Wine ChroniclesWho needs wine experts?
By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com 21 January 2020 Not too long ago, the highly respected American public news channel National Public Radio asked, “Is wine tasting junk science?” It referred to several academic studies that implied the irrelevance of wine expertise. For example, a 2001 study in Bordeaux caused a stir when a PhD candidate […]
Holiday friendship and wine
From grand cru Burgundy, to top Bordeaux and exquisite Champagne, I may have had enough wine for 2020 😉 By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com 13 January 2020 Once a year, old friends gather for a final holidays feast with excellent wines, and this year’s gathering was no exception. Ken Brown coordinated this year’s dinner at […]
Ode to Châteauneuf-du-Pape
It’s only rock and roll, but I like it. by Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com 28 December 2019 The bottles seemed endless. Fifteen producers had delivered three bottles for a dinner I had organized at the restaurant of the French embassy in Washington D.C. earlier this month. But the restaurant staff received 180 bottles of wine […]
Ode to Dom Ruinart
290 years old and going strong By Panos Kakaviatos at wine-chronicles.com 23 December 2019 Ever since dear wine loving pal Randall McFarlane organized an exciting vertical of Domaine Ruinart – here an older text about that – I discovered just how amazing the wines from this Champagne house can be. After tasting the 1996 for […]
Portugal’s underrated dry wines
Fine (and inexpensive) : both red and white 2 December 2019 By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com Lunching late last month at the upscale JNcQUOI in Lisbon cost a friend and myself €155 not including tip, but the restaurant’s bustling French brasserie style ambiance with elegant furnishing and décor, matched by superb dining options, make this […]
Ode to France, Les Accabailles and Les Crus Classés de Graves
Tasting dinner of top Pessac-Léognan wines at Château Carbonnieux By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com 21 November 2019 A round-trip on the high-speed train TGV traversing France from Strasbourg to Bordeaux and back took less than 6 hours. No stop in Paris. Comfy, first class seat at €170: Convenient, efficient and greener than flying or driving. […]
Burgundy bargains?
Sure, at Pernand Vergelesses By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com 29 October 2019 In Beaune at the Centre Interprofessionnel Techniques des Vins de Bourgogne, I was welcomed earlier this month by tasting director Hervé Bianchi, to assess nearly 30 white Côte de Beaune wines from 13 producers – both premiers and villages crus – from […]
Euro wine companies fear consequences of wine tariffs
25% duty goes into effect next week, but only for wines with under 14% alcohol 11 October 2019 From various news sources I have obtained press releases from various wine companies in recent days to react to President Donald Trump’s recent tariff on European wines that will take effect one week from today, 18 October. […]
Cyclades Log: T-OINOS
By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com 23 September 2019 French-Greek cooperation had been part of T-OINOS Winery since initial vine plantings in 2002 made T-OINOS a pioneer for Assyrtiko production outside of Santorini in Greece’s Cycladic Islands. Located some 460 meters above sea level on the windy island of Tinos, the winery thrust Tinos into the modern […]
Cyclades log: Tinos
Windswept island, great food, superb winery By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com 11 September 2019 After several hours cruising from the port of Piraeus near Athens, I arrived to the gusty environment on Tinos Island, whose barren and hilly landscape seems perfect for dystopian cinema. Its beauty is evident from the many windmills and over 50 villages, […]