I’ve grumbled in the past about the mystifying way that French wines are labeled, not with what’s in the bottle, but with where it grows. Think about trying to buy cheese at the grocery store if all the labels just said Wisconsin. Well, there is hope for at least some of the French, albeit a very, very few of them; those in the Alsace. Alsatian wines vary with terroir as much as Bordeaux or Champagne, but probably because of their history with Germany, the Alsatians treat terroir as secondary; at least on their labels. The region’s three principal grape varieties are Riesling, Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer.

During the 17th century, after the Thirty Years’ War, Alsace was ceded to France, making it French for the first time. It remained a disputed territory between France and Germany for the next 300 years, changing countries four times before reverting to France at the end of World War II. The names of terroirs, grapes and towns in Alsace often sound more German than French, like Strasbourg and Gewurztraminer. Many wine drinkers, including the French who live outside Alsace, are confused by the un-French wine names, the region’s tall, German-like wine bottles, and varietal names like Riesling and Gewurztraminer that are shared with Germany.

Botrytis cinerea. Just sounds kind of gross, doesn’t it? Don’t be fooled. While botrytis can be a destructive pest to almost any form of plant or fruit, under the right circumstances in the vineyard it is an instrumental tool in creating the most wonderful dessert wines. Sauternes from France, Tokaji from Hungary, stickies from Australia, just about every wine producing country in the world makes a botrytis-affected wine. Sweet and spicy, decadent and sublime, poetic and indescribable, botrytised wines can last for decades or more, their virtues evolving and maturing to a point where the words “liquid gold” may be an understated description.

Botrytis cinerea, or Noble Rot as it is called in wine parlance, is a mold that attacks the grape only under very specific circumstances. Alternating periods of dampness from rain, fog or mists must be balanced with periods of sunshine and dryness for the mold to truly take hold. Too much water and grey rot develops, a destructive form of the mold that kills the grapes. Too little water and no mold will form. It is in this balance that Botrytis works its magic. The mold shrivels the grapes, concentrating the sugars, acids and flavors. From this very little juice flows, so production is very low. But what does come is a delicious, unctuous nectar that through fermentation releases a golden, honeyed wine full of complexity and delicacy.

Ever wonder what happened to Chablis? If you’re not at least fifty years old, you probably don’t understand the question. But, for the rest of us, we used to drink a lot of Chablis back in the day. Chablis was generic for white wine. We would ask for a glass of Chablis and not care what we got, as long as it was white. Well it turns out that Chablis didn’t go anywhere. Its alive and well in a small town in France. No I’m not talking about Remulak where the SNL Cone Heads came from, but about the small town of Chablis.So what happened? In the early days of American wine, the name Chablis was appropriated by giant producers like Gallo for their cheap, white jug wines. Chablis became generic. We would ask for a glass of Chablis when what we meant was “white wine.” As the American wine industry matured and Americans leaned to distinguish one white wine from another, the generic use of the term Chablis began to fade. Today most of us never hear the term, but the people in that small town in France would like to change that.

Chianti is a red Italian wine produced in the Chianti reqion of Tuscany Italy. Historically associated with a squat bottle enclosed in a straw basket, today most Chianti is bottled in modern wine bottles. For a wine to retain the name of Chianti, it must be produced with at least 80% Sangiovese grapes.

A Chianti with a black rooster on the neck of the bottle indicates the producer is a member of the Gallo Nero Consortium, an association of producers of the Classico sub-area. Since 2005 the black rooster has been the emblem of the Chianti Classico producers association.

Aged Chianti (38 months instead of 4-7), may be labeled as Riserva. Chianti that meets more stringent requirements (lower yield, higher alcohol content and dry extract) may be labeled as Chianti Superiore. Chianti from the "Classico" sub-area is not allowed to be labeled as "Superiore".

A Chianti "style" wine is one made using the same grape varieties as Chianti, but not produced in the Chianti region of Italy.

A Bordeaux wine is any wine produced in the Bordeaux region of France which meets the French AOC standards for Bordeaux. The Bordeaux region is what is known as an appellation, and as such it is regulated by the French government's Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) system. This system closely defines which grape varieties and winemaking practices are allowed in each of France's several hundred geographically defined appellations, which can cover entire regions, individual villages or even specific vineyards. As prescribed by the AOC, a white Bordeaux wine is a blend of the grape varieties . The AOC also prescribes the percentage of each variety which are permitted. Wines not meeting the AOC requirements may not be labeled as Bordeaux wines.

A white Bordeaux "style" wine is a wine made from these Bordeaux grape-varieties but which is not produced in the Bordeaux region of France. Bordeaux "style" wines may also use percentage of these varieties that do not meet the AOC standard. So, in general you could say that white Bordeaux "style" wines are made to be similar to white Bordeaux wines, but do not meet the AOC requirements that would all them to label the wine as Bodeaux. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

A Bordeaux wine is any wine produced in the Bordeaux region of France which meets the French AOC standards for Bordeaux. The Bordeaux region is what is known as an appellation, and as such it is regulated by the French government's Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) system. This system closely defines which grape varieties and winemaking practices are allowed in each of France's several hundred geographically defined appellations, which can cover entire regions, individual villages or even specific vineyards. As prescribed by the AOC, a red Bordeaux wine is generally a blend of grape varieties which may include . The AOC also prescribes the percentage of each variety and the combinations of varieties which are permitted. Wines not meeting the AOC requirements may not be labeled as Bordeaux wines.

A Bordeaux "style" wine is a wine made from these Bordeaux grape-varieties but which is not produced in the Bordeaux region of France. Bordeaux "style" wines may also use percentage combinations of these varieties that do not meet the AOC standard. So, in general you could say that Bordeaux "style" wines are made to be similar to Bordeaux wines, but do not meet the AOC requirements that would all them to label the wine as Bodeaux. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

Bordeaux "Style" wines are often labeled as Meritage, Claret, Cuvee and other indicators of a blended wine. Blends of this type may also be labeled with "brand" names such as Magnifcat, Trilogy, Affinity, etc. created by their producers to distinquish their Bordeaux "style" blend.

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Food Pairings  Meats & Seafood: Poached, grilled, fried, baked or roasted
Sauce: sauces
Cheese: cheese
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DescriptionName: 
Style: 
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Cost: $
Comments:

Food Pairings  Meats & Seafood: Poached, grilled, fried, baked or roasted
Sauce: sauces
Cheese: cheese
Other:
Taste ProfileNotes: 
 Quick Classification: