Author Archives: Caroline

About Caroline

Caroline is a certified Sommelier (by the CMS) and WSET diploma student. In order to specialize in the wines of Champagne she moved to the region and currently works as a wine consultant, wine educator and wine writer. She is a member of the Circle of Wine Writers and writes for several international publications including Palate Press, Snooth, Wine-Searcher, Decanter and Vinogusto; further activities include teaching Champagne related courses at Reims Management School and organizing personalized tasting experiences at http://www.tastingswithatwist.wordpress.com as well as being a regular judge at international wine competitions.

Champagne harvest – the bioenergetic cuvée Liberance en primeur at Franck Pascal

My last visit this harvest season was at Franck and Isabelle Pascalle in Baslieux-sous-Chatillon. I arrived at the same time as the last grapes for the day. Franck and Isabelle have been farming biodynamically since 2002 and for the last … Continue reading

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Champagne Harvest 2015 – tasting Meunier on the vines and straight out of the press at Champagne Loriot

I love visiting the Loriots in harvest, I love eating their delicious Meunier grapes whilst listening to all the banter, laughing! This year I took Jess, a friend from New York whom I had spend a day with working selling … Continue reading

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Champagne harvest 2015 – the end of harvest at Champagne de Sousa and Champagne Moussé

On Thursday I visited Champagne de Sousa, getting ready for the end of harvest. I had wanted to visit a few times before but somehow always something came up preventing me. Charlotte told me they started harvest on the 8th … Continue reading

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Champagne Harvest 2015 – Portrait of a harvester: Renaud Hans

Renaud Hans has been working harvest at david Léclapart for the last 5 years. He started of as picker, but has been a débardeur – emptying buckets and moving cases in and out of the rows – for the last … Continue reading

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Champagne harvest 2015 – a morning in the vines with David Léclapart

On Monday morning I spent a few hours with David Léclapart in his Cote des Prés vineyard. He was one of the 3 débardeurs for his pickers, emptying buckets of grapes and bringing the full cases to the end of … Continue reading

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Champagne harvest 2015 – portrait of a harvester: Jacques Bony and Alexandre Budan

Last week I interviewed two different harvesters at Champagne Tarlant. Jacques Bony, a traveller, has been working harvest for the Tarlant family for at least 20 years. “I first came when I was still very young, and ever since we … Continue reading

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Champagne harvest 2015 – organic and biodynamic grape syncronicities at Aurélien Lurquin, Emilien Feneuil and Leclerc Briant

This weekend it seemed my visits were very interlinked in more ways than one. Synchronicities had started to happen in a big way already on Friday, when I bumped into Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon and later saw my beloved pick grapes in … Continue reading

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Chosing to live in the light

On this blog I have been sharing my adventures in the wine world, and the last 3,5 years my discovery journey of the Champagne region. Organic and biodynamic wines and Champagne have come to feature more and more as time … Continue reading

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The Grand Cru worthy Terroir of the Aube

The Cote des Bar has always been a little stand alone in the Champagne region. The fact that the region is located on the other side of the plains, about a 150 km south of Epernay has probably something to … Continue reading

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Beyond the Bubbles: the Esssence of Champagne

The essence of champagne for me is its strong sense of unity that bridges across the regions diversity. It starts at appellation level; Champagne is the only AOC for the sparkling wine of the region. Unlike other French appellations, there … Continue reading

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