Blog
This is the blog of wine merchant and communicator, Caspar Bowes. Caspar's blog features reports on new vintages, new vinous discoveries and his general musings on the world of wine.
A visit to the ruined castle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape is always on the cards, especially as there is a rather nifty restaurant just downslope: Les Vergers des Papes. Go there only if you can handle dour staff.In some ways, the wines of Châteauneuf are precise opposites to those of Burgundy…
I always make a detour to get this view from the top of the Hill of Hermitage each time I visit the region. Note the closeness of the valley walls, walls that form a funnel down which the Mistral wind is squeezed and through which it gathers force: a power expended in the southern part of the valley…
I took this shot after lunch in Tournon. From that bank, one looks back at Tournon's twin of Tain l'Hermitage, the pair separated by the mighty Rhône. You can see a great deal of building taking place in Tain and, indeed, Tain seems the younger twin by some margin, lacking the character and, y…
I took this bit of film standing on a pontoon jetty on the River Rhône just down from the domaine of René Rostaing in Ampuis...in the wind, evidently.…
The inner doings of the ruined castle of Chateauneuf-du-PapeToday has been a cycle of pleasure and pain, a brief description of which will give you some insight into the daily experiences of a wine merchant on a buying trip to France. I headed out to Chateauneuf after breakfast and had an extremely …
