The days that we spend traveling through some of the most gorgeous and delicious places on Earth are our favorite days of the year, and the best part of those days is…YOU. We want to stay connected to the friends we’ve made on those journeys, and to keep you connected to the people, places, and wines that have brought us together. We are also excited about making new friendships, and are looking forward to lots of fun journeys ahead. Read on and join us!
Vintner Varietals: Winemakers We Love
A week into our tour through France, as we make our way from Lyon to Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, we enter into the Northern Rhône valley and visit some of the most breathtaking vineyards of our journey. Perched at the top of a hill, the vineyards of Louis Chèze are steeply sloped, providing magnificent views and unique growing conditions. The wines Louis Chèze crafts with meticulous attention are equally stunning.
He started his enterprise with one hectare (about two-and-a-half acres) of land in 1978. Now, he manages forty-five hectares, giving each plot differentiated care. If the slope of the land permits, he trellises his grapevines for support; if not, he stakes the vines. Using sustainable and organic winegrowing practices, Louis stresses above all else respect for the grapevines, believing—and proving through the exceptional quality of his wines—that great wine begins with the best fruit. He harvests manually, allowing for an initial selection of grapes on the vine. The grapes then go through second and third rounds of selection on roller tables, resulting in only the optimum fruit being chosen for winemaking.
His hyperfocus on quality extends into the winemaking operation itself, as he seeks to manifest his beloved terroir within each bottle. His unhurried process includes the use of native yeast fermentation, controlled malolactic fermentation of every wine, and aging adapted to the needs of each cuvée. He also thoughtfully selects the barrels for aging his white wines, determining exactly the qualities of the oak that he wants to infuse into each wine. His extreme conscientiousness and attention to detail result in elegant, structured, nuanced wines; Louis produces several esteemed appellations, including Condrieu, Saint-Joseph, and Côte Rôtie.
Cultural Terroir: Places We Love
Explore the Northern Rhône Valley
The Rhône River runs through France for about 300 miles, from where it begins at the foot of the Swiss Alps to where it empties into the Mediterranean Sea. The banks of nearly the entire length are planted with grapevines, and arguably some of the best wines in the world are produced along the stretch of it. The Southern Rhône region accounts for about 95% of this production. But it’s the 5%, produced on the narrow, treacherous terrain of the Northern Rhône, that steals the show, winning the most accolades and commanding the highest prices.
There are six primary appellations in the region, each known for producing world-renowned wines: Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage, Cornas, Saint-Joseph, Condrieu, and Côte Rôtie. These appellations can produce wine from only four grape varietals—one red, Syrah, and three whites, Viognier, Marsanne, and Roussanne (winemakers will often add the white varieties to the Syrah to brighten the aromatics or lift the body).
Cultivating grapes on this rocky land is a labor of love, one of patience, skill, adaptability, and, frankly, courage. Some of the slopes here are at more than a sixty-degree pitch, which, when you are standing on it (clinging to it?), feels nearly vertical. The Romans were the first to terrace the hills, and Northern Rhône winemakers still utilize terraces to access their vines where they can. The use of large machinery is impossible on most slopes, so the majority of the labor is done by hand, including weeding, pruning, and harvesting. Some winemakers use pulley systems during harvest, hoisting the grapes along the slopes. Unlike the warmer Mediterranean climate in the southern part of the valley, the climate here is continental, meaning warm summers, cold winters, and rainy fall and winter months. Sunlight reflecting off the river helps warm the banks, and that warmth is trapped by the granite-rich soil. South-facing slopes are particularly coveted for their premium sun-exposure.
The infamous Mistral winds blow fierce and chill through the narrow funnel of the valley, bending the grapevines in its path and reducing the number of grapes that make it to harvest. This actually helps concentrate sugars within the remaining grapes, which gives Northern Rhône wines the intensity of flavor for which they’re known. The wind also dries the vines, reducing the amount of fungus and disease. Like at Louis Chèze, winemakers trellis the vines for support against the wind or stake them when trellising is not feasible, often using echalas,in which several vines are trained around a single stake.
