House

As used in the Champagne region, house refers to a producer who sells Champagne under its own brand name. The grapes may come from its own vineyards, from independent growers, or most often from a combination of the two. Such firms as Veuve Clicquot, Moët & Chandon, and Taittinger are all referred to as houses.

Cabernet sauvignon and merlot share the same father—cabernet franc. Cabernet sauvignon’s mother was sauvignon blanc. Who was merlot’s?

A. Magdeleine noire des Charentes

B. Petit Manseng

C. Chardonnay

D. Côt (aka Malbec)

Merlot’s mother was magdeleine noire des Charentes. Grape geneticists determined that merlot was the offspring of cabernet franc in the early 1990s, but merlot’s other parent remained a mystery for a decade. We can thank French ampelographer Jean-Michel Boursiquot for finding merlot’s unnamed mother in an abandoned vineyard in Brittany, France. A few years later, more vines were found in the Charentes region of southwestern France, and Boursiquot named the vines magdeleine noire des Charentes.

Let’s See: Should It Be “Napa” or “Runaway Cow?”

The excitement about Long Dai―Château Lafite Rothschild’s new winery in Shandong province on the eastern seaboard of China―continues unabated. It’s been 11 years since the complex winery/vineyard project began, but only this fall will the… Continue reading

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