Raymond Blake

Keeper Collection @keepercoll: Welcome to #SommChat everyone! Tell your friends to join us to learn from #Wine #writer Raymond Blake @blakeonwine!

Keeper Collection @keepercoll: We’d like to introduce you to #writer Raymond Blake @blakeonwine #SommChat

Keeper Collection @keepercoll: We're about ready to dive in w/questions, so shout out to Raymond Blake @blakeonwine to say hello & so he knows you're here! #WineWednesday #SommChat

Raymond Blake @blakeonwine: #SommChat Hi great to be here and looking forward to all your questions.

Keeper Collection @keepercoll: Don't forget that EVERY tweet during this chat should include the #SommChat hashtag in order for everyone to see it!

Keeper Collection @keepercoll: As we ask our Qs, you can ask Raymond your Qs as well! He'll do his best to answer all Qs in the order they come #SommChat

Keeper Collection @keepercoll: W so many participants lots of gr8 Q's R asked! Even if u dont ask 1--give a S/O 2 @keepercoll & @blakeonwine 2 let us know u R here! #SommChat

Keeper Collection @keepercoll: Let's start talking #Burgundy #wine with #writer Raymond Blake @blakeonwine #WineWednesday #SommChat

Keeper Collection @keepercoll: @blakeonwine Can you talk about your book, Côte d’Or, that is available at the Classic Wine Library @cwl_wine #SommChat

Raymond Blake @blakeonwine: #SommChat It grew out of my first book 'Breakfast in Burgundy' and I wanted it to be personal and not a dry text book. Having visited the region many times and being able to spend extended time there was a great help. I am delighted to have it on my CV

Raymond Blake @blakeonwine: #SommChat I narrowed the focus initially by restricting it to the Côte d'Or. Then decided on about 100 domaine profiles, all the time stating that it was not meant to be comprehensive, but my take on it. How to approach Burg - go visit! really essential to put your feet on ground

James Tidwell @winejames: Hi @blakeonwine, looking forward to meeting you. Q: How does one write a book on Burg? How do you define scope in such an intricate region w/so many producers? In other words, how does one approach Burg? #SommChat @KeeperColl

Keeper Collection @keepercoll: Q fr #SommChat #Somm How did you interested/focused on #Burgundy when did this happen and what are some of the biggest changes you have seen in the #Cotedor @blakeonwine

Raymond Blake @blakeonwine: #SommChat It was a passage in Evelyn Waugh's book Brideshead Revisited that set me on the road to Burgundy when I was still in college. Tremendous increase in quality and the rise of new family domaines all the time. Every time I go back to Burgundy I come across a new name.

Keeper Collection @keepercoll: Q fr #SommChat #Somm how often do you find that your opinion of a vintage changes from barrel review to tasting at release or a couple of years later @blakeonwine ?

Raymond Blake @blakeonwine: #SommChat Without being facetious - all the time! A good eg is the 2007 vintage (red). I bought quite a bit and for years afterwards wondered had I made a mistake as the wines were closed and a bit mean. And then the fruit began to show and some lovely 'sweetness' came through.

Ormiga @ormiga: interesting that the “mean #wine” opened up eg mî will NOT touch a 2006, barely a 2007 (08 were too rich) reds #bordeaux or #burgundy now to read your 140… #SommChat

Keeper Collection @keepercoll: @blakeonwine You’re a #wine editor for the Food & Wine magazine in #Ireland, how are the subjects of your articles selected and do you only write on #Burgundy or other wine subjects? #SommChat

Raymond Blake @blakeonwine: #SommChat In Ireland one has to be a generalist so I write on all wines with a special focus on Burgundy. EG I am just back from South America and have an article in the pipeline about Chile. Will also be visiting Bordeaux, Austria and Italy in the next few months.

Keeper Collection @keepercoll: @blakeonwine congrats on your book as shortlisted on @LouisRoederer_ International #wine #writers Awards 2018 what do you think sets your @cwl_wine #Burgundy book apart from others to get this recognition? #SommChat

Raymond Blake @blakeonwine: #SommChat I was delighted with the review of my Côte d'Or book on @JancisRobinson website where the reviewer said (paraphrasing) that my book 'broke the Classic Wine Library mould'. That sums it up better than I could. With Burgundy it is so essential to tell the story.

