Tag Archives: Grenache

The Youngest Winemaker Raises A Quarter of a Million Dollars

Written by Allison Levine on
Lifestyle Wine

How old do you think the youngest winemaker is? What if I say 10 years old?  That is right!  Meet 10-year-old Cruz Bilbro who is a  who is 10 and he just raised ALOT of money for charity! And, if you want to help him raise more money, mark December 9, 2018 on your calendar and read my story from the Napa Valley Register below.

Winemaker Cruz Bilbro is the fifth generation in his family to make wine. But what sets him apart from other multi-generational winemakers is that he is only 10 years old.

When Cruz asked to make wine, Jake agreed but said he would make it for him, and his goal was not to profit from his son. Cruz selected Grenache from the property and went out with the crew to pick grapes. He worked the forklift, measured the brix and temperatures and did all of the punch-downs. Jake guided his son along each stage, explaining his options, but each and every decision was made by Cruz. Read More +

Yes, they make wine in Tunisia

Written by Allison Levine on
Wine

This story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register.

This past week, I had the opportunity to try Tunisian wine. Yes, Tunisian wine.

From what I understand, this is the first time that Tunisian wine is available in the U.S., thanks to Kathy Bailey who has started to import them through her company Travis Wine Imports.

I was intrigued when Kathy contacted me a few months ago about putting together a small trade and media lunch with the wines. I was all the more impressed after I tried them and think that it is an interesting story to share.

Tunisia is located on the northern coast of Africa. Wine has been made in Tunisia for more than 2,000 years. In fact, Tunisia is home to the world’s first documented viticulturist, Mago (or Magon), who was an agronomist, viticulturist and writer in Ancient Carthage (200 BC). Mago wrote the first known guide to growing and cultivating vines and making wines.

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Talking About Terroir with Capçanes

Written by Allison Levine on
Wine

This story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register.

Wine grapes are grown in a variety of soils. The influence of the soil is one of the many factors that contribute to a resulting wine. But can you taste this difference?

There are general descriptors that say that sandy soils produce highly aromatic wines with low tannins and clay soils produce muscular wines with high extract. And there are examples of wines from around the world that demonstrate the influence on wines from sandy, volcanic, clay, limestone, slate and other soils.

But to really understand the influence of soil on wine, what if you could narrow down all of the other elements — same grape, same vintage, same region, same viticulture practices, same vinification but four different soils? You can with Capçanes’ La nit de les garnatxes series.

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