Magazine

Patricia is Portuguese and now lives in Geneva, but her Don Rodrigo brand is named after her Spanish great-great-grandfather. We met an artist and entrepreneur with a love for life and people.

Ciders are the perfect match for current drinking trends. Great for socialising, relatively low in alcohol, inexpensive and less mired in the pomp and circumstance that accompany wine tasting, they attract a wider clientele. Nine prominent French cider firms explain why.

We often wrongly refer to ‘Champagne’. With a history spanning over 300 years, the wines currently come from 34,300 hectares of vines, spread over 5 French departments. It follows that, although they share common character traits, styles should differ significantly. Before we meet an exciting line-up of winegrowers, merchants and co-operative producers who will share their viewpoints with us, let’s quickly go back over some of the basic tenets of Champagne.

This historic wine region enjoyed its golden era from the 17th to the 19th century, before it was devastated by phylloxera, then undermined by 40 years of Soviet rule. Since 1990, Tokaj has recovered its prestige, not only thanks to the wines for which it is renowned, but also through innovative fine dry white and sparkling wines.