Keeper Collection @keepercoll: Q fr #SommChat #Somm @blakeonwine How did you get into becoming a #wine correspondent and what advice would you give to someone today interested in getting into writing ?

Raymond Blake @blakeonwine: #SommChat Even as a child long before I tasted wine I was fascinated by wine, by a living product that could age and develop. I still have articles I cut from magazines at the age of 10. Fast forward and I was working as a school teacher when I saw an ad looking for a wine…

Raymond Blake @blakeonwine: #SommChat ... a wine writer. I wrote to the publisher and invited him to dinner. He said every freeloader in Ireland had been on to him but only one invited him to dinner, so I got the gig. My best advice to aspiring wine writers is to have another source of income - not joking!

Ormiga @ormiga: haha mî lost mucho € $$ since 2005 (1st 3yrs totally broke intl student in #paris) on #wine but got exposed to greatness so.. btw need a writer? so which good #burgundy would you use for #cooking? and which not so good and how latter affects #food? nope we just chugged it ;)

Keeper Collection @keepercoll: Q fr #SommChat #Somm what level of #wine person is your @cwl_wine book Cote D’or written for and how did you decide to work with Classic Wine Library @blakeonwine

Raymond Blake @blakeonwine: #SommChat I was very keen that it should have broad appeal, so I made sure to put some colour into it, with small text boxes relating anecdotes and so forth. So, a general readership but also helpful, I hope, for those setting out on study of wine. I spoke to the series editor.

Keeper Collection @keepercoll: @blakeonwine what villages in #Burgundy do you feel are unappreciated and why? #SommChat

Raymond Blake @blakeonwine: #SommChat If you go north and south in the Côte d'Or - to Marsannay and Santenay & Maranges you can get great value and ever increasing quality. And red Chassagne-Montrachet remains the finest 'hidden' Burgundy that is yet to be discovered. It can be excellent eg Ramonet.

Ormiga @ormiga: cool tips #SommChat yes #chassagne #puligny other #montrachet remain among my favorites btw #jameson is also good ¿na?

Keeper Collection @keepercoll: Q fr #SommChat #Somm how many years have you been going to #Burgundy and what are some of the major changes you can seen since you have been going @blakeonwine ?

Raymond Blake @blakeonwine: #SommChat About 20+ years. It is so much more open to visitors now. The wining and dining scene in Beaune is remarkably transformed. The rise of small quality producers is fantastic and now also there are the micro-negoce - often Aussies or Americans making delicious wines.

Keeper Collection @keepercoll: Q fr #SommChat #Somm I agree that visiting is the best way to learn a #wine region, but have seen that it is getting harder and harder to get apps with #winemakers any thoughts/suggestions @blakeonwine

Raymond Blake @blakeonwine: #SommChat Yes, it is increasingly difficult. They are snowed under with requests and with seven short vintages after 2009 they had little wine for tasting either. Slightly dodging your question - I now find many wine bars and wine shops where I taste wine and discover new…

Raymond Blake @blakeonwine: #SommChat ... producers. The wine shop is Puligny is excellent and I have come across all sorts of delights there. Ditto the Caveau Municipale in Chassagne, where I first came across the wines of Duroché in Gevrey.

Keeper Collection @keepercoll: Q fr #SommChat #Somm I am a #wine Dir. At a #US resto and love #burgundy #wines - issues are 2: cost has risen so much that hard to get ppl to buy at price needed for list & we don’t have any space/$ to age on premise @blakeonwine any thoughts?

Raymond Blake @blakeonwine: #SommChat A piece of advice I always give is to buy the basic wine from a top producer. Also, be aware that a number of top Côte d'Or people are now making wine elsewhere in Burgundy eg D Lafon, Lafarge but I admit - this is a difficult circle to square.

Keeper Collection @keepercoll: Q fr #SommChat #Somm so gr8 to see a nice weather vintage in #Burgundy in 18 for the #winemakers, can U share any techniques they are doing relative to climate change @blakeonwine

Raymond Blake @blakeonwine: #SommChat I should say that I am not a viticulturist but earlier harvesting to get fresher flavours is certainly a trend (some disagree with this and say the crisp whites lack true character). If climate change can be blamed for more hail storms then the use of hail netting is…

Raymond Blake @blakeonwine: #SommChat ... also a 'technique'. As you drive into Beaune from the south you can see the vivid green of the nets in Pommard.

