After the French revolution the Foissier family regained control of their family vineyards. In 1939, when Andrew Fossier took over the family business while his father fought in the war, the family estate began expanding and producing better quality wines. in 1977 Antoine Simoneau, the son-in-law of Andrew Fossier took over the family business, and has been carefully refining the product ever since.
Côt, known as Malbec in Southwest Franc and Argentina, has a long, and somewhat dubious history in the Loire Valley. Because of the cool climate, wines made from Côt can be thin and vegetal, as opposed to deeply extracted and full-bodied as they are in other places. But when handled by experienced growers, and planted in the correct places, Côt produces a medium – full bodied red with hints of roast meat, tobacco and lots of bright black cherry and plum fruit.
Try this wine with duck, mushrooms, and aged goat cheese. Drink now – 2012
while) as a winemaker outside the family.
Some wines are special because they are made with obsessive care and attention to detail. Other wines are just darned-tasty. Though Budini Malbec is definitely a well-made wine, I have to put it in the darned-tasty category. This is proof once again that Argentina leads the world in the production of delicious wines at reasonable prices.
When most of us think about wine from New Zealand, we think about the zingy Sauvignon Blancs from Marlborough or the Pinot Noirs from Martinborough or Central Otago, but an small area called Gimblett Gravels, in Hawkes Bay on New Zealand’s North Island, produces amazing Bordeaux Varieties. The weather hear is warm, and the maritime influence that plays such an important role in most of the rest of New Zealand is mitigated by mountains. There is also a gravelly soil (hence the name) that retains daytime heat and helps with drainage, further encouraging ripe wines. See the map below for a better idea of where Hawke’s Bay, and Mills Reef, lie in relation to the rest of New Zealand. Click on this link to see a map of 
This wine qualifies for the ugliest label award in this month’s shipment (thank goodness it tastes so good).
wned Trapiche. Now, having sold Trapiche, his son Carlos is free to run the family estate with a total commitment to quality.
The Tomero has been a key character in the vineyards in Argentina since 1833. Tomeros controlled the water supply for each district in the province and regulated the channeling of the meltwater from the Andes to make certain that every user receives his fair supply. The tomero’s main tool was locks on the sluice gates of the irrigation channels that had been built into the vineyards. By openning the gates for set amounts of time he could make sure to give each vineyard its rightful supply of water.
Valle de Vistalba is a non-recognized sub-region within Lujan de Cujo, which is considered to be the best area in all of Mendoza for Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon. Rocky alluvial soils provide excellent drainage, and a dramatic diurnal (day to night) temperature shift, allow for the grapes to remain on the vines for extended periods, creating powerful, lush wines sacrificing crucial acidity or making overly alcoholic wines. Also, because of the mountainous isolation and the ancient-style flood irrigation, Lujan de Cujo has largely escaped phylloxera, and many of the vines are planted on their original rootstocks.