Quarantine Talk with Thomas Bachelder

We interrupt your daily sparkling wine browsing with a special announcement: today, we’re going in depth on some exceptional still wines. That’s right: still wines. 😱 No effervescence, not a bubble in sight… unless you take into account the sparkling storyteller and prolific winemaker that is Thomas Bachelder. Last month, we sat down on Zoom with Thomas as part of a virtual tasting, and we discussed his latest release – “La Violette” – only the second release since being granted a retail license in 2019. Though we endured some technical difficulties which precluded us from creating a video of the experience, …

What do you mean “Champagne” isn’t a type of grape?

That’s right! Despite what some may think, Champagne is not a grape variety! In fact, the world’s most famous sparkling wine is made from a complex blend of various grape varieties, grown in certain vineyards within the Champagne region of northern France. So, which grapes go into Champagne and what are their roles in the blend (or “cuvée”)? Let us take you through in this quick 101, and hopefully the learning cuvée, errrrr curve, won’t be too high!