Author: Reader Huang Yuanhui, focusing on humanistic history, quality standards, intellectual property rights
In his book World Atlas of Wine, British wine writer Huge Johnson divides the world's wine-producing countries into two broad categories: the old world and the new world, representing the birthplaces of different styles of wine.
("World Wine Map" picture from the Internet)
We continue to talk about wines from the French regions of Burgundy, Alsace, loire, Rhône and the New World.
Burgundy is a world-class wine region comparable to Bordeaux, and its status is unshakable. Located slightly easterly in central France, Burgundy has a predominantly hilly terrain and a continental climate, and has been called "the most complex and difficult wine region on earth". Most of Burgundy's wines are made from a single grape variety, with red wines made mainly from Pinot Noir and white wines made from Chardonnay.
(Burgundy wine region, image from the internet)
The main production areas of Burgundy are Chablis, Yeqiu, Bernchu, Magunnet, Chalonneqiu, Borjolais and so on. Among them, the Night Hill and the Bern Hill are collectively known as the Golden Hills, which is the core appellation of the best Burgundy wines.
Located in the northernmost tip of Burgundy, Chablis is a famous white wine region, made of Chardonnay grapes grown from limestone soils, resulting in a refreshing and delicate white wine with a strong sour taste, a perfect blend of fruity, sour and mineral flavors, such as the Chablis white wine produced by the William Fair Estate.
Night Hill is a high-end red wine region, special vineyard villages are lined up one after another, such as Gervery - Chambédane, Ink Black - Saint Denis, Chambord - Mistne, Vaughan - Romani, Niue - Saint George, etc., the world's most expensive wine, the world's first garden - Romani Condiet Wine Vineyard is located in the Night Hill Vaughan - Romani Village (we have talked about the first issue, please pay attention to it).
Bernchu is a premium spicy white wine region, mainly made from Chardonnay. Among them, white wines such as Monhache and Meursault (village level) are world-famous.
Magunnet is also a white wine region, with the village of Mâcon and The Village of Buyi-Fusai particularly well known.
Beaujolais is famous for the Beaujolais Day, and it is worth looking forward to every year that a bottle opens at midnight on the third Thursday of November.
Burgundy was graded according to the "vineyards", which was quite different from bordeaux's grading system. The Burgundy aoc grades, from low to high, are divided into four grades: local name - region name - village name - vineyard name, and vineyard names are also divided into first-class vineyards and special vineyards. The smaller the range of aoc names, the more pronounced the characteristics of the wine and the higher the grade. In Burgundy, only three regions, Chablis, NightHill and Bernhill, have Grand Vineyards.
Here we should pay attention to the difference between the name of the village of Aoc in Burgundy and the name of the vineyard in the village, for example, Gervery-Chambédan, the former is the name of the village, the latter is the grand vineyard, the latter of the wine label directly labeled the vineyard, do not need to label the village name, so the latter has a higher level; the same is true of the Summerhill-Monhache (village name) and Monhache (grand vineyard).
There is a famous saying in the wine industry: it starts in Bordeaux and ends in Burgundy. Many people only know Lafite in Bordeaux, but in fact, Romani Kande of Burgundy is the king of wine. Among the top wines of the Burgundy royal class is Chiveri-Chamberédan at Château Henri, known as a majestic male wine, and Ishimbern is said to have been one of Napoleon's favorite wines during his lifetime. The ink black-Saint-Denis red wine of the Dujac estate. In Vaughan, there are no ordinary wines, and in addition to the Romani Kande of the Drc, the Vaughan-Romani red wine of the Odd Dream Estate is also a must. The white wines of the Estate of Conte Lafonne in Meursault and the white wines of the Estate louis carillon & Flis of Purier-Monthachet are on a par with the aforementioned white wines of the William Fair Estate of Chablis.
