The French Attitude and Their Wines

By Ken Mageau

Article Category: Wine Life

The French Attitude and Their Wines
By Ken Mageau
www.brevardwines.com

Ah, The French.

Why is it that the French hold all things refined — perfume, couture, cuisine? Easy: because they’re French… and that great accent probably helps.

France has the most famous wine regions in the world, and as a nation, they’re also the best merchandisers of wine. They do produce some of the best in the world, such as Château Pétrus and Château Rothscild, but as fabulous as some of them often are, they’re also usually very inexpensive — in the $15 to $25 range. Many of French wines are even found cheaper in the U.S. than in France.

Wine is made all over France, but there are six major growing regions — Bordeaux, the Rhone Valley, Alsace, Champagne, the Loire Valley, and Burgundy. French wines are named for where they come from rather than the grape variety used, so many Americans are overwhelmed when confronted with them. We’ll try to sort it out.

With French wines, the vintage year is more important than say, California, because of California’s relatively even, temperate climate, a factor that helps yield wines of generally consistent quality. France experiences more swings in temperature and weather, so every year the wine varies. Obviously, some vintages are better than others. The French have also devised a way to rate the vineyards, resulting in distinctions like Premier Cru Classé, or simply Grand Cru or Cru Classé. You’d think they would use this rating for all regions, but no — that would be too easy. And the French make nothing easy. The more complex, the better.

We’ll begin the breakdown of the regions in this issue, but it may take a couple more to get through it all. It will be worth it if you like French wines.

Bordeaux

You may want to pick up a bottle of red wine labeled “Appellation Bordeaux Controlée.” This just means that all of the grapes used in this wine came from Bordeaux. You can find these in the $15-$20 range — a great sample price. Look for anything made with Cabernet: berries, herbs, etc. The wine will be a deep purple, packed with flavor and deep tannins.

Bordeaux is divided into 35 wine districts, but five of them stand out above all the others. They are Pomerol, Saint-Émilion, Médoc, Graves and Sauternes. The first three — Pomerol, Saint-Émilion, and Médoc — specialize in red wines; Graves in red and white, and Sauternes in white. Each district uses a different blend of grapes: Cabernet, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec for reds, and Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon for whites.

As I said earlier, for the the French, nothing is simple, and the Médoc region of Bordeaux produces many of the top wines of Bordeaux. Médoc is divided into areas called “communes,” or wine communities. The top four are: Pauillac, Saint-Estèphe, Margeaux, and Saint-Julien.

Are you getting a headache? I know I am, so I’ll continue with the French saga in the next issue.

Always remember: Life is too short to drink lousy wine.

Ken Mageau is the owner of The Flying Corkscrew, purveyors of fine wine, beer, and cigars, located at 1877 S. Patrick Dr. in Indian Harbour Beach. Call (321) 773-8757, or visit www.brevardwines.com. Check this issue’s “Word On The Street” section for a listing of special events held there for the month of February.