The difficulty of producing wine in this part of the Rhône Valley means that producers who are after large, easy yields are deterred; those that attempt winemaking here, and certainly those that persist, make wine for the art, passion, and challenge of it. Small, family-owned, dedicated producers reign in the Northern Rhône. The yields are small, but the rewards (and the views) are extraordinary.
Wine Key: Insights We Love
Dessert Wines Explained
Dessert wines can act as your end-of-meal indulgence, pair with your dessert of choice—whether fruit, cheese, or chocolate—or, in fact, be a wonderful way to whet the appetite as an aperitif. We will walk you through some of the different types and methods of producing dessert wines so you can choose the perfect sip for your occasion.
In most wine, all or nearly all of the sugars from the grapes get converted into alcohol through fermentation. For dessert wine, winemakers halt the fermentation before all of the sugar is converted, leaving enough residual sugar to impart the desired level of sweetness. This can be done in a number of ways, including rapidly chilling the wine or, in the case of fortified wines, adding brandy to the must. But much of the difference between the styles of dessert wine starts before fermentation even begins, with the harvesting and treatment of the grapes themselves.
Ice Wine: For the laborious process of making ice wine, winemakers start with grapes that have frozen naturally on the vine. They must be harvested at or below 20°F and pressed while still frozen. The resulting wine is exceptionally sweet with richly honeyed fruit flavors. By necessity, this wine comes from colder regions, like Germany, Austria, and Canada, and is made from cold-hardy grapes, like Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Grüner Veltliner, Chenin Blanc, and Vidal Blanc. Ice wine can stand alone as a drinkable dessert or pairs well with lighter, less sweet, or creamy desserts, like panna cotta or a cheese board.
Late Harvest: Late harvest wine, as the name implies, is made from grapes left to linger on the vine weeks to months beyond usual harvesting, drying them somewhat and concentrating their sugars. These wines taste of dried fruit, beeswax, and candied citrus. Any grape can technically produce late harvest wines, but some commonly used ones include Riesling, Vidal Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, and Muscat. Late harvest wines pair particularly well with fruity, creamy desserts and nutty cheeses.
Noble Rot: Noble rot refers to an infection of the grapes by the grey fungus Botrytis cinerea. In areas with cool, damp mornings and warmer, dryer afternoons, the weather cycle encourages the spread of the fungus through the vines. Botrytis causes the grapes to dehydrate and shrivel, leaving the sugars intact but reducing the amount of juice per grape. More grapes are pressed for the equivalent amount of liquid, thereby producing a more sugar-rich juice. The fungus also imparts a distinct, honeyed, almost spiced flavor and a complexity that ages well.
Only white grapes benefit from Botytis: Hungary’s Tokaj wine is a noble rot wine made from Furmint, Hárslevelű, and Yellow Muscat grapes; Germany produces beautiful Spätlese and Beerenauslese Rieslings; and Austria is known for Ausbruch made from Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, and Furmint. From France, the Sauternes and Barsac regions make outstanding examples of Botyrized wines from Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscadelle. Noble rot wines pair beautifully with savory and spicy foods, as well as chocolate and creamy desserts.
Passito (Straw Mat): For these wines, which can be made with red or white grapes, the harvested fruit is laid out on straw mats either in the sun or in airy lofts and allowed to desiccate naturally, drying to a raisined state. Like with the other methods, this concentrates the sugars and gives the finished wine distinctively dried-fruit, caramelized, and toasty aromas. Italy produces several types of passito wine, including Vin Santo, a white made with Trebbiano and Malvasia grapes, and Amarone della Valpolicella, an intense red wine using a blend of grapes including Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella, and sometimes Molinara. Greece produces straw wine, as well, from their prized Assyrtiko grapes. Traditionally, passito wines are sipped on their own or paired with only lightly sweet, dry desserts like biscotti.
