Judith Smelser Beyond Central Florida, Wine News

Bordeaux Approves 7 New AOC Grapes Amid Concerns About Climate Change

Yesterday was a historic day for Bordeaux.

A General Assembly of winemakers from the Bordeaux and Bordeaux Supérieur AOCs voted unanimously to allow seven new grapes to be used in Bordeaux blends – part of an ongoing effort to protect the storied wine region from a warming climate.

The proposal faces several more bureaucratic hurdles over the next year or so. If it’s approved, it will be the first rule change since the Bordeaux AOC was created in 1936, and Bordeaux winemakers will be able to start blending up to 10% of the new varieties into their wines.

Meet the New Bordeaux Grapes

The assembly approved four red and three white grapes:

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Judith Smelser Beyond Central Florida, Wine Experiences, Wine News

BREAKING NEWS: Uvaggio in Coral Gables is Closed for Good

One of South Florida’s best wine bars has closed its doors.

When I tried to visit Uvaggio on Coral Gables’ Miracle Mile last Wednesday, I found the doors closed (see the photo above) and the interior dark and empty. Managing Partner and sommelier Heath Porter confirmed to me today that it was gone for good.

“Sometimes it’s just business,” he said in an email.

Porter was also Managing Partner of No Name Chinese in South Miami, which closed in May.

He says he now plans to focus full time on his wine travel venture Heathen Wine Tours, which he launched last year.

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Judith Smelser Tastings, Wine Experiences, Wine News, Wine Reviews, Winemakers, Wineries

Hidden Wine Country: Napa’ School House Vineyard Keeps Things Quietly Classic

All photos by Steve Mort

Napa and Sonoma, the two counties at the heart of California wine country, are famous for lavish tasting rooms, Michelin star restaurants, and deluxe accommodations. Drive even a few hundred yards along Napa’s main thoroughfare, Highway 29, and you’re likely to pass five or six big name wineries ready to put on an impressive, pricey, and often thoroughly enjoyable show for you.

But hidden behind them, there’s another world — a place that’s more about passion than money, more about soil than manipulation, more about history than trends, and more about experimentation than safe bets. You have to look a little harder for this hidden Wine Country, drive a little farther to get there, and pay a little more attention when you arrive. But it’s well worth the effort.

Part 1 of this series takes us to School House Vineyard, a Napa stalwart making elegant wines that remain largely unknown, even to many of the Valley’s most ardent fans.

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Judith Smelser Tastings, Wine Experiences, Winemakers

This Week’s Orlando Wine Events are Sweet, Cool & Blind

Welcome to summer, Orlando! Who am I kidding, we all know it’s been summer here for months, but now the calendar has officially caught up to our weather. It’s time to take refuge from the heat with some wine events that will keep you cool and quenched. Read on for the highlights of …

ORLANDO’S WEEK IN WINE

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