Please contact me for private tasting parties on (646)322-3658 or email Karl@charlemagnefinewines.com

Allow me to introduce you to Castello Monterinaldi near Radda in Chianti

February 16 2014 posted by Karl Curran
A good friend of mine Inge Hoste kindly hooked me up with this fine estate. Castello Monterinaldi is based in the hills of the Chianti region situated forty-five minutes south of Florence. I had such a struggle this morning getting my rental car sorted out. It was like one of those parodies in a ‘Faulty Towers’ episode. I arrived at the Europcar office, camera and apple-tablet in hand eager to get on the road for my first meeting of this tasting season. As I reached the desk I was to be told by my not so humble servant, your chariot does not await you m’lud. “What do you mean I need a Voucher?” I said to the five-o-clock shadowed extra from scarface. I was careful though, as I know my canny little European friend was waiting for an excuse to not do business with this seemingly arrogant American, whom...

Coffee in Firenze can be inspirational…

April 26 2013 posted by Karl Curran
Walking into a typical Italian café for breakfast, which in Italy is usually a café latte and a pastry for me. There is one particular pastry I love in Italy. It’s a donut filled with custard. Yum, really delicious and their coffee, made with an espresso poured into a jug of hot milk, is what dreams are made of. So this particular morning I was in Firenze, by all accounts one of the most beautiful cities on the face of God’s earth. I was kinda sleepy and needed that coffee to wake me up. As I entered the café, a lady was standing outside the door wearing a large coat. The weather was fairly balmy, and I could tell within two hours give or take, it was gonna be sticky hot. She had Kleenex tissues in one hand and socks and underwear in the other, all for sale. She...

French Etiquette: A Very French Tale

April 2 2013 posted by Karl Curran
There I was driving through the French countryside in my shitty little Renault Clio, I realized that not all foreigners understand how attached the French are to their dining culture and French etiquette. Are you aware that the entire country more or less grinds to a halt between noon and two p.m? And did you know that later in the evening, dinner is served from seven till nine and beyond? This is not up for debate or choice, it is what it is! The French believe that family values are of national importance, le repas du midi, (lunch) is sacrosanct. French families, work colleagues, school chums, whomever, all congregate at noon, whether it is at home, the factory canteen or in a restaurant, and they eat together. They discuss the up’s and down’s of their daily lives. In towns and villages all over France the line outside the boulangerie...

Chateau d’Armajan Des Ormes, Sauternes France

March 27 2013 posted by Karl Curran
I made a cold call from my home in Pasadena, California, to the owners of Chateau Beauregard Ducasse in the Graves area of Bordeaux. The Perromat Family owns the estate, the French call it une exploitation. Exploitation is the French word for a farm, property, or general enterprise in the agricultural sector. In the world of wine in Bordeaux, especially the Medoc, there are few family owned and run estates. For the most part in the Medoc, they are owned and run by insurance companies, banks, major private equity groups and such-like. In the right bank and further south in the Graves appellations, some families have held onto the land and still run the estates. The average size of a property on the right bank is considerably smaller to that of the left bank. The right bank averages out at roughly seven hectares; if I am not mistaken, in the...