Some wonderful sparkling wine can be sweet, as well. The acidity and fizz counterbalance the sugars and make for an extremely pleasant glass. In Champagne, the sweetness levels range from sec (slightly sweet) to demi-sec (sweet) to doux (very sweet). In Italy, the corresponding scale runs from semi-secco to amabile to dolce. Sweet sparkling wines are made from a variety of grapes, but some commonly used varieties include Muscat Blanc, Gewürztraminer, Riesling, and Chenin Blanc.
Fortified dessert wines involve the introduction of extra alcohol, usually brandy, to stop fermentation. These include Port (from Portugal), Sherry (from Spain), and Madeira (from the island of the same name), and show pronounced nutty aromas. These deserve their own primer, but suffice to say, they are a delightful way to end an evening.
Beyond what we’ve mentioned here, there are intriguing and balanced dessert wines coming from Spain, Australia, the United States, and beyond. Dessert wines are not only sweeter, but generally much higher in alcohol than dry wines (more sugar equals more food for the yeast equals more alcohol). Traditionally, they are served in smaller glasses and are meant to be sipped in moderation so that the sweetness (and the booze) does not overwhelm
Pairings: Recipes We Love
The pleasure of French confections, like those in which we indulge on our travels, can be transportive. There are times we long to recreate such chocolate-induced ecstasy at home, but without the necessity of a French pastry chef. Enter the intensely chocolatey, luxuriously rich Pots de Crème. These baked custards deliver impressive, decadent elegance with only a handful of ingredients and a time commitment that is mostly just waiting for them to cool. Make them for a dinner party, or if this time of year so moves you, enjoy as the grand finale to a romantic meal. Louis Cheze’s Syrahvissante would make an interesting pairing—it’s a lively and fruity bottle that would balance but not compete with the chocolate custard.
Chocolate Pot de Crème
- SERVES: 6 people
INGREDIENTS
- 1 ¾ cups whole milk
- 1 ¾ cups heavy cream
- 7 ounces dark (at least 72%) chocolate, finely chopped
- 6 egg yolks, from large eggs
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Whipped cream and chocolate shavings, for serving (optional)
METHOD
- Set six 8-ounce ramekins into a baking pan. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- In a medium saucepan, bring the milk and cream just to a boil. Remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Let sit for a minute to allow the chocolate to melt, then whisk until fully incorporated.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugar, vanilla, and salt.
- Slowly, a bit at a time, drizzle the hot chocolate mixture into the eggs, whisking constantly, until all the chocolate has been added and the mixture is smooth.
- Divide evenly between the ramekins in the pan and carefully transfer the pan to the oven. Fill the pan with hot water halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake until the edges of the custards are set but the centers jiggle slightly when jostled, about 40 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven and carefully transfer the ramekins to a wire rack. Let cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least four hours, until fully set. Serve with whipped cream and chocolate shavings, if desired
ENJOY!
New Growth: Joy Of Wine News We Love
Highlights From Our Recent Trip to France!
Earlier this month, Adam and I were thrilled to return to France for several weeks, leading a group of sommeliers and wine professionals throughout Champagne and Burgundy. We had the amazing opportunity to visit some of our multigenerational family wineries, including Eric Taillet, Philippe Gonet, Domaine de la Mandeliere, Domaine Cordier, and Domaine Serafin.
We then continued on to WINE PARIS, a 3-day event showcasing more than 4k wineries representing 137 countries all over the world. It was such a pleasure to connect with so many of our beloved Winemakers all in one place! We celebrated these relationships and the growth of Uva Imports and Joy of Wine Journeys by hosting a family dinner for 40 of our French and Italian friends. They all arrived with wines to share. What special and unforgettable meal!
We have now returned to the USA and are gearing up for our 2025 France summer tour season!
