“French Wines are the Best in the World”
Richard Ehrlich, the Independent on Sunday’s wine correspondent, is hanging up his pen (or resting his typing digits!) and will no longer be writing his weekly column. Whilst taking a fairly broad swipe at wine blogs he does conclude his musing as follows: “My recommendations for the week affirm one thing I have grown increasingly convinced of over the past decade: that French wine is the best on Earth.” He goes on to recommend 3 wines, two of which are technically Vins de Pays, both more expensive than the White Burgundy he also recommends! That farewell selection says much about the way French winemaking has evolved over the recent years - inspired, well-made exciting wines from lesser-known regions, often based on less popular grapes (e.g. the 100% Carignan that is one of his choices), whilst you can also find decent examples of good classics at affordable prices.
Ehrlich has always been one of my favourite wine writers, as he was always looking for something interesting and different, always inquisitive and did not just write up the latest trade or press tasting he’d been to. He will be missed!
For more on how French wines have changed try Andrew Jefford’s The New France: A Complete Guide to Contemporary French Wine (Mitchell Beazley Wine Guides)
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3 comments
Frenchduck wrote:
“Ehrlich has always been one of my favourite wine writers, as he was always looking for something interesting and different, always inquisitive and did not just write up the latest trade or press tasting he’d been to. He will be missed!”
I am deeply flattered to read this, after discovering it while searching for something completely different!
I know that I took a “fairly broad swipe” at wine bloggers in the piece referred to here, but I really didn’t mean to say there is nothing valuable out there in the wine blogosphere. In time, some of the bloggers may come to be as highly regarded as their counterparts in print journalism.
But one thing that will separate the two for some time, I suspect, is the access that print journalists are given to tastings, seminars, press trips, and all the other privileges that professional wine writers are granted. [For the record: I am a drinks writer, covering beer, spirits, cocktails, tea, coffee etc. as well as wine.] Those privileges give the established print-based wine writers a breadth and depth of tasting experience that’s currently denied to most bloggers.
I’ll know that blogging has arrived when I see a blogger at a Waitrose tasting. Hope it happens soon.
And Frenchduck, thanks again for your kind words.
Richard Ehrlich
Well Richard - I’m a blogger and I go on Press Trips (Prosecco earlier this year, litterally just come back from Bordeaux today) and I attend as many tastings as I can; including Waitrose.
Andrew, I stand corrected. Thanks for letting me know.
Richard
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