Wine Bites Mag

Wine Bites

Wine Bites

Rioja beyond Reservas and Co

Scott Wasley explores the Spanish wine region of Rioja
Rioja’s reds blends are dominated by Tempranillo with portions of Garnacha, Graciano & Mazuelo
The best have perfumes that ought not exist with incredible complexity harmony, fine tannins to grace your tongue and can live forever!

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Wine Bites

Getting Your Head Around Montalcino home to Rosso + Brunello di Montalcino

Made from Sangiovese, specifically the Sangiove Grosso Clone, Brunello can reach epic heights.
Dig a little deeper and you’ll find out just how important it is to “Know your producers & know your sites!”

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Wine Bites

Getting Your Head Around Priorat

Explore the divine reds of Garnatxa & Carinyena and the stunning whites of Garnatxa Blanca, Pedro Ximénez, Macabeu, Moscatel!
We’ve combined a couple of resources to help you get your head around Priorat.

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Wine Bites

The Changing Face of Bordeaux from 1960-2022

Like all wine regions Bordeaux has been evolving over the last 50 years.
Adopting new technologies like must concentrators and micro-oxidation, adapting to climate change & implementing Precision Viticulture & Winemaking have all played their part.

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Wine Bites

Getting Your Head Around the Southern Rhône Village of Gigondas

Gigondas has stepped out of the shadow of neighbouring Châteauneuf du Pape, in the land where Grenache is King, they offer wines of intensity and flavour that are distinctly their own.

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Wine Bites

Getting Your Head Around Burgundy Part 13 – The Village of Rully

Rully along with Mercurey and Givry is one of the crowning jewels of the Côte Chalonnaise.
There’s excellent whites and reds coming from the village and it’s 23 Premier Crus!

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Tips & Tricks Wine Bites

Getting Your Head Around Burgundy Part 11 – The Village of Pernand-Vergelesses

Discover what makes the village and wines of Pernand-Vergelesses unique!

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Wine Bites

Getting Your Head Around Burgundy Part 12 – The Villages of the Mâcconais

The Mâconnais is the soul of southern Burgundy!
The world has become increasingly aware of what many savvy French have known for a long time…
There is some serious, tasty and affordable vino coming out of the Mâcon!

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Tips & Tricks Wine Bites

Getting Your Head Around Burgundy Part 9.3 – The Village of Chambolle-Musigny

Discover what makes the village and wines of Chambolle-Musigny unique!

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Tips & Tricks Wine Bites

Getting Your Head Around Burgundy Part 9.2 – The Village of Morey-Saint-Denis

Discover what makes the village and wines of Morey-Saint-Denis unique!

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Tips & Tricks Wine Bites

Getting Your Head Around Burgundy Part 9.1 – The Village of Gevrey-Chambertin

Discover what makes the village and wines of Gevrey-Chambertin unique!

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Wine Bites

Getting Your Head Around Champagne – Varieties, Regions & Styles

The diversity of Champagne wines can make it difficult to generalise, but there are three major considerations that will influence the way champagne tastes including grape variety, region and the cuvée. Understanding what distinguishes one style from another is important to identify your personal preferences.

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Wine Bites

Wine Camp 2020-2021

Wine Camp 2020-2021 has been a blast! Sharing Wine Wisdom & a Few Choice Beverages is what it’s all about!
Just in cased you missed anything, here’s the archive of everything we covered.

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Wine Bites Winery & Wine Review

Getting Your Head Around Barolo “The 8 Cru’s of Giovanni Sordo” 2.0 the 2016’s

Exploring 8 Cru’s from Across Barolo is a great way to get your head around the region. Add the input of Neb-Head, David Ridge & you’re in for some fun!
Version 2.0 This time we’re looking at the 2016’s
Watch 🎥for the full experience with flyover maps of the communes & more!

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Wine Bites

Varietal Decoded – Gamay!

Gamay or Gamay Noir is the mainstay of Beaujolais. It has a 600 year history with Pinot Noir and Gouais Blanc its parents.

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Wine Bites

Varietal Decoded – Chardonnay!

Chardonnay has incredible versatility and can be picked over quite a wide range of sugar levels and flavour ripeness.
The variety takes its name from the village of Chardonnay near Uchizy in the Mâconnais, in southern Burgundy.

