What's Going On in the World of French Wines

A few weeks ago I found myself in the midst of a bit of a wine dilemma. I was in the process of planning my Mother’s 60th surprise birthday party and I was trying to organize the wines with the menu for dinner. Starting off with Champagne was a pretty obvious choice, and I knew it would go nicely with the two appetizers the caterer had suggested, so that part was pretty easy. But I have to admit that I had some difficulty with the appetizer and the entrée. My difficulty stemmed from the fact that I had to balance the wines that I wanted to pair and thought would pair best with the menu, with the need to serve wines that my guests would enjoy.

The appetizer was to be a goat cheese tart topped with mixed roasted vegetables and a small frisée salad. In my mind, this was a course that called for a Sauvignon Blanc or a Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon blend. However, when thinking about the family members who would be attending the party, I needed to take into consideration what kind of wine would best suit my guests’ tastes. I knew ahead of time that I was going to have quite a mix of palates at the party. I would have several wine enthusiasts, several novices, and quite a few individuals who don’t really care much for wine. It was important to me to have a wine that would work for all of these different types of wine drinkers. Adding to the challenge was the fact that I knew that a few folks wouldn’t drink the red wine I was planning on serving with the main course, so the white needed to be fairly substantial.

So how did it all turn out? Well, for the first course I chose to serve a Vouvray, a Chenin Blanc with some residual sugar. I knew that several of the people who would be attending tend to prefer wines with some residual sugar to them, so that was one of the key reasons I chose it over a Sauvignon Blanc. The issue of residual sugar in wine is an interesting one to me. There are lots of folks out there who seem to believe that if a wine has residual sugar to it, then it is either less sophisticated or downright bad. Other wine snobs will tell you that people who prefer sweeter wines have less-sophisticated palates. I don’t particularly care to pay attention to either point of view. While I will definitely agree that there are lots of wines made with residual sugar that are not very good, then again, I will also point out that there are also lots of dry wines out there that aren’t so hot either. The key to me is whether or not the wine is in balance.

Personally, I love wines with a sweet side, but in order for me to love them, they need to also have a high level of acidity to balance the sweetness. This way, the sugar doesn’t make the wine seem cloying, but rather refreshing. So a good quality Vouvray, which is made with Chenin Blanc which is a grape with lots of racy acidity, is rarely sticky sweet and syrupy, but rather vibrant and mouth-watering. And in terms of that whole “sophisticated” palate argument, I often wonder why people think that is so important anyway. Why does having a “sophisticated” palate make you better? Do you enjoy your food more? Speaking for myself, some of my very favorite meals that I have ever had were not elaborate exotic chef creations, but were fresh, in-season foods that were simply prepared. My goal for my Mother’s party was that people had a pleasurable meal with good food and good wine – it wasn’t about a palate challenge to rate sophistication levels. When so much of our experiences with wine come down to whether or not we have a pleasurable experience with it, why do we worry so much about what other people think?

Now the Vouvray might not have been my number one choice for a pairing match for the goat cheese tart, but it was a fine pairing, and I also knew that it would go fairly well with the main course, which was a beef stew. I also served a red Bordeaux with the stew as there were some people at the party who were red wine lovers and well, to be honest, the beef and Bordeaux combo is a personal favorite of my Mother’s (and mine, for that matter).

In the end, the party – especially the surprise of it – was a great success and everyone seemed to enjoy both the food and the wine. Which for me, was the sweetest part of it all.

I’ll be honest – I’ve always considered Burgundy to be my Achilles heel of the wine world: I love the wines from this region of France and find them completely fascinating, but the sheer number of different appellations and vineyards, as well as producers, has always confused me a little bit. Add to that the fact that I don’t really speak any French, so the names on the bottle frequently don’t sound the same way as they are spelled, and you have a bit of a challenge.

What’s a wine lover to do? Well, for one thing, you can’t let it stop you. You have to bravely plunge right into Burgundy because if you decide to skip drinking Burgundy, then you will definitely be missing out on some of the most wonderful wines in all of France. So to help you along on your journey of discovering Burgundy, this is the first of two posts that cover some of the key things you need to know about Burgundy and how you can work on developing a better understanding of this incredible region.

Let’s start off with a little bit of history about Burgundy. This is a region that has been making wine since at least the 4th century AD – if not before. While it is likely that the Romans brought some grapevines with them when they invaded Gaul way back in the 1st century AD, it is also believed that there were already vines being farmed in Burgundy for the purpose of making wine. Unfortunately, detailed record-keeping wasn’t popular until much later, so we will never know the exact details of the origins of the Burgundian wine industry. But by the Middle Ages, we can be very certain that grapes were being grown by nobles and peasants alike. Part of why we know this has to do with the fact that during the Middle Ages in Burgundy, wine-making became one of the central activities of the monks of Burgundy and it was this group that truly revolutionized the winemaking of the region.

