VEN 3: Appellation System And Wines of France, Part 1
Burgundy: Some vocab
(a) Climat: A vineyard precisely delineated, with specific SOIL and climate conditions, specific VARIETAL and cultural practices. There are over 1000 "climats" in Burgundy (b) Clos: A vineyard surrounded by walls which cannot be jumped over by a horse. In other regions, "clos" is often used as a substitute for "domain" [Estate] or "chateau" or "moulin"
Burgundy Wines (Region)
--> 100% varietal wines 1. Pinot Noir (reds) 2. Chardonnay (whites) --> High alcohol (13%) -Often chaptalized (sugar added) -Low color & low tannin Burgundy bottle shape: sloping shoulders! /Review 4 Region: Burgundy 3 Subregion: Cotes de Beaune and Cotes de nuit 2 Village 1 Vineyard (monopole vs many owners)/
Controlled Appellation of Origin
--> Origin of grapes PLUS: --> Grape varieties --> How grapes grown --> How wine made -So the place name tells you how the wine will probably taste Purpose of Controlled Appellations --> Controls the reputation of place --> Guarantee exclusivity in marketplace --> Regulates the Market
??Grand Cru Vineyards example format???
-Chambertin -Romanee-Conti (monopole) -Montrachet (Split into two villages: Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet)
Beaujolais (region part of burgundy)
-Light, fruity red wines made from carbonic maceration (destemmed grapes placed in container and flood with CO2, allow enzymes in grape and yeast on top of berry perform fermentation inside berry; then crush berries and collect juice then do regular fermentation) from Gamay noir grapes -"Beaujolais nouveau" released on 3rd thursday in November: 50% of production Also make "serious" non nouveau wines (not fun wines) -10 areas/crus that will not say Beaujolais on label --> All Gamay noir grapes!
FRANCE: Wine Quality Categories
3. Lowest Quality: vin de France -11% of wines 2. Mid-range quality: IGP, Indication Geographique Protegee -Place name, sometimes list varietal -33% of wines 1. Highest Quality: Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC Wines) -Place name + "appellation contrôlée" on label -54% of French wines are AOC
Burgundy Appellations
4. REGIONAL APPELLATION "Bourgogne" = Burgundy -Reds and whites 2. Village Appellations: ex Gevry-Chambertin 1. Vineyard Level I. Premier Cru ("first growth") -Village name + vineyard name II. Grand Cru ("great growth") (top 1%) -Highest quality -Vineyard name alone -Only 33 in Burgundy
Definition: Appellation of Origin
A geographic name given to a wine that indicates the origin of the grapes used to make the wine -May be main identifier of a wine -Appellation on label (many European wines) Examples: Bordeaux, Champagne, Chianti, Meursault -May be used with a varietal name (most non-european wines) Examples: Carneros Chardonnay, Alexander Valley Cabernet
AOC System Hierarchy Pyramid ("Appellation D'Origine Controlee")
AOC system is hierarchical; the smaller in size, the stricter, higher quality. Top to Bottom: 1. Vineyard 2.Village 3.Sub-region 4.Region
3 tiered System EU
HIGHEST QUALITY Category (in english: PDO) (A) France: Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) (B) Italy: Denominazione di Origine Controllata and Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (C) Spain: Denominacion de Origen (D) Portugal: Denominacão de Origem Controlada (E) Germany Pradikatswein (QmP) and QbA (Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete) INTERMEDIATE QUALITY (Country Wines) Before and after, NOW "Protected Geographical Indication (PGI), except france igp (A) France: vin de pays --> now Indication Géographique Protégée (B) Italy: indicazione geografica tipica --> PGI (C) Spain: vino de la tierra --> PGI LOWEST QUALITY (Table Wine) -France: vin de table --> vin de France -Italy: vino da tabola --> vino -Spain: vino de mesa NOW: neither PDO nor PGI
Definitions
Monopole: Single owner of the entire vineyard, usually vineyard divided (ex: 80 owners) Negociants: Buy fruit or young wine from growers (buy grape from grower and make wine) Grower-Producers: Make and sell their own wine
Burgundy (Region, East) "Cote D'or"/Slope of Gold
Subregions A) Cotes de Nuits B) Cotes de Beaune ... Soil differences: -Differences in water drainage, heat retention, East facing to warm quickly in the morning Small vineyards, multiple owners: -Inheritance laws -Wines from same vineyard can be very different (cultivate differently)
CHABLIS (central northern, of burgundy?)
White wines from Chardonnay -Has single vineyard AOC's -Cool region -> high acid wines -Subtle flavors, traces of oak -1 grand cru divided into 7 adjacent climats! Chablis Labels: (1)Appellation + (2) Name of climat
BEAUJOLAIS WINES?
• BEAUJOLAIS AOC : 96 villages 60 hectoliters per hectare most wines sold as "beaujolais nouveau" • BEAUJOLAIS VILLAGES AOC: 39 villages 50 hl/ha; to be consumed within 2 yrs • CRU BEAUJOLAIS : 10 villages/areas 48 hl/ha; wines that can keep longer