Above: Tracie B in the cellar at Coulée de Serrant, the celebrated Nicolas Joly estate in the Loire Valley.

Our trip to the Loire Valley (between NN+ gigs in France) revealed to us just how varied the production of Chenin Blanc really is and how uniquely terroir-driven the appellations. The short drive from Savennières to Chaume, for example, showed us how macro- and micro-climate could change radically after a 7-minute drive at country-road speeds.

Tracie B called dibs on blogging our excellent tasting at Joly a few weeks ago and so you’ll just have to visit her blog to get the low-down (click here) on oxidation vs. botrytis, Les Clos Sacrés vs. Les Vieux Clos, sandy vs. slate, to aerate or not to aerate, and many more mouth-watering, “tongue-splitting” tidbits.

In other news…

Check out this post at VinoWire on a new DOCG: a red Moscato (yes, a RED Moscato) from Bergamo (yes, Bergamo). Turns out that it was once one of Italy’s most famous appellations, Moscato di Scanzo. Franco and I posted about it here.