vs machine: Jonathan Hesford gives a vigneron view of the pros and cons of hand-picking grapes.

My tasty day as a citizen wine jury member

Brian McCulloch developed a nose for wine as a student, but lost it when work took him to the UK. Now he’s in France, he is relearning old talents – and brushed up certain skills as a citizen wine jury member at a major event in Paris

A 'grand cru' tour of southern France

A few months after sampling the wines of the north of France, The Connexion heads south in search of the best Bordeaux, Provence, Languedoc and the Côtes du Rhône have to offer

French ‘ice wine’ producers begin freezing harvest

Harvesting has begun for a small number of producers in the Savoie (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes) who make high-end “ice wine” made from frozen grapes.

Oenologist Antoine Médeville talks about his work

Antoine Médeville is an oenologue who is the director of a consultancy service, Oenoconseil, which gives advice on every stage of wine making from planting the vines to marketing the bottled end result to chateaux and winemakers in the Bordeaux area. In his office at Pauillac there is a wine testing laboratory and three oenologues , including himself, who work with 120 wine producers. Unsurprisingly September, when the wine harvest begins, is the busiest time of the year...

Wine-tasting

How to describe wine like a French sommelier

French supermarkets prepare to launch traditional ‘Foires aux Vins’

Wine tips: ‘Acidity is a balancing act with sweetness and tannins’

Are there bargains to be found at France’s Foires aux Vins wine sales?

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Wine tasting basics: describing the smell, the flavour and the texture

French wine rules despite sour grapes at ‘Judgment of Paris’

What makes the perfect French wine fair?

From a French vineyard: The science behind why wine goes bad

French wine tasting: How to sound like an expert

How the wine of France’s royal court has been reborn again

200-years of Australian-French winemaking cooperation

Zero-waste winemaking technique means more flavour and taste

The rise of rosé wine in France, plus taste trends to note

Are hand-picked grapes the hallmark of a true quality wine?

Wine tasting: should we value enthusiasm over expertise?

Coronavirus: How France's winemakers are coping

Fine French wine auctioned to help Covid-19 care staff

My tasty day as a citizen wine jury member

The French vineyard: get the best from your bottle

Trump wine taxes threaten 100,000 jobs in France

Parisian wine: an Eiffel vintage

A year in a French vineyard: April 2019

Dordogne winemaker uses cotton pants to analyse soil

A 'grand cru' tour of southern France

French ‘ice wine’ producers begin freezing harvest

Oenologist Antoine Médeville talks about his work

Six different activities to try at vineyards

French saucisson world championship concludes today

Centuries-old bottle of wine sells for €103,700

Wine matured at bottom of Lac Léman raised and tasted

Wine expert predicts dramatic change for Bordeaux 2050

A year in the vineyard: April

A year in the vineyard: January

First bottles of 2017 New Beaujolais wine uncorked