I took this image on Thursday May 24th 2012. Shot on an early iPhone, with dramatic use of filters. It’s of my good friend John Kaare and we’re at the Rhône river in the small village of Tain-l’Hermitage. An important city for wine, as it’s the epicentre for the famous Hermitage wines. We’d just completed a long day of filming, arriving in the picturesque village as the sun was setting. Eager to get a glass outside before the sun set, I ran into the reception of the hotel and got a random bottle of white. It was phenomenal. Rich and spicy, buttery but floral. It was unlike anything else I’ve tasted. It was a white Hermitage and my new favorite wine. As I was new to this style of wine, I was shocked and embarrassed as I entered my local Vinmonopolet store to stock up on my new everyday wine. It proved to be both rare and expensive, and very far from an everyday wine. This was my introduction to the Marsanne and Rousanne grape. Recently I visited the excellent Vinmonopolet store at Aker Brygge. One of the women working there waved me over and made me aware of the bottle we’ve selected as wine of the week. «This is from Saint-Péray, one of the most exciting regions to watch in that area. And it keeps getting better every single year» she said. Saint-Péray is about half an hour drive south of Tain-l’Hermitage, where I had my Aha experience. «It has much more of a well cellared, expensive Burgundy style to it, than what you might expect. It’s 100% Marsanne», she continued. I was sold. Later that evening I tasted it; it was fantastic. Tasting Notes
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July hasn't been the best here in Norway. And while the temperatures in the Mediterranean are soaring we endure 12 degrees and rain. We`ll try to find some comfort in a glass of wine and this week we have found a little gem made on the slopes of the legendary vulcano Vesuvio. Tenuta Cavalier Pepe is the name of the winery of the Pepe family, which has for generations been dedicated to the production of wines, marketed throughout Italy and internationally. The winery has 60 hectares of vineyards and 11 hectares of olive groves located in Luogosano, Sant’Angelo all’Esca and Taurasi, in the province of Avellino. This is the heart of Irpinia, the premier winegrowing area of Campania. This weeks wine is made from Coda di Volpe Bianco grapes and harvested by hand at full ripeness, are seperatly selected and pressed whole, so only the seedlings must first be decanted in cold and then inoculated for alcoholic fermentation. The fermentation takes place in low temperature steel. The wine is aged for 4 months sur-lie and at least 2 months in the bottle. Tasting notes:Cavalier Pepe Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio Bianco 2021 - 199,90 kr A beautiful, slightly golden straw yellow colour. On the nose an intense aroma of yellow fruit and Mediterranean scrub, with prevalence of mineral notes. In the mouth it is full, round, complex and persistent with good acidity and long lasting. Great with grilled seafood. In a hilly strip of land southeast in Piemonte, you find a rare wine growing region called «Colle Tortonesi». It’s home to 30 municipalities and usually the warmest part of Piemonte. Here they grow a fantastic variety grape called Timorasso. It’s a white wine grape, and was very popular pre phylloxera (the great wine plague in late 1800s). After the plague it was forbidden to grow, but it surfaced again in the 90s thanks to an enthusiastic winemaker called Walter Massa. He ran a series of experiments and rediscovered the unique qualities of the Timorasso grape. Today the grape is mostly grown in the Colle Tortonesi area. It usually produces a full bodied wine, exhibits great acidity and often features tropical fruits, citrus and spices. Excellent wine both for enjoying alone or pairing it with food. Since its comeback in the 90s it has grown somewhat of a cult status and wine lovers from around the world are discovering it. For wine of the week we’ve selected a brilliant producer with thorough insight in getting the best out of the grape. Tasting Notes
July is upon us and the nice sunny days are very welcome. For days like these we have to open a nice cool white wine and this week we have travelled to Austria and popped open a wine based on a grape that typifies Austrian wine. Domaine Wachau is a popular producer here in Norway and has been a mainstay in Vinmonopolet for a long time. A third of the wines in Austria are made from the Gruner Veltliner grape which is something like a national grape for the Alpine nation, and Domaine Wachau makes some of the best quality wines made with this grape. Tasting notes:Dom. Wachau Grüner Veltliner Federspiel Loiben 2021 - 175,- kr Nice and fruity on the nose, with green apples, gooseberry and citrus. In the mouth good acidity that gives the wine a nice fresh feeling. Citrus, green apples and some spice and nuts are the flavours that dominate. Good length and very easy to drink. We really love all the great wines coming out of England these days. Everything from classy Pinot Noir, elegant rosé, razor sharp whites and fantastic sparkling wines. Due to climate changes and benefiting from the same soil as in Champagne, wines from England are concerning the world. One of the best producers is Simpsons Wine Estate. Located in Elham Valley in Kent, on the south eastern tip of the country. We’ve selected their sparkling «White cliffs», made from 100% Chardonnay. Tasting Notes
