Author name: Linda Whipple, CSW

Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW). WSET 3 Advanced with merit. Grateful for the grape and all things growing.

Coda di Volpe from Campania’s protector of native grapes (#ItalianFWT)

8 Comments / wine /

European winemakers have known their fair share of hardship. First phylloxera, a viral pest, wiped out vineyards throughout Europe in the late 19th century. Then two world wars raged across the continent causing widespread suffering and economic upheaval. After World War II, winemakers worked hard to regain their footing. Sometimes they banded together to form […]

Coda di Volpe from Campania’s protector of native grapes (#ItalianFWT) Read More »

Crozes-Hermitage: A gateway to northern Rhône wine (#Winophiles)

8 Comments / wine /

The Rhône wine region of France is a house divided. To the north, compact vineyards lie along both sides of the Rhone river in a narrow, steep-sided strip of land only 40 miles long. In the south, vineyards fan out from the river across a comparatively broad plain. The north is cool. The south is

Crozes-Hermitage: A gateway to northern Rhône wine (#Winophiles) Read More »

Agiorgitiko: Modern Greek wine from an ancient land (#WinePW)

7 Comments / wine /

Is Greek winemaking ancient? Is it new? If you answered “both,” you’d be correct. Greek winemaking dates back at least 4,000 years and left its mark throughout the Mediterranean world during ancient times. Greek wine was especially prized in Italy under the Roman Empire (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_wine). In the Middle Ages, however, Ottoman rulers placed heavy taxes

Agiorgitiko: Modern Greek wine from an ancient land (#WinePW) Read More »

Bingeing on Brachetto, biscotti, berries and a chocolate bunny (#ItalianFWT)

6 Comments / wine /

With apologies to Sesame Street, this post is brought to you today by the letter “B.” The letter “B” is for bingeing, a side-effect of sheltering in place during the pandemic. What better wine for binge-watching past episodes of VEEP (substitute your favorite TV series here) than a light, frothy, low-alcohol Brachetto d’Acqui? Goes great

Bingeing on Brachetto, biscotti, berries and a chocolate bunny (#ItalianFWT) Read More »

A wine geek explores Jura’s native grapes, Part II (#Winophiles)

Leave a Comment / wine /

Let’s return to Jura, France – virtually, bien sûr – this time to explore another of the region’s “godsaken” grapes and an oxidative winemaking process known as sous voile (“under the veil”). By “godforsaken,” I’m referring to Jason Wilson’s Godforsaken Grapes: A Slightly Tipsy Journey Through the World of Strange, Obscure, and Unappreciated Wine. In

A wine geek explores Jura’s native grapes, Part II (#Winophiles) Read More »

Scroll to Top