Keeper Collection @keepercoll: Q fr #SommChat #Somm i am just beginning to study #Burgundy for my theory portion of @MasterSommUS studies, do you have tips on how to master this area with so many villages with terroir nuances @blakeonwine

Raymond Blake @blakeonwine: #SommChat Read and taste. And repeat as necessary. There is a fab book of Burgundy maps that I have studied with a magnifying glass, by Sylvain Pitiot. The maps are also on an app called ClimaVinea. Really, really useful. But nothing beats putting your feet on the ground…

Raymond Blake @blakeonwine:#SommChat ... everything becomes clear then. Seeing, for the first time, the name of a wine on a sign at the entrance to a village is a moment never to be forgotten and everything that was muddle before then resolves into clarity. If at all possible, go visit.

Keeper Collection @keepercoll: @blakeonwine the #Somms are so active today that it has been hard for us to get any questions to you!!! Heard that you have a second book about #Burgundy can you tell us about this book #SommChat

Raymond Blake @blakeonwine: #SommChat It's called 'Breakfast in Burgundy' published by @skyhorsepub New York in 2014. Tells the story of myself and my wife buying a house in Burgundy & renovating it, learning how to make boeuf Bourguignon, shopping in the markets, visiting for harvest, making great friends.

Keeper Collection @keepercoll: Hey #SommChat peeps - GREAT NEWS today Use code BlakeChat30 at checkout 2 get 30% discount until midnight on March 14 4 any @cwl_wine book. Customers in US/Canada can buy books here: bit.ly/2Fj2C8m And everybody else can visit UK store here: bit.ly/2FkKlaR

Keeper Collection @keepercoll: Q fr #SommChat #Somm is your Cote D’or book @cwl_wine only available in paper format or is it also available in audio or for kindle @blakeonwine

Raymond Blake @blakeonwine: #SommChat My best suggestion is to check that with the publishers @Infinite_Ideas @cwl_wine

Keeper Collection @keepercoll: Q fr #SommChat #Somm do you agree with the geological discussions/findings about the historical climate impact from million of years ago on the terroir of #Burgundy and making it so special @blakeonwine

Raymond Blake @blakeonwine: #SommChat In general yes, I do agree. I am not a geologist but walking the vineyards reveals such marked changes - and then tasting the wines from one winemaker and all from the same vintage reveals such differences that it is hard to escape the geology argument. (Bit Muddled!)

Keeper Collection @keepercoll: Q fr #SommChat #Somm are there some young #winemakers that you have seen arise on the #Burgundy trail in the last few years that we should be on the look-out for? @blakeonwine

Raymond Blake @blakeonwine: #SommChat I love the wines of JM Vincent (imported by Kermit Lynch in the US) they punch way above their weight. I mentioned Duroché earlier. Don't want to be facetious but check my Côte d'Or book for more names.

Keeper Collection @keepercoll: @KermitLynchWine and @lylerailsback thought you would like to see that our #SommChat guest today suggested in #Burgundy

Keeper Collection @keepercoll: Time to wrap up! Hope you enjoyed this hour of #Burgundy #wine talk with Raymond Blake @blakeonwine #WineWednesday #SommChat

Raymond Blake @blakeonwine: #SommChat That hour went far too quickly! Anyone who still has questions - give me shout through Twitter - and thanks to everyone for your interest.

Keeper Collection @keepercoll: It was great to have Raymond join us today for #SommChat. We hope everyone learned as much as we did! #WineWednesday

Keeper Collection @keepercoll: Please join us in thanking Raymond Blake @blakeonwine for his time #SommChat

Ormiga @ormiga: good show #SommChat ps #hireme when need a writer will invite you to food

Raymond Blake @blakeonwine: Just popped a bottle of M Morey Chassagne-Montrachet 2014 into the fridge - to slake the thirst after upcoming #SommChat Looking forward to both... Questions about 'Breakfast in Burgundy' published by @skyhorsepub New York, 2014, also welcome. @RexPickett

Rex Pickett @RexPickett: A little early for me on the West Coast, but I'll try to make it. Congratulations on your book, Raymond.

Keeper Collection @KeeperColl: Great to see you @RexPickett on #SommChat and @blakeonwine was a great featured guest today!