Moore Brothers Blog: wine

Why Bordeaux "Blends" Grapes In Its Wine

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Take a few minutes with Greg Moore to learn about the grapes of Bordeaux, and why they're often blended…

Großes Gewächs - Grand Cru German Riesling

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Greg explains all about “Grand Cru” in Germany. Just as there are “Grand Cru” Burgundies such as Montrachet and Corton-Charlemagne, there are Grand Cru German wines as well. Here's Greg Moore to tell you all about them. From our “visiting winegrower” event with Jochen Ratzenberger.

One Of These Is Wine. The Other Is Not.

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Sounds rather pedantic, no?But imagine this: Say one of the bottles is “Ragú® Tomato Sauce,” and the other is a jar of fresh marinara from a little old lady in Italy, made from her own tomatoes. Same difference.The bottle on the left was produced by a person farming his own fruit. And over the growing season he was constantly in the vineyard thinning leaves and making sure each grape met optimal ripeness. The fruit was harvested by hand, and taken to the winery with great care, where it was hand-sorted to make sure only the ripest fruit went to the crusher.This bottle of wine also states who grew, produced, and bottled the wine, as well as where this all took place. The bottle on the right tells us nothing about where the fruit was grown (other than a vague “Napa Valley” AVA). The technical details are spelled out on the bottle. “Optimum Brix” (a measure of sugar in the grapes) is listed (proudly) at 25 degrees. More on this in a moment.Soil type is listed as “alluvial,” which doesn't

Paolo’s Pentagon

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Paolo DeMarchi is one of the most important wine producers in Italy. He is one of a handful of thoughtful growers who were key "inventors" of modern Chianti. Imagine the challenge of redefining a very old (and at the time, sleepy) wine region. Most wine sold here had to be sold in wicker-basket-bottles because novelty trumped quality. To this day, there are those who think of Chianti as thin, skeletal wine, with a handy empty bottle, useful for holding a candle. But in the seventies, when Paolo came of age, he and a few others recognized that the entire area had to be reorganized with a view towards quality over quantity. Just as important, there had to be a respect for tradition, or else the raison d'être would disappear–there would be nothing distinctive about the wines, and the wine-producing economy risked collapse. We often speak about “Old World” wines as being an encapsulation, if you will, of a small region's cultural, and agricultural evolution; less “product”

Why Riesling became so important.

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Greg at the tasting table If you’ve ever wondered why so many wine “experts” consider Reisling the greatest wine grape, take a few minutes to watch Greg at a recent tasting with visiting winegrower, Jochen Ratzenberger. Here, Greg tells the story of how Riesling became so important, and proved its reputation.

Biodynamics and Sparkling Wine:

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Sophie, Maxime, and Geneviève Barmès in the Clos Sand (photo: Greg Moore) The late François Barmès wholeheartedly embraced the Austrian philosopher Rudolph Steiner’s belief in the interdependence of the forces of life, earth, and the cosmos. So in 1995, in order to undo the damage caused by decades of chemically dependent viticulture, he began the transformation of his vineyards to biodynamics. One of the first principles of biodynamics is the belief that the farm is a self-contained living entity, which gives rise to the rule that a biodynamic farmer may add no organic substance to a product of his farm; if that organic substance did not itself grow within the boundaries of the same biodynamic farm. Which means that the “Champagne Method” isn’t an option in producing biodynamic sparkling wine, because it requires the addition of sugar to a tank of dry wine just before bottling (needless to say, beets and sugar cane don’t grow on the chalk soils of Champagne, or pink sandstone

Tannins In Wine

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What are “tannins?” In this video from an in-store tasting at Moore Brothers Wine Company, Greg Moore explains tannins in wine; what they are, why they are, and how tannins shape our perception of wine.

With Climate Change, In Some Vineyards, Only A Tractor Will Do.

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When climate change effects the replanting of vineyards Climate change plays a part in Germany. It used to be that the Ratzenbergers could count on frosts in winter, which help break up soils in the spring. It hasn't happened in a number of years now, so out comes the tractor. Jochen Sr. and Jochen Jr. explain to Greg what's happening.

Biodynamic Farming at Domaine Barmès-Buecher

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Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn. — Deuteronomy 25:4 A spring visit to Domaine-Barmès-Buecher where we come across Mathieu, Maxime Barmès' best friend who is plowing the domaine’s Hengst Grand Cru parcel. Later we return to the vineyard with Geneviève Barmès to see the results, and the difference careful farming can make. Spring déchaussage at Domaine Barmès-Buecher by “Ursus” (the horse), Mathieu (Maxime Barmès' best friend), and “Pikachu” (the dog).

The "Champagne Method"

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Jochen Ratzenberger riddling his single-vineyard sparkling wine - Bacharacher Sekt This is about eight minutes long, and worth the watch. Here’s Greg explaining how hand-made Champagne Method sparkling wine is produced, whether in Champagne itself or in all the various areas that produce sparkling wine using this traditional technique.