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Wine Bites

Varietal Decoded – Pinot Noir!

Pinot Noir’s mythical home, Burgundy, has produced some of the world’s most inspiring wines.
The exhilarating personality of Pinot Noir has seen the wine world take up the fickle challenge to grow the ‘heartbreak grape’!

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Wine Bites

Varietal Decoded – Barbera!

Barbera, pronounced bar-BER-uh, was one of the great wine travesties of our time.
The increasing popularity and price of Nebbiolo wines, particularly Barolo and Barbaresco, saw old plantings of Barbera in the great sites ripped out and replanted to Nebbiolo.

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Wine Bites

Varietal Decoded – Nebbiolo!

Nebbiolo, pronounced NEH-bee-oh-low, is such a unique variety.
Good Nebbiolo has a core of fruit running the length of your tongue, along with layers of those same secondary characters.
Nebbiolo’s grape tannins give it a distinct texture. Look for the quality and depth of tannin.

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Wine Bites

Varietal Decoded – Dolcetto!

Dolcetto’s, pronounced dole-CHET-toe, translates to ‘Little Sweet’.
Hit the restaurants in Alba at lunchtime and you’ll see plenty of Dolcetto on the table.
The great estates of Barolo, naturally make great Dolcetto.

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Press-Cake-turned-into-Birthday-Cake-for-Wine-Decoded-by-Paul-Kaan-Feature
Wine Bites Winemaker Sessions

Q&A with Paul:”What are Pressings in Red Wine?”

A complete answer needs a book. We’ll cut that back to 5 minutes! In this case we’re talking about red wines. White wines are another beast altogether!
The question arose after AP Birks Wendouree released a Pressings Wine for the 2017 vintage. They only release it about once a decade.

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Wine Bites

Myth Proven: Why do Magnums of Champagne Taste Better?

Ask anyone in the know & they’ll tell you Mag’s of Champagne Taste BETTER!
… and it’s not just because there is twice as much to go around!

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Wine Bites Winery & Wine Review

Getting Your Head Around Barolo “The 8 Cru’s of Giovanni Sordo”

Exploring 8 Cru’s from Across Barolo is a great way to get your head around the region. Add the input of Neb-Head, David Ridge & you’re in for some fun!
Watch 🎥for the full experience with flyover maps of the communes & more! Listen 🎧 if the NBN is annoying you!

Read this!

Wine Bites Winery & Wine Review

The Bewildering Array of Sweet German Rieslings from the Mosel

Even the most dedicated wine geek often has trouble getting their head around the German naming systems, something they’ve been working on simplifying!

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Wine Bites

Q&A with Paul: “Do winemakers need to add tartaric acid to keep it fresh and age-worthy?”

Thanks for the question Andrew!
We explore why we add acid to wine, looking at the chemistry, and, impact on taste, as well as how it will affect the wines ability to age.

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Wine Bites

What is Noble Rot? AKA Botrytis

Botrytis cinerea, also known as “noble rot” is a fungus that colonizes the grape and causes water to evaporate through the skin of the fruit.

Under the perfect conditions with the right amount of humidity and heat Botrytis will transform the grapes into “drops of gold”.

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Wine Bites

Getting Your Head Around Sicily’s Mount Etna

Etna is at once both a fossil and a piece of modern art!
Vines aged from 70-120 years old grow on the slopes of a volcano at altitudes that make noses bleed.

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yarra-yering-la-chap-from-top-chard-for-wine-decoded-by-paul-kaan-feature
Wine Bites

Getting Your Head Around the Yarra Valley

A short long history. From the Pioneers in the 1800’s to those who rejuvenated the Yarra Valley in the 1960’s and the new wave from the 1990’s to today, the Yarra Valley is making the best wines it has ever made.

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Wine Bites

Getting Your Head Around Burgundy Part 8 – The Villages of Vosne-Romanée & Clos-Vougeot

We explore the Geology, Geography and Wines of the Côte de Nuits Villages: Vosne-Romanée & Clos-Vougeot

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Tips & Tricks Wine Bites

Getting Your Head Around Burgundy Part 9 – The Village of Chambolle, Morey, Gevrey

We explore the Geology, Geography and Wines of the Côte de Nuits Villages: Gevrey-Chambertin, Morey-Saint-Denis, Chambolle-Musigny

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