We’ve had some warm and sunny days here lately and finally been able to enjoy summer. With the warm weather we reach for some delight in our cellar and lately we’ve been loving everything that has come from Greece to our shores. This week's wine is another great buy, fine dry white wine that is very reasonably priced! This time we’re off to the Island of Crete for our wine of the week. The Lyrarakis Estate is a family winery which has been producing high quality wines since 1966 with a strong focus on rare local varieties and producing single variety wines. From the Voila area on the eastern part of the island we fin this fine wine made from 100 % Assyrtiko grapes. Harvest is performed by hand to obtain proper fruit maturity. Skin contact is carried out at 10°C for an average of 24 hours, while 7% of the grapes are fermented with maceration on skins. Tasting notes:Lyrarakis Assyrtiko Vóila 209,90 kr Bright platinum colour. Aromas of citrus and white fruit with herbal and chalky notes. The mouthfeel is rich and crispy with a salty freshness and a mineral aftertaste. Will work well with grilled pork and also most sea food. The Bekaa Valley cuts through a dessert landscape, like a long green oasis. It’s hot year round inland Lebanon, but a cooler microclimate has made this valley key for farming. An abundance of fruit and vegetables are grown here, and it’s home to the renowned wine industry of the country. Located in the West Bekaa Valley, the large estate of Château Kefraya has been the Bustros family’s property for generations.The castle is built starting 1946 on an artificial hill used by the Romans centuries ago to observe their troop movements. They produce a wide range of wines and styles, and common for them all is great value and quality. Today we’ve selected what might be one of the best priced wines available in Norway. Their rosé contains a broad variety of grapes, with Cabernet Sauvignon (35%) and Syrah (30%) being the most dominant. Grapes are hand picked, carefully selected and fermented on steel tanks. It’s light and elegant, at the same time spicy and meaty. An incredible bargain. Tasting notes
It sure looks like summer has arrived with all its glory! Readers of this blog will know we really don’t need an excuse to celebrate, but when we find one it’s all the merrier and we bring out the good stuff! This week we have found a new bottle made by an old friend. Back in 2016 we traveled to Barcelona and visited Maria Barrena and her winery just outside the city. It was a great day as we were invited to a Catalan party afterwards:you can have a look here: We have featured Marias wines before here and here, but now she has released a new cave for us to enjoy, and this time it is a rosé. And as everything she does this is also close to perfection, especially on warm summer days. Tasting notes:Entre Vinyes Equilibri Natural Funambul Brut Nature Rosé - 195,- Lovely nose with strawberries, raspberries and white fruit flowers. Nice and long in the mouth. Fresh, fruity and concentrated and lingers in the mouth. Great as an aperitif, but will also work with both fish and shellfish and of course classic Spanish Tapas. This is a beautiful white wine from the Loire Valley in France. Made with 100% Chenin Blanc grapes, from an excellent winemaker named Nicolas Idiart. He runs Maison Idiart, which produces a number of top quality wines. Grapes are hand harvested from 20-30 year old vines, immediately pressed before they undergo spontaneous fermentation in steel tanks. It’s matured for 10 months on the lees. It’s rare to find a bottle like this, with the quality it represents and at this price. It’s a very clean and beautiful representation of what the grape can achieve in the Loire Valley. Easy to drink on its own and incredibly versatile to pair with food. It might just be this summer’s Best Buy! Tasting Notes
June is soon here and hopefully warmer days. Nothing beats soaking up the sun with a great Rosé wine. This week we have gone for an absolute bargain that is also of the highest quality! We like German wines here in KulTour. Usually we go for the fresh and complex Rieslings that are just superb. But the Germans plant other grapes as well and with global warming the Pinot Noir-driven wines from Germany have become better and better. This week we have found our wine at a producer that is well known here in Norway, Leitz. They have several wines in the Vinmonopolet, mostly Rieslings and ranging in price from 150,- all the way up to almost 1000,- for their TBA. One common denominator for the wines of Leitz is good quality along the line and this also applies for their rosé made from Pinot Noir. And at a price of just 150,- NOK this is a real bargain! Tasting notes:Leitz Rheingau Pinot Noir Rosé 2022 - 150,- kr Very pale rose colour. Citrus, strawberries and lime on the nose with hints of herbs. As always with Leitz, great acidity that gives good structure to the wine. Red apples and red berries in the mouth with great length. Just a great quality wine! This is a drink with friends wine, but will go well with white fish, salads and chicken. |
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