Tag Archives: UK

Macron as ‘Ambassador’ of Bacchus

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The newly elected President of France Emmanuel Macron reportedly is a connoisseur of French wines, which is a splendid news for wine lovers in the  5th Republic, and around the world. Decanter, the UK reputable wine journal, claimed Macron appears to be not only a wine lover but a skilled enthusiast with serious blind-tasting skills.

Macron’s appreciaton of oenology is a crucial factor for the status of wines because previously French presidents were not overwhelmingly supportive of the viticultre. Nicholas Sarkozy was actively antagonistic to France’s world-leading wine industry, notorious for his  abstinence, while another,  Jacques Chirac, openly preferred Mexican beer ‘Corona’ to wines. The last president who actively supported French wine as an export industry was François Mitterrand in last millenium (!).

In the run-up to the election, French magazine Terre de Vins filmed a series of videos with Macron flaunting his blind tasting skills, concluding the show with a autoproclamation as a  ‘wine is an ambassador’ for the country.

Macron correctly identified two of three unidentified samples: a Bordeaux Blanc and a Côteaux d’Aix en Provence rosé. His only miss came in identifying a Château Pape-Clément 2005 as being from Pauillac, not Pessac-Léognan.

Champagne Taittinger moves across England #france #england #wine

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French champagne house is about to make history by producing sparkling wine in England.

Taittinger estate will be the first to invest in the UK, in particular in Kent, whose chalk soil is considered ideal for Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier vines. Recently, climate change has led to effects of rising temperatures in England and it can create favorable conditions for rich growing vines.

“We believe we can produce a high quality English sparkling wine, drawing on our 80 years of wine-making expertise,” stated the president Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger.

TheTaittinger-English-sparkling-wine deal between Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger and Patrick McGrath of British winemaker Hatch Mansfield shows a sincere friendship between the two countries.

The French estate, one of the largest and oldest in France, has bought 69 hectares in the English village Chilham, and the wine is supposed to be ready in five years. It will be significantly named Domaine Evremond, a famous diplomat very esteemed in England, who worked to abolish frontiers between UK and France.

Taittinger wine house has already gained a considerable success planting sparkling wine vineyards in USA, now it hopes to obtain the same results in England.

The main aim is to create a wine which has its own personality and singular characteristics, completely different from the others, a real expression of British terroir and tradition.

Valentina Gagliano