What's Going On in the World of French Wines

Last week I spotted a nice article in the Wall Street Journal by Will Lyons highlighting the terrific 2009 vintage in France. While I always think it is good to take a realistic view of vintage reports, there are some years where certain regions are definitely blessed with ideal weather conditions. 2009, as Lyon points out, is one of those vintages and it has produced some outstanding wines. The wines of Bordeaux, in particular, have been in the news quite a lot lately as wine critics around the world have released their assessments of the 2009 vintage. However, it is worth noting that it isn’t just the 2009 Bordeaux wines that …

Recently I had the pleasure of spending some time with Wine Internet Superstar Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library TV. I have to admit, I really had no idea how the interview was going to go – but when it was all said and done, this interview definitely ranks at the top of my list. I hope you enjoy listening to our chat and be sure to check out what happens at the end of the interview when I challenge Gary to a cork drop game!

To watch the interview, click here or press the play button on the video at the top right corner

In some ways, Gamay is the Rodney Dangerfield of the grape world – all it wants is a little respect. For centuries, Gamay has struggled to be seen as a serious contender. In 1395 for example, Philip the Bold, duke of Burgundy, issued a decree that outlawed the use of Gamay in Burgundian wine. His reasoning was that Gamay was not suited to producing quality wines and that the vine yielded too many grapes.

Over the last 613 years though, it has become clear that while Gamay might not be suited to Burgundy, it is very much suited to the Beaujolais region, as well as several others. And while Gamay might not produce the world-class age-worthy …

For many wine lovers, Thanksgiving isn’t so much about the turkey as it is about the chance to sample the latest vintage of Beaujolais Nouveau. Each year on the third Thursday in November, Beaujolais Nouveau, one of the very first French wines of the new vintage, is released onto the market. Although today the release of Beaujolais Nouveau is still met with enthusiasm, years ago the anticipation of the release date was so great that it became a contest as to who could sample the wine first.

Hype aside, there is a good deal to appreciate about the wines of Beaujolais and there is much more to the region than just Beaujolais Nouveau. While many wine classes …