What's Going On in the World of French Wines

A few weeks ago I had a really interesting conversation with a fellow wine educator about coffee. Last spring, as part of our CSA/farm-share program, Bill and I started getting a one pound bag of whole bean single-origin coffee every other week, thanks to a local roasting company. This, naturally, led us to start thinking a bit more about what kinds of coffee we prefer. We were able to see (taste) that there was one type of roast we favored over the others, but because we got the coffee every other week, it was hard to compare countries or regions and so we just weren’t able to keep track of our favorites. But after my conversation with my friend, who has done some rather extensive tastings of coffee and really zeroed in on what she liked and didn’t like, I was inspired to try again.

So, luckily for me, last week one of our local gourmet stores was having a pretty big sale on coffee and tea (we’ll have to save the tea discussion for another post). So since we were actually pretty low on coffee beans anyway, I decided to use the opportunity to stock up on a few different coffees from around the world to see if I could make any conclusions about our tastes in coffee.

Just to give a little background, Bill and I have coffee every morning (most mornings it is the only thing that gets me to open my eyes willingly). We are pretty much at the opposite ends of the coffee spectrum – he drinks his black and I take mine with a good deal of milk (according to Bill, who usually makes my coffee, the mix is 55% milk (which has to be heated so it doesn’t make the coffee cold), 45% coffee and just a little bit of sugar (not that I’m high maintenance or anything…). But oddly enough, even though we take our coffee very differently, we both seem to like the same kinds. Which, it turns out, tend to be beans sourced mainly from Central and South America. For some reason, and believe you me, I’m still trying to work out my tasting notes for coffee, we both find the lighter flavors of these regions coupled with the higher acidity, slight floral and chocolaty notes to be pretty appealing. And, in addition to the Nicaraguan and Peruvian coffees we’ve taken a shine to, we both love one flavored coffee we’ve found – a Cinnamon-Hazelnut blend. I know some people would say that drinking flavored coffee is, well, maybe indicative of unsophisticated coffee palates, but I say it is a bit like people looking down on sweet wines…if YOU like it and enjoy it (and trust me, I do really enjoy those mornings Bill makes the cinnamon-hazelnut coffee) then who cares what other people think!

And of course all of our discussions about coffee beans got me thinking about the concept of terroir, or the taste of a place. In the past this term has been used primarily in reference to wine, but increasingly it is a word that is being applied to coffee, chocolate, cheese and any number of different vegetables and fruits sold at local markets. The French are particularly fascinated with terroir and it is this idea, that each place has a different taste, that was used as the basis for developing the Appellation Controlee system years ago.

I was really interested in looking at the single-origin coffee beans because I felt that it would be an interesting palate exercise to see if I could find big differences in coffees from different growing spots around the world. We also threw in one twist to our experiment by buying some beans from a certain location in both a “regular” style and then a “pasa” style. The “pasa” beans had been left on the plant to shrivel like raisins, which naturally reminded me of the grapes affected by noble rot that are used to make Sauternes in Bordeaux. Although the two styles were very distinctive (and delicious), there was definitely a taste that was common to both.

Overall, I would say that like wine, we felt that the coffee beans we tried did show some regional differences. I don’t know about you, but I find this idea of tasting a place so interesting and exciting. I thought it was pretty neat that like wine, we were able to taste so many different nuances in the different coffees we tried and also that each location seemed to have a unique taste. It reminded me of how much fun it is to drink broadly – that drinking wines from all over really allows you to realize the special characteristics that make each grape variety and each region interesting.

Why should you care about terroir? Well, just like each of us is a unique individual (with a unique palate), terroir is something that can make wines distinctive. Unfortunately, terroir is one of those really hard taste concepts to put into words – it sort of comes down to a particular taste or feeling you get from something. I’ve always found that the smaller the location from which you are sourcing a product, the more intense the sense of place, but I do find that even wines made with grapes that are grown in multiple regions and then blended can still have some kind of identity (although this does also depend on the skill of the winemaker). But perhaps if we can start identifying differences in food products, maybe it will help us to understand wines better, and in turn, this will encourage us to do what we can to preserve these differences and embrace them. After all, one of the other things our coffee terroir experiment taught us was that there were a number of different coffee terroirs that we really liked and that the best week of coffee involved rotating through several different types.
Be sure to let me know if you’ve ever done a “terroir” experiment with your food or beverages and what the outcome was. I’d love to hear about it!

In the first part of my Burgundy post we discussed some of the history of the region, the concept of terroir (the taste of a place) and the main grapes of the region (Pinot Noir and Chardonnay). In this part, we will go over the main regions of Burgundy and also cover some tips for buying Burgundy wines.

Burgundy can be divided up into several main regions. We’ll start with the northern end of the region, which is where we find Chablis. Millions of years ago, the area around Chablis was actually under water, and today you can still find fossils of oyster shells in the limestone-clay soils of the region. The wines of Chablis are white, and all made with 100% Chardonnay. Most of the wines from this very cool climate are going to be crisp in acid with notes of green apples and a gunflint/mineral character. It used to be that there was very little new oak used in Chablis, but now you will find some producers who use it. When you are shopping for Chablis, you will find wines with labels that say Appellation Contrôlée (AOC for short) Chablis, AOC Chablis Premier Cru and AOC Grand Cru.

As we make our way from North to South, the next part of Burgundy is the Côte d’Or, which is actually divided into two sections – Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune. There are 25 villages (also called communes) in the Côte d’Or which produce wines from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. You can see from the map below the names of all of those different villages. While both the Côte de Nuits and the Côte de Beaune produce red and white wines, the Côte de Nuits is more known for its red wines and the Côte de Beaune more respected for its whites (but you can’t deny that it does also produce some excellent red wines).

