Katarina's Blog

There are wineries in so many different parts of the world today. Winemakers experiment with growing vines in places where the climate is quite different from that of Southern and Western Europe. One such place that I visited recently is in Myanmar, on the hillside sloping down towards Inle Lake in the south of Shan state.

What is the stuff at the bottom of the cork? Dark red, almost inky, deposits, sometimes crystalline in texture? You find it at the end of the cork which has been in touch with the wine during aging and it is actually a quality sign which shows that the wine has not been overfiltered which can strip away some of the flavors. How did it end up there and what is it? Read on to find out.

Peach, pineapple, pear, flowery yet dry, golden yellow and with a big smooth texture that fills your mouth – that is my way of describing Viognier. The grape is thought to have originated in the northern Rhone valley and it is found in many Rhone wines, both red and white but its big fame and the most exquisite wines made from Viognier are from the appellation Condrieu. It can only contain 100% Viognier and it is a small area of steep hillside vineyards to the east of the river Rhone. That is my style icon for our Viognier.

Low creeping thyme expands like soft pillows between the flagstones in my patio.Thyme is one of the most widely used herbs. Already the Romans used this very aromatic herb as medicine and for cooking. Plant this hardy plant in your garden or in a pot and experience it yourself, with a glass of good red wine in hand.

Left to their own devices grape vines can grow to be 100 yards long in the wild. Like all vines they use ground formation, trees and other plants to climb up and find sun or along the ground to spread out. The trunk of a cultivated vine is the result of extensive pruning. Some of the trellis systems even look like ballerinas!