As the Church owned a vast amount of vineyards and monks had the time, skill and resources to study the different grapes and vineyards, it was a natural fit. Over time, through intense study and documentation, monks helped to identify the best sites in the region and also which grapes produced the best wines on those sites. The region of Burgundy is very closely tied to the concept of TERROIR, which can be loosely translated to mean “the taste of a place.” Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are grapes that are reflective of their terroir – meaning that the wines produced in Burgundy from these grapes will taste differently, depending on which particular vineyards they are grown in. “Terroir” is thus a combination of grape, climate, exposure, soil and, last but not least, human know-how. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay were identified very early on as grapes that were capable of producing exceptional wines in Burgundy, with its limestone soil and cool climate.

Therefore, after centuries of work, the Burgundians feel strongly that it is best to concentrate on two main grapes: Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. In fact, as far back as the 14th century, it was recognized that Pinot Noir produced better wines than other red grapes that were being grown in the area. So almost all of the white wine from Burgundy is made from the Chardonnay grape and almost all of the red wine from Burgundy is made from the Pinot Noir grape. (There are, as always, just a few exceptions, but only a few, so it is pretty safe to stick with knowing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.)

So what do these wines taste like? Well, there is a good deal of variation depending on where exactly in Burgundy the grapes are grown, thanks to terroir. But overall, you can describe the whites as being elegant and mineral with little to moderate amounts of oak. The use of new oak, which gives wines a toasty, vanilla note, is not as popular in Burgundy as it is in other places around the wine world, so many of the whites do not see 100% new oak, but instead only a proportion of new oak. Depending on the appellation, which we will address in the next post, the Chardonnays of Burgundy can be nutty, taste of golden apples, lemons, and spice, or be lean with notes of green apples and minerals.

The reds, made of Pinot Noir, tend to be moderately intense in color, sometimes even on the pale side, as Pinot Noir doesn’t have as much color potential as other red grapes. On the nose they are aromatic, with notes of red fruits and spices. Pinot Noir tends to make wines with supple, silky tannins and a smooth mouth-feel. The wines can have earthy aromas and flavors, but also hints of raspberries, cherries and cooking spices. The best examples from Burgundy are capable of extensive aging and will only get better with time. The common thread for both the reds and whites of Burgundy is how food-friendly these wines are, as Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs from Burgundy tend to have high levels of mouth-watering acidity and moderate levels of alcohol.

In my next post, we’ll get into the different appellations of Burgundy and how to deal with the challenge of buying wines from this region.

Very few grapes have dominated the wine industry like the white grape known as Chardonnay. Almost no other grape seems to have the same name recognition or awareness. Many consider Chardonnay to be the “King” of the grape world, although in recent years there has been a movement afoot to challenge its global domination – you will find some wine lovers who live by the “ABC” code: anything but Chardonnay. Despite issues of over-planting and the fact that there is a lot of inferior Chardonnay out there on the market, Chardonnay remains a grape that we shouldn’t hesitate to put on a pedestal.

Chardonnay’s most famous home is in Burgundy, where it is the grape that gives us both the steely, mineral, green apply wines made in Chablis, as well as the buttery, rich, full-bodied wines of Meursault. While Chardonnay has proved itself to be a fairly easy grape to grow, it thrives in cooler climates. This is one reason why it does well not only in Burgundy, but in Champagne as well. Chardonnay is one of the most popular white grapes in France and it can be found in the Savoie, the Jura, the Loire and the Languedoc, to name just a few. Chardonnay can also be found all over the world – most notably in California, Australia, New Zealand, Chile and Italy (but the list is much longer).

Characteristics of Chardonnay can run the gamut – few other grapes are as versatile and also as responsive to a winemaker’s skills. The color of Chardonnay wines can range from a pale, greenish yellow to deep gold. The color will vary depending on the region and climate, with cooler areas producing wines with less pigmentation and warmer spots producing wines with deeper colors. Another influencing factor is whether or not the wine has been aged in oak barrels. Aging Chardonnay in small oak barrels will produce a wine that is a bit darker when compared to a Chardonnay that has been kept in a stainless steel tank.

Many people think that Chardonnay can only smell like butter or toast, but in reality, the aromatic profile of Chardonnay is very diverse and interesting. Notes of cucumbers, wet stones, green apples, grapefruits, lemons, limes, melons, pears, quince, figs, and golden apples can be found in addition to the common descriptors of vanilla, toast, butterscotch, honey and nuts. Like the color, the nose of a Chardonnay will depend on where the grapes were grown and how the wine was made. Unoaked Chardonnay from a cool climate will tend to have more citrus and green apple notes, while an oaked Chardonnay from a warmer climate will show off a more vanilla, toasty, golden apple profile.

