11 replies to this topic

[AlesiUK]

i am looking for help,Jean Alesi grows his own wine in france,i think it is called "Clos l'Hermitage du Lirac from the Gard region" but i am not 100% certain.

do any Alesi fans(or others) know any more about this? like where it is grown,and where it can be bought??

Any help would be greatly apreciated:)

[Smooth]

Sorry, no, I thought this thread would be another JA tirade against 'Zee 'orribul driving aids!'.


;)

[AlesiUK]

Sorry, no, I thought this thread would be another JA tirade against 'Zee 'orribul driving aids!'.

love it!


Jean Alesi:1 man v 21 machines:)

[brett_sequeira]

i guess he must be having a sip before he does those inspired qualifying runs like he did today:lol:
no soor pal i really dont know but if you do find the name pray tell me too. i will toast the man on his own wines

[tifoso]

From the July Formula 1 Magazine profile on Jean Alesi:

Alesi's other passion outside racing is the vineyard that came with his house in the south of France. His Clos de l'Hermitage label has already won recognition. "I tried to make the quality better and help the guy who was running it financially. In 1998 we won the Gold Trophy in Macon, so already it is at a very high level. One of the top five of the Cote du Rhone."

I image you could buy it wherever good quality French imported wine is sold in your area.

[Linus27]

It is called Clos de l’Hermitage I think. Here is a link to somebody that sells it.

http://www.bassins.c...ones/south.html

[AlesiUK]

thanx for the help guys,much appreciated.


Maybe i can celebrate an Alesi win 2morrow.........

[tifoso]

AlesiUK, I'd celebrate with you as long as Coulthard was behind Schumacher in the results!

[MN]

He also makes his own olive oil.
Alesi's wife(Kumi) handing a bottle to a Japanese F1 journalist.

[Dudley]

Which of course leads to the most important question in F1.

Why the hell don't we see her instead of Erya!?!?

[MrAerodynamicist]

There was an article in the UK's Daily Telegraph today with Jaxs talking about wines.

http://portal.telegr...equestid=127923

Formula One star Jacques Villeneuve's nose for wine is as sharp as his steering, discovers Jeremy Hart


GROWING up in Quebec in the 1970s was not exactly a classical taste education for Jacques Villeneuve's palate. While children in France were introduced to wine mixed with water at an early age, French-Canadian Jacques was fed a liquid diet straight from the Coke machine.


Fuelling up: Jacques Villeneuve (left) and team-mate Olivier Panis in the Antinori cellar

"That was the way Canadian children grew up," says the 1997 World Formula One Champion, who tomorrow lines up at Silverstone to compete in the British Grand Prix for the BAR-Honda team. "But I moved to France when I was eight, so wine soon became part of life."

Now Villeneuve has one of the sharpest tongues on the Grand Prix grid, intellectually and oenologically speaking. He treats fools and bad wine with equal disdain.

"We travel all over the world with the Formula One championship and it is no coincidence that my favourite places are those where the wine and the food are best. Australia and European countries such as Spain, France and Italy," says Villeneuve. "You can generally find good wine in most places, but in somewhere like Brazil or Malaysia it is better to drink beer."

To see if his taste buds are as well honed as his driving, Alessia Antinori, the latest in 26 generations of Antinori family wine-makers from Tuscany and Umbria, ferreted through her cellar at the 14th-century Castello della Sala, near Orvieto, to find some wines for Villeneuve to sample. Villeneuve went to a private school at Villars in Switzerland with one of the aristocratic Antinori sisters.

"It is always worth being friends with the daughters of wine-makers," laughs Villeneuve, as Alessia unveils her collection of wines. All of them come from countries that host Grands Prix.

The collection is nothing if not eclectic. In among world-class vintages such as a 1967 Chateau d'Yquem Sauternes and a 1996 Penfolds Grange were some more down-to-earth wines, such as a West Australian 2000 Cape Mentelle Semillon Sauvignon and also Alessia's own Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot/ Syrah mix, a 1998 Guado.


