The sustainable wine blog |

Chateau Vignelaure, unusual, superb organic Cabernet/Syrah in Provence

A few months back I drove from Nice, where I live, a couple of hours west to meet Philippe Bru, winemaker at Chateau Vignelaure, just east of Aix-en-Provence. At 400 meters in altitude, he makes Vignelaure's red, white, and late harvest wines in a cool climate, with cold nights, on 55 hectares of land. Given the…

In this interview below I meet Eric de Saint-Victor from Château de Pibarnon, in Bandol. We tasted some of his wines and discussed the history of Pibarnon, and how he thinks about both organic farming and wine-making, and the innovations he's trying out in the winery itself. I struggle to think of a more spectacular setting…

Three ways the wine industry can become more sustainable

A writer penning a piece on sustainable wine asked me for some thoughts on what the wine industry can do to be more sustainable. Here's my list of three below. There's a lot more one could say about these, and other issues, of course, but I wanted to keep it fairly short. So here's my…

Domaine Tempier interview, on the excellent 2016 vintage, sustainability, biodiversity, and a new vineyard

Here's a second interview with Daniel Ravier, winemaker and general manager at Domaine Tempier in Bandol, Provence, on the latest thinking on sustainable practices and their new acquisition and what it means for the wines of Tempier. A longer interview, focusing a lot on climate change and winemaking can be found here. In this more…

Interview with Eric Boisseaux of Château Vannières, age worthy organic Bandol

Eric Boisseaux and his son, Charles-Eric, organically farm 32 hectares of prime land in Bandol, Provence. They make rose, white and red wines, but this post only refers to the reds they make. Eric's grandfather, originally from Burgundy, bought the property in 1956 and they've made beautiful wines ever since. I've been drinking a lot…

Jean-François Ott, Domaines Ott, on Provence and Bandol winemaking and consumer trust

In this podcast interview, I had a chat with Jean-François Ott about what consumers want from his wines and winemaking practices, his suspicion of certification schemes and the idea of further transparency in the wine industry. That's in the second half of the interview. In the first we chatted about experimentation in his winemaking and the…

La Bastide Blanche, biodynamic Bandol that’s truly worth exploring

Like many other properties in Bandol, there's not much about La Bastide Blanche in English on the web. That's a real shame given the quality of the wines and the biodynamic/organic approach that Stephane Bourret takes in making superb reds and some rose wines. I visited with a friend, last month and Stephane, like so many Bandol…

Organic vs Biodynamic: Q&A podcast with Peter Work of Ampelos vineyards, California

Back in September this year, driving through California's central coast (see last two posts and podcasts with Richard Sanford at Alma Rosa here and with Bob Lindquist of Qupe here ), I stopped off to meet Peter Work at Ampelos vineyards. Peter and his wife Rebecca have an 82 acre ranch, with some 46,00 vines. They grow primarily…

Richard Sanford of Alma Rosa on Pinot Noir, sustainability and wine making in California

In the audio interview below we talked about how Richard got started making wine in the Santa Rita area in the early 1970s and how things have changed since then. Richard was the first to plant Pinot Noir west of Buellton in 1971. Since then he founded Alma Rosa vineyards and has been added to the…

Sustainable wine in California: Podcast with Bob Lindquist of Qupé

As the harvest was in full swing, I was lucky enough to find myself just north of Los Angeles, in Ventura, for some sustainability advisory work with a leading company. On Saturday September 17th I had kept a day free and had been frantically emailing all the sustainably-minded winemakers I could, in order to try…

The sustainable wine blog

Chateau Vignelaure, unusual, superb organic Cabernet/Syrah in Provence

Eric de Saint-Victor from Pibarnon on Bandol’s flavour profile, experimental biodynamics and much more

Three ways the wine industry can become more sustainable

Domaine Tempier interview, on the excellent 2016 vintage, sustainability, biodiversity, and a new vineyard

Interview with Eric Boisseaux of Château Vannières, age worthy organic Bandol

Jean-François Ott, Domaines Ott, on Provence and Bandol winemaking and consumer trust

La Bastide Blanche, biodynamic Bandol that’s truly worth exploring

Organic vs Biodynamic: Q&A podcast with Peter Work of Ampelos vineyards, California

Richard Sanford of Alma Rosa on Pinot Noir, sustainability and wine making in California

Sustainable wine in California: Podcast with Bob Lindquist of Qupé

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