I joined the gatherings on Friday, eager to attend one tasting in particular: Le Salon des Jeunes Talents. This group, technically known as La Groupe des Jeunes Professionnels de la Vigne, is composed of winemakers under the age of 40. (It appeared to me this cap is a bit flexible, but I decided it would be indiscrete to ask.) The association aims to unite the region’s young winemakers and to support their development with seminars on subjects as diverse as how to present their wines in English and how to operate and maintain high clearance tractors.
Read MoreI recently read a Geographic Expeditions newsletter that began with an excerpt from a Jonathan Keats piece titled “Why Wikipedia is as Important as the Pyramids” in Wired magazine. In it, Keats campaigns for Wikipedia to become the first digital World Heritage Site. His article debates the relevance of some of UNESCO’s 936 World Heritage Sites and outlines how UNESCO has grappled with the concept of intangible cultural heritage (for example, music versus monuments, mines or water systems). This brought to mind the bid by Burgundy’s Côte d’Or to classify its “climats”, or vineyards, among UNESCO’s hand-picked honorees. From my viewpoint, Burgundy’s climats cover both the intangible and the tangible angles of cultural heritage.
Read MoreWhen it comes to wine, I'm thankful for it daily. And, realizing there are so many things that happen day-to-day to make wine what it is, I figure there's good reason to list a few of those now so that I might remember to be thankful for them throughout the upcoming year.
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