Another one to check off my list: I have been wanting to go wine tasting in France since the last time I was here but somehow it never happened. (until now!) There are vineyards aplenty in Switzerland that we could visit, but none really worth mentioning. (Don't tell the Swiss) Apparently they have good whites, but I don't care much for white wine, and so far I have not had a good red, and neither has anyone else I have spoken to.
In any case, it is hard to beat a good Bordeaux, so that is where I wanted to go. French wine is confusing to many people (including even the French) because unlike in America, wines are labeled not by the varietal but by the region. You are simply expected to know which wines come from each region. Furthermore, each region has its own classifications, which are theoretically supposed to help minimize the confusion by classifying the best wines, but really only add more confusion for most people. Mom and Dad made a trip last year to Beaune, which is in Burgundy. The main wines of Burgundy are Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. So if you see a bottle of Bourgogne Rouge, you know it is 100% Pinot Noir. However, there is a sub-region of the Bourgogne called Beaujolais, which produces Gamay. So a Beaujolais, which is part of Burgundy, (which is supposed to be Pinot Noir) is 100% Gamay. I think the French want you be confused. But I digress. Wine tasting in France is not like wine tasting in California, although this is due in part to the fact that wine is marketed very differently. I'll get into that later, but while in California you can simply show up and pay to taste a few wines, in France many of the Chateaux are not open to the public, and none of them have open tasting rooms.
Mom and Dad found themselves unable to visit any wineries in Burgundy and were stuck tasting and wine shops instead. Rumor has it that Bordeaux is a bit more tourist friendly, but I can't really compare. All I know is, you have to book in advance, which I made sure to do. I wanted to go to Bordeaux and thus I took it upon myself to plan the trip for the 4th of July weekend.
So, some Bordeaux basics: there are five (red) grapes of Bordeaux. These are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petite Verdot. The AOC are the appellation laws in France, and they dictate rules such as the grapes which can be planted in each region etc. (There are also white wines such as Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, but the areas we went to were really red wine areas and as I said before I don't care for whites, neither does Dad, and Mom only likes Chardonnay which is from Burgundy and not Bordeaux).
Furthermore, there are sub-regions (appellations)within Bordeaux, such as The Medoc, St. Emilion, Pomerol, and so on. Then these subregions are divided even moreso: for example in the Medoc there is Margeaux, Pauillac, St.Estephe, and so on. In order to be classified as a Bordeaux, the wine must be grown, vinted, and bottled within Bordeaux. If the wine has St. Emilion on the label, it must have been all within the St. Emilion sub-region. To carry the name of the Chateau, it must all be carried out on the property of the Chateau. Then there are classifications for the best Chateaux, the Grand Cru vineyards which command the highest price, although they are not guaranteed to be the highest quality. (more on that later) All the Bordeuax wines MUST be blended. I find this interesting, because many people in the US consider a blend to be an inferior wine, while in Bordeaux this is the requirement. I will say that some of the best wines I have had were blends, but then again, so were some of the worst. There are no guarantees until you open the bottle and taste it. Are you confused yet? Well the Grand Cru classifications differ per area as well. The Grand Cru Classes of the Medoc were classified in 1855 and have never changed. The Grand Cru Classes of St. Emilion were classified in 1955 and are reviewed every 10 years. Some areas of Bordeaux have no classifications. I will explain these later, and try to keep it concise and not too confusing.Unlike in California, where the vineyards are irrigated and every vine is watered to a precise amount (extremely wasteful I might add), in France, irrigation is not allowed. The vines are not watered but must instead rely on mother nature. This is a big reason why the vintage is so important in French wines. While in California the wineries can produce a wine that is consistently the same year after year, in France the weather affects the crop. In addition the blending will be tweaked a bit differently depending on the quality of the crop. Thus a year with perfect weather conditions will be highly anticipated. The last legendary year for Bordeaux was 2005, but the 2009 vintage had a great year and is thus also another highly anticipated release. The 2009 vintage is currently aging in oak barrels, but we did get to taste a few.
Another big difference between France and other wine producing areas is that in France the wine futures are pre-sold directly to brokers. Because of this, there is little reason for the vineyards to open their doors to the general public, as the wine is not really sold this way. While the area is becoming more open and tourist friendly, it is still quite different than California or other wine regions of the world.
I wanted the weekend to be a success, so as I said I booked everything in advance. We stayed at a Chateau near the village of Blaye. While the Chateau was not a wine-growing Chateau, it was a lovely bed and breakfast set among the vineyards near the Gironde River. For wine tasting I chose to focus on two regions: The Medoc and St. Emilion. The Medoc is the home to probably the most famous (and expensive) wines in the world. The grapes grown in the Medoc are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petite Verdot. I booked a tour that included a driver to take us to three Grand Cru Classe vineyards in the Medoc.
The second day I chose St. Emilion. The town of St. Emilion is a wonderful medieval town that has been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the vineyards of the St. Emilion appellation produce mostly Merlot and Cabernet Franc, with lesser amounts of Petite Verdot and Malbec. I found a tour guide who is an organic winemaker herself to give us a tour of St. Emilion and show us to two Grand Cru Classe vineyards in St. Emilion.
I have a lot to say about our days wine tasting so I have decided to divide this entry into three parts. I will dedicate one to the Medoc and one to St. Emilion. Everything else will go to this one you are reading, and I will post about the Medoc tomorrow. If I feel up to it I might add them both tomorrow, we shall see.
We drove the car from Lausane all the way to Bordeaux, which was an 8 hour drive. I only planned a four day trip, which meant that two of those days were spent driving. I figured Dad had to work but once we arrived at the Chateau he decided he could spare another day. So on Sunday we had no plans made in advance and decided to go into the town of Bordeaux itself. Our host Petra recommended we visit the outdoor Sunday Market, which was a good recommendation. We bought some bread, strawberries, beer and oysters (each from a different vendor stand) and sat by the river to enjoy our lunch. We then rented some bikes and rode around the city a bit. It was a nice relaxing day after trekking all over the previous two days.
I'll add a few more photos and will have plenty more to post tomorrow on the Medoc.
The view from the back porch of the Chateau where we ate breakfast and relaxed in the evenings...
And don't I just look lovely in the morning... Nothing beats a French breakfast with Croissants! Mom was really freaked out by the quail eggs even though I told her they taste just like eggs. After I had some and Dad had some and agreed with me she got over it and enjoyed them as well.
Enjoying oysters at the market in Bordeaux
Another photo of our accommodations at the Chateau Bellevue
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