(Château Henry's Gervais-Chamberédan red wines)
(Château Dujac's Ink Black - Saint-Denis Red Wine)
(Vaughan-Romani Red Wine)
(Louis carillon & Flis white wines of Purini-Monthache)
Champagne we have introduced earlier, and the champagne and the general sparkling wine has been distinguished, champagne grape varieties are mainly three kinds: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinoconière (about the grape variety we specialize in a phase), usually using a blending method. Champagnes made specifically from a single grape variety (such as Pinot Noir or Pinocóni) are called "blanc de noir", and champagnes made exclusively for Chardonnay are called "blanc de blanc". Champagne is also divided into spicy and sweet, it is best to chill before opening champagne, high temperature champagne is easy to spew out, because high-quality champagne will produce a lot of bubbles during secondary fermentation.
Alsace in France is separated from Germany by a Rhine River, famous for its abundant white wine, the main names are Zollenberg Joan Yao pulp white wine and Riesling white wine, marc tempe estate of Riesling (Riesling sounds like a big boss, and Riesling's delicate water spirit does not match the natural personality of Riesling, so some people translate it as Coislin, Lisling, known as the queen of white grapes), and a river across the river from the German Rhine-Gorelsing Riesling is very different, thicker taste, higher alcohol.
The Loire appellation of France is also mainly white wine, but also produces red wine and rosé wine, the main grape varieties are Miscard, Bai Shi Nan and Sauvignon Blanc (the translation of the Sauvignon Blanc is very Chinese style), Sancerre is the representative origin of Sauvignon Blanc in France, and new Zealand's famous Sauvignon Blanc production area is on a par with the reputation, but each has its own characteristics and flavors.
The red grape varieties in the Rhône appellation of France are mainly Syrah, the white grapes are dominated by Viogne, and the most representative appellations are "Château des Papes" and "David tavel", known as the king of rosé wines.
(Château Uceglio Château Ducale-
Old World wines from Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, etc., please take a look at my recommended reading list. Let's quickly talk about New World wine, we only say one country and one region, that is, California in the United States, as for the wines of Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, South Africa and other countries that are more cost-effective, please read the book list by yourself.
We briefly said in the first issue that the best wines in the world are produced in regions with Mediterranean climates. The global latitude is between 30-40 degrees, and the west coast of the continent is basically a Mediterranean climate, including Mediterranean coastal countries, that is, the southern parts of France and Spain, Italy, Greece, North Africa, parts of West Asia, southwest south Of South Africa, Chile, parts of Argentina, southern Australia and California of the United States.
Why is it that only regions with Mediterranean climates can produce good quality wines? Because during the long leaves of the grapes, the rain should be sufficient, the climate should not be too humid, and the temperature should not be too low. When the grapes are ripe, the sun is abundant, and southern France, Italy, Spain, and California are all known for their sunny days. When the grapes are about to be harvested, it must not rain, otherwise the grapes will absorb a lot of water, which will affect the concentration and taste of the grape juice.
The history of winemaking in California began in the 18th century, before which grapes were not grown and wine were made, and later Spanish missionaries came here to preach, because the communion needed wine to accompany the meal, so they began to grow grapes and make wine in California. In the 19th century, affected by the "gold rush", a large number of immigrants poured into California, forming a stable wine consumption market and investment market, and the wine industry was further developed. From the second half of the 19th century to the mid-20th century, California's wine industry declined due to phylloxera disease and Prohibition. Fortunately, in the second half of the 20th century, a turning point began to appear, and in 1976, at the Paris Wine Tasting, in a showdown with French brands, California Napa Valley wines surpassed the major French wineries and became famous in one fell swoop.
California grape varieties, white grapes are mainly Chardonnay, red grapes are mainly Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir and native fairy pink daisy, the southern French series of Syrah, Grenache is also growing well in California. As we mentioned earlier, Baron Philippe Rothschild of Moutonburg, France, and Robert Montavel founded Work One in Oak Town, California' Napa Valley, which has become a symbol of California's wine status. Then the legendary Paris wine showdown created a miracle, making Napa wine famous is the American Yuelu Winery, which is committed to making high-quality red wines from Cabernet Sauvignon, and the basic brand is "Artemis". California's native wines include Château Higuss Pink Andi, and Bellinger EstateSynthean Pink Rosé. It is said that it originated in Croatia and is related to Pumitivo in southern Italy, and is highly sugary, fruity, with fewer tannins and easy to catch.
(Work No. 1)
(Yuelu Winery Red Wine)
(Château Higus Sycamore Pink Wine)