Villeneuve at the Canadian Grand Prix in June 2000: last month he opened a restaurant in Montreal

"It is all very well lining up 15 or 20 wines that all cost thousands of dollars, but I thought it would be more fun to choose wines from all price ranges and of all different styles," says Alessia. "Just because a wine is expensive does not always make it good and vice versa."

Drinking and driving is not the image that Villeneuve or his team are keen to promote, but the Canadian is also quick to brush away the sterile image of many modern Formula One drivers, whose lives revolve around racing and technology.

"I would have a glass of wine or beer with dinner the night before a race, sure," he reveals. "Anything in moderation. If having a glass with your friends makes you happy, then that's positive, but if it takes 10 glasses to make you happy, then it is better to stick with soft drinks.

"I try to be as relaxed as I can on a race weekend and, if a glass of wine and a meal helps that, then fine."

Niki Lauda had an airline. Nigel Mansell owns a hotel in Devon. Now Villeneuve has joined the leisure market. In June, he opened a restaurant in his native Montreal, called Newtown.

"Owning a restaurant is a good excuse to drink good wine," he beams. "It is a restaurant, a lounge and a club. It started as a very small project with a friend of mine from Monaco. We just wanted a small place where we could go, have a coffee and relax. And it turned out to be a big place and is very exciting.

It is very French and Mediterranean, not American."

-------
Alessia Antinori chose 16 wines for Jacques Villeneuve. From that list, here are Villeneuve's top eight, in no particular order. By Jeremy Hart


Penfolds Grange 1996

"I knew this one already. It is very, very good. It is a very precise taste. You drink it and right away you know what is going in your mouth. Other wines tell you two or three other different things while you are drinking them. As far as I am concerned, it is Australia's best wine."

To order this wine online from our retail partners everywine.co.uk, click here.
Guado '98

"Just because it is your wine, Alessia, I don't have to be politic. I like it. But you can tell it has had a lot of sun, that very strong Mediterranean sun. You can also taste the oak and smell it. It feels older than 1998. It feels as if it has aged already."

1967 Chateau d'Yquem Sauternes

"I am a big fan of dessert wines. I have a sweet tooth. I can drink them any day. I am surprised because it is very light compared with some other years. I drank a 1921 and it was heavier. It is delicate. And, yeah, it is worth the £2,000 or whatever the bottle costs."

To order this wine online, click here.
Nyetimber Classic Blend 1993, Brut, England (blind taste)

"You are joking! An English champagne, or should I say sparkling wine? It's pretty good. In fact, it's a lot better than a lot of the French Champagnes I have had. The bubbles are not too big and there is a nutty flavour."

To order Nyetimber wines online, click here.
Dr Loosen/Armand Riesling Kabinett 1998

"Wow, it burns the nose a little when you breathe it. Also, it tastes vaguely of apple . . . I don't know if that is possible? It is very fruity. I think it would be ideal as an aperitif. To be honest German wines don't rate very high on my list, but this is delicious."

To order Dr Loosen wines online, click here.
Southbrook Estate Framboise, Ontario, Canada (blind taste)

"Where's this from? France, Germany, England? Canada! This? It is very fruity and alcoholic. I've had strawberry and raspberry wine before and it was strange to drink. This one is actually drinkable. I knew Canada made wines, but I knew about the ice wines from Niagara mainly."

To order Canadian wines online, click here.
Wynns John Riddoch Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 1994

"It is an earthy taste, but it is also very fruity. At first, it feels as if it's going to be too acidic, but then it's OK. Then, 30 seconds later, it is bone dry. It is like drinking three different wines in one. I like big reds and this has lots of character. The quality of Australian wines keeps getting better."

Cape Mentelle Semillon Sauvignon 2000 Margaret River, Western Australia

"I didn't realise they made wines out west. At first, I thought it smelled a little of apple, but it doesn't taste of it. It is very flowery, a little bit young. It is very fresh and intense. In a year or two, it should be a lot better."

[iconic]

alesi's wife is a babe