French Wine Archives - EXOTIC WINE TRAVEL

2020 Rewind

by DR MATTHEW HORKEY - December 27, 2020December 30, 2020

Reading Time: For better or worse, 2020 is a year all of us will ever forget. This last year saw the fear of one singular thing affect the entire world. My life was deeply altered, like countless others around the world. That's not to say everything was terrible, I have

Châteauneuf-du-Pape: Best Buys

French Wine

by DR MATTHEW HORKEY - August 30, 2020September 17, 2020

Reading Time: Full-bodied reds with gobs of sweet fruit and tannins pair perfectly with big meat dishes. If this is what you crave, the reds of Châteauneuf-du-Pape rarely disappoint. These wines are blends of Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre (there are 15 additional grapes which are also permitted in the blend).

Finding Value Wine In The Southern Rhône

French Wine

by DR MATTHEW HORKEY - August 11, 2020August 12, 2020

Reading Time: With these times of uncertainty, who does like a good deal? We still want to drink wine but want to get bang for our buck. Thankfully, it's pretty easy to find value wine in the Southern Rhône. Whether it's white, rosé, or red, the Southern Rhône has you

White Châteauneuf-du-Pape: 11 Wines To Try

French Wine

by DR MATTHEW HORKEY - July 12, 2020July 15, 2020

Reading Time: Mention Châteauneuf-du-Pape to wine geeks and they will usually think of big, rich red blends. But did you know that around 6% of the annual production in this region is white Châteauneuf-du-Pape? This full-blown Mediterranean region hardly seems like the place for white wines. Despite the climatic challenges,

Desprat Saint-Verny Basalte 2017

by DR MATTHEW HORKEY - February 27, 2020July 25, 2020

desprat saint verny petites grappes sur basalte gamay

Reading Time: Hello! Welcome to As Drunk by Exotic Wine Travel, a weekly column where we feature interesting wines that we encourage you to seek out. The reviews featured in this series may be written by either one or the both of us. The featured wines can be from obscure or

Ten Volcanic Wines From GoVolcanic

by DR MATTHEW HORKEY - February 11, 2020July 25, 2020

Reading Time: Volcanic wines are a hot subject these days and GoVolcanic proved to be an explosive tasting. Bad jokes aside, the first edition of GoVolcanic in Budapest, Hungary proved to be an interesting event. There were great volcanic wines from all over the world including Hungary, Austria, Israel, Spain,

Domaine Ratron, ‘Clos des Cordeliers’ Saumur-Champigny Prestige 2017

by DR MATTHEW HORKEY - January 2, 2020July 26, 2020

Clos des Cordeliers Prestige Sumur Champigny

Best Wine Memories of 2019

by DR MATTHEW HORKEY - December 19, 2019July 26, 2020

Reading Time: As 2019 closes and 2020 unfolds, it will mark five straight years of traveling around the world. We've spent that entire time uncovering unique wines from both far-flung and well-known regions of the wine world. In 2015 we left our careers to take a sabbatical. I had a

Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc ‘Roussanne Vielles Vignes’ 2017

by DR MATTHEW HORKEY - July 23, 2019April 18, 2020

Chateau de Beaucastel Roussanne Vielles Vignes 2017

The Loire: Muscadet, Savennières, Saumur-Champigny, and More

French Wine

by DR MATTHEW HORKEY - July 18, 2019July 18, 2019

Reading Time: The Loire is the third-largest wine-producing region by volume in France. The river is over 1000 kilometers (600 miles) in length and there are over 50 appellations in the region. The variety of wines produced here are staggering, everything from still to sparkling to sweet. It would take