Concentrating mainly but not exclusively on the Loire's vineyards, its vignerons and their wines along with places to eat and stay. Also covers some recently published wine books – not just from Loire. Regional Chair for Loire @Decanter's World Wine Awards since its inception.
Winner of the 2009 Wine Blog Trophy (journalist category) Salon des Vins de Loire. I have a large and expanding library of photos, particularly from the Loire – places, producers, vineyards etc. European.
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Saturday, 4 October 2014
2014 Loire: Epeigné-les-Bois – Les Reines des Vendanges
Yes, they are sweet, Jim. But ... This thing of “Reine des Vendanges”, also “Weinkönigin” in Germany, has always had dionysian connotations, with all its mythical and implicitly sexual contents. I think it wrong to alter this deeply rooted orientation into something more “politically correct”, once again the hallmark of our disingenuous society. I remember the pride of young Melanie Stumpf, a gordious teenager herself at that time, when she mentionned to me the past crowning of her pretty mother, Carmen Bickel, as Weinkönigin for Franconia. It told on its own the whole story. And the wines were excellent, by the way (Thungersheim/Frickenhausen). They still are.
Yes, they are sweet, Jim. But ...
ReplyDeleteThis thing of “Reine des Vendanges”, also “Weinkönigin” in Germany, has always had dionysian connotations, with all its mythical and implicitly sexual contents. I think it wrong to alter this deeply rooted orientation into something more “politically correct”, once again the hallmark of our disingenuous society. I remember the pride of young Melanie Stumpf, a gordious teenager herself at that time, when she mentionned to me the past crowning of her pretty mother, Carmen Bickel, as Weinkönigin for Franconia. It told on its own the whole story. And the wines were excellent, by the way (Thungersheim/Frickenhausen). They still are.