While many consumers think of Chardonnay as having the strange ability to taste like buttered popcorn, this is not the only palate profile for this grape. Chardonnay can range from medium to full-bodied with an alcohol level that runs from medium/balanced to high. The acidity level for a good quality Chardonnay is typically on the crisper side, but if grown in too warm of a climate, it can seem quite flabby. There are a number of winemaking techniques that can affect the character of a chardonnay. If it is kept on its lees (a nice word to describe the sediment created during the fermentation process), a Chardonnay can taste creamy or rich on the palate. Chardonnays are also frequently put through something called a malolactic fermentation (usually abbreviated as MLF). This is a process where lactic acid bacteria convert malic acid (like the acid found in a green apple) to lactic acid (think of the acid in milk). The conversion of the malic acid to lactic acid can further emphasize the creaminess of a Chardonnay and it is also one factor behind that buttery aroma so common to Chardonnay.

While Chardonnay has developed a bit of a bad rap these last few years, it still remains an incredibly food-friendly and versatile wine (when not too heavily oaked and too high in alcohol). If you are a Chardonnay lover or would like to rediscover food-friendly Chardonnays, take a look through my list. You will find a number of different Chardonnays to suit any palate and pocketbook. There are several wines from Burgundy, but also a few from the South of France, which are typically a bit riper and less-acidic. And don’t forget to drop me a line and let me know if you have a favorite French Chardonnay that you would like me to try! I’m always on the lookout for new wines.

Last night was the first evening workout for the half marathon program that I have signed up for. After running several half marathons and 1 full marathon in the last 6 years, I finally decided to sign up for a training program to help me stay honest with my workouts and to try to improve my pace and form. While I was running, I started chatting with Sarah, a young graduate student who is preparing to run her first half-marathon. As we attempted to break up the monotony of running laps around the track, Sarah asked me what I do. I proceeded to tell her about working as the Spokesperson for Wines of France and my job as a wine educator. It is always interesting to tell people about what I do – it is usually something that catches people a bit off guard and it typically leads to a fun conversation about wine.

Sarah’s response was interesting. She said, “Ah, well, maybe you can tell me a red wine that I would enjoy, I tend to only drink white wines.” I asked her to tell me a bit more about what she disliked about red wines and her answers surprised me. I expected her to say that she found reds bitter or too dry, but instead, she said “they aren’t very refreshing. I find reds too hot and heavy. I really love Sauvignon Blanc and it always tastes so fresh.”

I found Sarah’s reasoning fascinating on any number of levels, not the least of which is that her answer was a bit different from most I have gotten on this topic in the past. Temperature is one of those things that we don’t talk enough about when it comes to wine. Serving temperature, along with several other factors including alcohol level, plays a very important role in determining how “heavy” or “light” we might perceive a wine to be when we taste it and smell it. A white wine served too cold will seem tasteless, while a red that has been overly chilled will come across as metallic and bitter. At the opposite end of the spectrum, wines (both red and white) that are served too warm will be flabby and flat. And if a wine has a very high level of alcohol, then if served too warm it will seem to be excessively alcoholic and hot. Wines seem more aromatic when served on the warmer side (around 64 degrees F) and can seem to have little or no nose if served too cold (around 46 degrees F).

We’ve talked about cellar temperature before when it comes to keeping wine for a long period of time. While cellar temperature can be a range (from 50 to 60 degrees F), the ideal cellar temperature is right around 59 degrees F. Most people think about serving red wines at room temperature, but really, the majority of reds should actually be served at cellar temperature – not room temperature. What I typically suggest is that you put your red wine in the fridge for 15 to 20 minutes before you serve it or place it in an ice bucket (ice mixed with water) and chill it for 10 to 15 minutes. With whites, you need to think about how cold your refrigerator might be. Most fridges are actually colder than cellar temperature (they should be at 37 degrees F) and many whites should be served somewhere between 45 and 55 degrees F (it will depend a little bit on the type of white). So if that’s the case, I would suggest that you take your white wine OUT of the fridge 10 to 15 minutes before you serve it.

After giving Sarah a few suggestions on serving temperature, I also recommended that she try out a few lighter reds that can be served on the very cool side, like a Beaujolais or a Loire Valley Cabernet Franc. She promised me that she would look for some reds and let me know what she thinks. We all meet back up on Sunday for a long run, so I will see if she had a chance to try anything out. In the meantime, I’m curious to see if any of you ever take the temperature of your wines before you serve them or if you cool your reds prior to opening them. Drop me a line and let me know!