Chablis is a region of France located in the northernmost part of the Burgundy region of France, relatively close to Paris.
Only Chardonnay grapes are allowed to be used here, and the wines produced are unique in the world.
Hundreds of millions of years ago, the region of Chablis was the sea.
Now, if we knock on the surface, we will find a lot of oyster shells, which have become part of the soil here.
The vines planted in this area absorb the nutrients in the soil, so that the wines made from these grapes will show such terroir characteristics.
In addition to the common characteristics of Chardonnay wines, Chablis wines have a very pronounced mineral, flint and wet stone aroma or taste.
Its village-quality Chablis wines are perfect to accompany fresh oysters.
Today's article will briefly talk about Chablis wine and its classic cuisine paired with oysters.
I. Chablis region
Second, the grading of Chablis wines
Third, the combination of Chablis wine and oysters
Fourth, write at the end
One
Chablis region
The northernmost vineyard in Burgundy
The main part of the Burgundy region is the Cote d'Or, which consists of the Cote de Nuits and cote de Beaune, and the northernmost enclave in Burgundy is the protagonist of this article, Chablis.
Because the Chablis region is very far north, the climate here is cooler than in southern Burgundy, so it is only suitable for Chardonnay white wines.
At the same time, the white wine produced here is the lightest in Burgundy, the most acidic and the most refreshing aroma among the Burgundy white wines.
Threat posed by cool climates
The Burgundy region is close to the interior, far from the sea, and has a continental climate.
The continental climate is characterized by a relatively large temperature difference between summer and winter. At the same time, because it is close to the north, the latitude is about 47 degrees north, (Bordeaux is around 43 degrees), so the winter here is particularly cold.
As a result, there is a threat of frost in the spring, in April or May, the grapes germinate, but the cold air freezes the young shoots to death or frostbite, resulting in reduced production or low quality of the grapes.
Therefore, in the vineyards of the Chablis region, there will be measures to avoid or mitigate the damage caused by this spring frost.
For example, in the spring, measures such as lighting fires, placing heaters, or sprinkling water in the vineyards.
Kimmeridgean soil
As mentioned earlier, the Chablis region used to be the sea, which has changed over hundreds of millions of years.
Limestone and earthy soils rich in marine fossils have been formed here, and the soil of the Kimmeridgean order has been formed.
This unique soil gives Chablis wines pure, refreshing, and chablis wines with a wonderful mineral atmosphere.
Two
Chablis wine grading
In France, there is a wine class in any region, and Chablis is no exception.
As early as 1938, the French Bureau of Appellation of Origin classified Chablis as an independent AOC origin and identified three grades of appellation, from lowest to highest: Chablis AOC, Chablis Premier Cru AOC and Chablis Grand Cru AOC.
This is the same as the grading of the entire Burgundy appellation, with the level of village level, first-class garden and special level garden.
Later, in 1944, a Petit Chablis was added to the Chablis region, which was slightly lower than the Chablis AOC. An entry-level wine from Chablis.
In the Chablis region, the most productive wines are at the Chablis AOC village level, accounting for 66% of the total Chablis wine production.
The least produced wine is chablis Grand Cru AOC, which accounts for only 1% of the region's total production, and there is only one grand pristine garden in Chablis, divided into 7 climats.
Petit Chablis and Chablis Premier Cru produce about 18% and 16% respectively.
Three
Chablis wine paired with oysters
At the beginning of the article, it is mentioned that the village-level Chablis is more suitable for pairing with fresh oysters, so why does it have to be a village-level Chablis rather than a higher quality Grand Garden grade Chablis wine?
In fact, this is related to the brewing process of different levels of Chablis wines.
Chablis in The First and Grand Gardens often uses the oak barrel process to mature the wine, giving the wine a creamy, baked, smoky flavor that reacts unpleasantly to the salty umami in oysters and makes the oyster's fishy taste more pronounced.
Village-level Chablis, on the other hand, does not use oak barrels to ripen, but only stainless steel barrels to preserve the fruity aroma and acidity of the grapes to the greatest extent.
The juicy oysters meet the fresh and sour village-level Chablis, where minerals, marine flavors and oysters blend in the mouth to complement each other.
Correspondingly, if you have to use Chablis to pair with oysters, you can choose grilled or fried oysters.
Four
Write at the end
The combination of fresh oysters and Chablis wine, in fact, the key to Chablis wine lies in whether there is a process of using oak barrels to mature; Or whether there is no cream, baking and other flavors in the wine, this flavor will react unpleasantly with the salty and umami taste of oysters.
Therefore, in the extension of the table wine pairing, when paired with oysters, this delicious seafood food, be sure to choose a fruity, refreshing and delicious, and high acidity of white wine, Chablis is an excellent choice, but grapes such as Albarino in the Lower Gulf region of Spain are also a good choice.
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