There are two main appellations that cover pretty much all of Burgundy: Bourgogne Rouge (Pinot Noir) and Bourgogne Blanc (Chardonnay). If the grapes are grown in one particular village or even from a specific vineyard in a village, then the wine might be entitled to a more specific AOC (Bourgogne Rouge and Blanc are pretty broad appellations). So here is where it starts to get a bit more confusing: within the 25 villages of the Côte d’Or, you will find a large number of vineyards that have their own appellation. Some of these vineyards have also earned special designations. There are those classified as Premier Cru and then there are those elite sites that are considered the best of the best that are classified as Grand Cru sites. There are so many different appellations to mention that it might take weeks for us to discuss them all! (If you would like more information on each specific village, I suggest starting with Jancis Robinson’s Oxford Companion to Wine – it is THE reference book every wine lover should own.)

While it is true that Premier Cru and Grand Cru Burgundies are very expensive, the majority of wines produced in Burgundy are actually pretty affordable. You can find a wide selection of good quality Burgundies priced between $15 and $35. I recommend that you start off looking for wines that have “Bourgogne” on the label (followed by Blanc (or Chardonnay) or Rouge (or Pinot Noir). You can find several to try on my list – like the Burgundy Hills Pinot Noir, the Domaine Faiveley Bourgogne Blanc & Rouge, Maison Joseph Drouhin Laforet Chardonnay & Pinot Noir, and the Olivier Leflaive Bourgogne “Les Setilles.” Wines labeled Côte-de Beaune-Villages or Côte-de-Nuits-Villages can be a good value and I also suggest keeping your eyes peeled for good values from some of the lesser-known villages like Marsannay, Fixin, Savigny-lès-Beaune and St.-Aubin.

Further down the road in Burgundy you will find the Côte Chalonnaise and below that, the Mâconnais. The Côte Chalonnaise produces both red and white wines that can offer very good values for Burgundy – look for wines from Rully, Mercurey, Givry and Montagny in particular. The Mâconnais, which is home to the well-known Pouilly-Fuissé appellation, producers mostly white wines, but there are still some reds made, too. The wines of the Mâconnais region can also offer some excellent values for Burgundy lovers: I suggest looking for wines labeled as Mâcon-Villages, Viré-Clessé, St Véran and, of course, Pouilly-Fuissé. Two to try from my list are the Labouré-Roi Pouilly Fuissé Vallon d’Or and the Domaine des Valanges Macon-Fuissé.

One of the important things to understand about Burgundy is that it has a very fractured vineyard system, where it is possible that a single vineyard can potentially have multiple owners. This fractured system has to do with several things – the fact that vineyards were predominantly owned by the Church up until the French Revolution, the fact that the Napoleonic law of succession, which divides an estate equally between an individual’s heirs, has traditionally been enforced in Burgundy, and the fact that land is so highly valued and expensive in this region.

All of these factors have contributed to why négociants, or wine merchants, are so popular in Burgundy. Négociants such as Jadot and Latour, to name only two, buy up grapes or wine from various grape-growers in Burgundy and then produce wines under their own private label. (Many grape-growers in Burgundy simply don’t produce enough grapes to make bottling and selling the wine worthwhile.) The positive side to this, and what makes a complex region somewhat easier to navigate, is that when you find a négociant you like, you will also usually discover that this same négociant makes wines from other villages and vineyards in Burgundy. So, by looking for the negociant’s name, you have the unique opportunity to taste all of the different terroirs to find the wines that best suit your palate.

Yes, Burgundy can be a challenge, but for most, it remains a puzzle well worth attempting to decipher. There are very few regions in the world that produce wines from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir as exquisite and memorable. So go ahead and take the plunge into Burgundy. I don’t think you will regret it!

By now, hopefully lots of you have watched the interview with Gary Vaynerchuk over on the right of your screen. The wine world is a funny place – there aren’t a whole lot of “celebrities.” But if you were to make a list of the folks who are considered vinous “rock stars,” Gary V’s name would definitely be on that list. For those of you who might not know Gary, he has caused quite a stir among wine experts and wine lovers around the world in the last few years. Using the tools of the Internet, Gary has taken to the web to spread the gospel of wine and he has done it in a very down-to-earth, entertaining and HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL way.

I have to say, I was really a little unsure of what to expect when I met Gary a few weeks ago to do the taping for the interview. Would this guy (the same one who has gotten Conan O’Brien and Ellen DeGeneres to smell sweaty gym socks) be friendly and down to earth in person or would he be a prima donna with an ego the size of a Robert Parker 100-point wine? I was a little worried about how I might manage to get a word in with a guy who reminded me of Crazy Eddie (anyone remember his wild antics and ads from the 80s?)!

Turns out, Gary V is a truly fascinating person to chat with. If fact, I was almost sorry when the interview was over I had such a good time! It is always great to meet someone who understands and appreciates the pure pleasure of wine. Wine isn’t something stuffy and elitist to Gary – it is something that is simply, well, FUN. My hat is off to Gary for his devotion to his mission to make wine more accessible and fun for everyone – and if he does end up buying the Jets someday, I can’t wait for those NFL wine bars!

And while we are on the subject of well-known wine people, I did want to take a moment and pay my respects to Didier Dagueneau, one of the world’s premier Sauvignon Blanc producers and a true “rock” star. Dagueneau passed away this week at the age of 52. A winemaker in the Loire Valley, Dagueneau was known for being an innovator and for his constant quest to produce outstanding wines. Two of Dagueneau’s Pouilly Fumes, Silex and Pur Sang, were especially known for their minerality as well as for their exposure to oak. Dagueneau’s terroir-driven wines made him a true “rock” star. I encourage everyone to raise a glass of Sauvignon Blanc in his honor.

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