GREAT WINE MAPS OF FRANCE CODE

The core issue here is a “digital tax” that France has imposed on big tech companies, mostly American, doing business in France. This was, after all, saber rattling, not actually putting the tariffs into effect. While that would be very bad news for consumers as well as producers, there is some cause for guarded optimism. French sparkling wine (not still wine) as well as cheese, handbags, makeup and enamelware would be affected.

But it wasn’t for sabering champagne in celebration rather, it was for dealing it a blow by threatening tariffs of 100%. Late yesterday, the US Trade Representative unsheathed a champagne saber. I am writing to express my concern regarding the escalation of tariffs on wine. Here are three pieces I wrote on tariffs for Wine & Spirits magazine last month. Overly simple, but trying to make the point that these tariffs are an own goal. Hopefully, cooler heads will prevail…Anyway, I made a pie chart! It shows that more American businesses profit from a bottle of European wine than the producer.

GREAT WINE MAPS OF FRANCE CODE

Add yours! My take on the situation is that it’s a code red: after “big, beautiful” negotiation with China and a new agreement in North America, the administration is more likely to turn to Europe. Fully 24,071 people have submitted comments. The comment period ends today at midnight over at the site of the United States Trade Representative. But mostly it will mean that many of the most coveted wines will no longer be available. Tariffs of 100% may soon hit European wines in America. ( find this wine) So grab a bottle if you can, or even if you can’t, join us on Zoom! I ask him a few questions, then we will taste the elegant Anthill, Sonoma Coast, Pinot Noir 2018 together and have a general discussion. Anthony Filiberti, winemaker at Anthill Farms in Sonoma, will join us. One other huge advantage is that we can be joined by winemakers! Such is the case for a public tasting I am leading on Thursday, 5/28 at 6 PM eastern.

While they do have certain limitations, namely, the fact that it’s hard for most people to open more than two bottles a night, they do have advantages including being able to display maps and photos and videos more easily than in many group settings. I have led a couple of dozen during the quarantine, mostly for private groups and corporations looking to reconnect. They were fun and informative! Now that we are all in a pants-optional world of Zoom, it’s no surprise that wine tastings are happening “virtually” now. In the pre-2020 part of my life, I led lots of wine tastings, large and small, in real life. The global nightmare known as coronavirus has brought enormous tragedy, uncertainty and change to the way we live. According to Rosenthal, the importer, only 500 cases of this make it to our shores. It opened a lot of eyes to the potential of rosé being a wine of substance, rather than a toss-it-back quaffer. Although 2019 was a hot vintage, the wine is really stunning. The estate has been certified organic since 2014 and this wine draws on grenache (55%), mourvedre (31%), and cinsault (14%). Domaine du Bagnol’s 7 hectares (17 acres) lies a short walk from the charming fishing village, under the spectacular bluff of the Cap Canaille.

Snuggled right on the Mediterranean between Marseille and Toulon and a national park, the tiny appellation has only 200 hectares (500 acres) of vineyards and a dozen producers. Rounding out our Mother’s Day duo, we had a stunner from the minuscule appellation of Cassis. Based on our Zoom call over the weekend, he just made a lot of people happy. Rodolphe said that he really wants this “flagship wine” to be “exceptional” because it will be most people’s first experience with their wines. It has a big helping of the reserve wine, which is from a “perpetual reserve” (solera) started in 1998. As Rodolphe Peters explained to me in my visit last year, it is entirely from the estate’s 19.98 hectares–fully half the fruit comes from the famed Les Chétillions vineyard. The Pierre Peters has incredible depth of flavor and is on my shortlist for best mulitvintage Champagnes. We had this pair with a group recently and they really hit the ball out of the park: Pierre Peters, “Cuvée de Réserve,” Champagne and the 2019 rosé from Domaine du Bagnol in Cassis. I’ve been leading a ton of Zoom tastings during this quarantine period–a Zoom boom, if you will.

Great wine maps of france