CQ's Wine Guide to France Part 6: Rhone

Organization

The wines of the Rhone are not classified into a cru system. Varietals are usually blended and some appellations are very large while others are miniscule. To make matters even more confusing, red and white varietals are often blended. The only rule of thumb exists in that Northern Rhone reds are typically dominated by Syrah and those of the South are usually made mostly from Grenache. Otherwise the style of the wines is highly dependent on ratings and cultural bias and must be individually discussed.

CQ's Wine Guide to France Part 5: Burgundy

Organization

1. The best wines are classified as grand cru, followed by premiere cru, village level wines, and regional wines.
2. Grape-growers often own no more than a row or two of vines due to the inheritance laws associated with the Napoleonic Code.
3. Negociants, more so than any other region in France, play and active role in the vinification, bottling, ageing, and distribution of wines.
4. The best wines are some of the most highly collected and expensive wines in the world.
5. Historically one of the oldest wine-producing regions in France established by the Catholic Church. 
   

CQ's Wine Guide to France Part 4: Bordeaux

Organization

1. According to the Classification of 1855, the districts of St. Estephe, Paulliac, St. Julien, Margaux, and Graves are organized into 5 crus. The merchants of London based this classification on sales of the time. The wines have since not been reclassified. St. Emilion is reclassified every ten years into grand cru and premier grand cru wines. Pomerol and other satellite appellations are not classified.
2. A complex system of buyers and sellers exists that drives prices of the best wines and guarantees economic status for the best wines. The unclassified wineries however tend to suffer and have trouble selling their wines.
3. The wines of the left bank tend to favor Cabernet Sauvignon and those of the right bank favor Merlot.
   

CQ's Wine Guide to France Part 3: The Loire

Organization

The Loire Valley is one of France’s largest and most diverse wine producing regions. Every year it seems new appellations are added and/or redefined. Still the dominant wines are from the Eastern most Loire, Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume. There is no “cru” system in place, however, producers now more so than ever are adding vineyard names to their wines to indicate a higher quality level to the consumer.

CQ's Wine Guide to France Part 2: Champagne

Classification

1. 17 Grand Cru vineyards
2. Tete de Cuvee is the top quality wine for each producer
3. Grower bottlers v. Grand Marques

Five areas of major production

1. Montagne de Reims – mostly Pinot Noir
2. Cote de Sezanne – mostly Chardonnay
3. Cote de Blancs – mostly Chardonnay
4. Valley of the Marne – all three grapes, but mostly Pinot Meunier
5. Aube – mostly Pinot Noir
   
   

CQ's Wine Guide to France Part 1: Alsace

Organization

There are 50 Grand Cru vineyards. The system was developed in the 1970’s and made official in 1983. Many prominent producers are against the grand cru system claiming that the sites are arbitrarily defined and do not take in to account the terroir of the specific regions. Historically traded hands between German and French government for generations. The German influence lies in the choice of varietals planted in the vineyards, but French wine-making techniques are employed for white wines. Whites are higher alcohol than German counterparts. The amount of residual sugar in the finished wine is largely a choice of the winemaker. It is a myth that Alsace whites are always dry.

CQ's Wine Guide Series

It occurred to me this morning after re-reading my article on Alsace wine that I should publish a series of documents that I produced for my friends at work.  About a year ago, I lead a seminar in six parts of wine-tasting to help identify major varietals and characteristics of each major region of France.  I distributed, each week, a handout that had all of the "quick and dirty" basic facts necessary to understand the region on a basic level from a waiter's point of view.

Wines of Alsace: To Blend or Not to Blend

The wines of Alsace were some of the first ones that I fell in love with when I began working at Legal Sea Food during graduate school years ago. I latched on to them quickly because they are immediately enjoyable, go great with food, and are a very easy sell being mostly varietally labeled. Trimbach's popular Pinot Gris seemed to flow from the faucet at Legal and I would guess still does several years later despite vintage roll-overs.  I'm sure I made hundreds of extra dollars over the course of a year just from being familiar with it and suggesting it to my guests.  It never failed that folks would love it and order that ever important second glass, or just get the bottle on their next visit. Obviously a fan, I would add that in general Trimbach makes some of the most interesting, complex, and age worthy wines in Alsace that happen to be varietally labeled. The purpose of this article is not to bash established and respected producers, but to raise some questions that might spark curiosity of a region that seems straightforward, and to increase awareness of some styles of wine from Alsace that might otherwise go unappreciated.  Alsace wine-making tradition, in fact, is filled with some of the most controversy in terms of labeling laws, vineyard practices, and philosophy of any region in France today. Disclaimer: this one is for wine geeks!

"Those French people will eat just about anything..."

I was recently reminded of a luncheon that my mother served years ago with my maternal and paternal grandmothers in attendance. A little background... My dad's mother is of Cajun descent, and my mother's mother is German/Irish. Food is a true way of life in Southern Louisiana. Each household has its own recipes and closely guarded family secrets of how to make the best Gumbo or Pecan Pie. I think my overwhelming obsession of food these days has a lot to do with this fact of life in the Deep South. To say that there was a rivalry for the affections of the family when it came to cooking between the two grandmothers is a bit of an understatement, which makes the ensuing events even more funny.