If you are in Brussels and want to have a good glass of wine, go to Etiquette. Both a wine shop and a wine bar, Etiquette is located in the Louise district, in front of the Abbaye de Cambre. Created 5 years ago, the place is open 7 days a week from 11 am...
The Wines of Bierzo
Bierzo wines are no match for their better-known counterparts from La Rioja, Ribera del Duero or Priorat. Featuring the indigenous Mencía grape, Bierzo has undergone a remarkable qualitative shift since the turn of the century and is now a leading wine region in Spain. Bierzo wines are increasingly sought after, especially those of renowned...
Bodegas Elías Mora, Toro, Spain
Bodegas Elías Mora is located in the village of San Roman de Hornija, in the Toro Denomination of Origin, in Spain. The D.O. Toro is an appellation that straddles two Spanish provinces, Valladolid and Zamora. The winery created by Victoria Benavides took the name Elías Mora in honor of the winemaker who was the...
The Wines of Vermont
An agricultural region better known for producing cider, fruit wines and mead than wine, Vermont is nonetheless home to a small but growing wine industry. I took advantage of a recent visit to the charming town of Burlington, on the shores of Lake Champlain, to visit two wineries and get a taste of what...
Verónica Ortega, a rising star of the Bierzo appellation
Verónica Ortega is a young winemaker who has been living in Bierzo, in the northwest of Spain, for a little over 3 years. I met Verónica, a rising star of the wine industry in the region, a little by chance, during a recent visit to Raúl Pérez, one of the greatest oenologists in Spain,...
Raul Pérez, an iconic winemaker of Bierzo
I first met Raul Pérez in Montreal during a presentation of his wines at the Société des Alcools du Québec. It was immediately love at first sight for this friendly and authentic bearded winegrower as well as for his unique wines. Fascinated by the character, I decided to visit him in his stronghold of...