Posts Tagged ‘burgundy wines’

First, let’s decide: what we will drink. A French wine has its own ranking system.

Table wine has the lowest rank. It is the cheapest and the simplest. Local wine is ranked slightly higher. It is produced in certain regions of France.

The next stage is higher-quality wine produced in a limited territory. Its production techniques is under the strict control. Manufacturers are required to use only certain varieties of grapes growing on the particular wine industry castle’s soil.

Finally, the highest ranked wine category – aristocratic “controlled by descent” wine. This wine is bought by collectors and sold at auctions for the crazy money. Requirements for its manufacturing are much more rigid. For example, even if the grape harvest has been abundant, there is a strict limit of producing elite wines. Prestigious wine must me limited!

How to choose elite wine?

First of all, pay attention to the label. It should not be garish or colorful. Typically, the better the wine, the label looks more modest. And if you choose the higher-class wine, it must have three words in its inscription. First – Appellation (winemaking community), or Chateau (Castle). Then the name of the community or castle. And the key word “control” means that the wine is controlled by descent.

Very often these three words are typed in very small font. But they are the key! If they are not on the label, the wine could not be considered elite. The best French wines have also “Grand Cru” classification. Most often this inscription can be found on the label after the name of vineyard.

What should you pay attention to when choosing wines from different regions of France?

The most famous are Bordeaux and Burgundy wines.

Individual wine-making households – Chateau – are located Inside the Bordeaux wine-growing areas. Therefore, when choosing Bordeaux wine you must draw your attention to the name of the castle.

Each Chateau has its unique flavor, identity and bouquet. Even if a few castles are located in the neighborhood and use the same sort of wine grapes, they produces quite different wines. Indeed, each Chateau has its own secrets, which are handed down for several centuries. Unlike Bordeaux, Burgundy is famous by wine-growing communities, which may belong to several tens of producers.
Pay attention to the producer of the wine – its taste and smell depends on its producer.

How do size and length of the bottle corks characterize the quality of wine?

The real connoisseurs of French wine knows what the cork means. Firstly, it must be made from cork oak bark. Secondly, the name of the community or castle as well as the harvest year must be printed there. The longer the cork, the more expensive drink, and the higher its quality. But short pressed cork is a sign of cheap wine.

As is the convention, the long-lived wine corks is changed every 15 years.

As for the bottle, the most famous elite wine bottle is called “Magnum” (1.5L). The fact is that “Magnum” is used for very high quality wine of the best years.

Author: Nataliya S
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Beading Necklace

If you are looking for fine French wine and food, consider the world famous Burgundy region in eastern France. Although it’s fairly rare, you may even find a bargain. I hope that you’ll have fun on this fact-filled wine education tour in which we review a Chardonnay white wine coming from the Cte de Beaune region not far from the city of Dijon in northeastern France. Burgundy ranks fourth in acreage of France’s eleven wine-growing regions if you include the Beaujolais region, even though strictly speaking Beaujolais wines aren’t Burgundy wines; they don’t even use the same red grapes. A lot of people will tell you that Burgundy wine is the best in France, if not in the entire world. Perhaps one day we will review a really expensive Burgundy wine. Here we review a medium-priced Burgundy that comes from the oldest negociant (wine seller) in Burgundy.

The city of Beaune is about two hundred miles southeast of Paris. It is right in the heart of the Burgundy wine region, with Cte de Beaune to the south and Cte de Nuits to the north. Stop by the Twelfth Century church called Collgiale Notre-Dame that hosts a series of tapestries depicting the life of the Virgin Mary. You’ll enjoy the March aux Vins (Wine Market) where wine tasting is encouraged. And make sure to visit the famous Hospices de Beaune founded as a hospital for veterans of the Hundred Year’s War. The Grand’ Salle is truly grand, it is more than 150 feet (about 50 meters) long and still has some of the original furniture. In late November the Hospice hosts a world-class wine auction and fete.

Before reviewing the Burgundy wine and imported cheeses that we were lucky enough to purchase at a local wine store and local imported food store, here are a few suggestions of what to eat with indigenous wines when touring this beautiful region. Start with Gougre (Grated Cheese Pastry). For your second course savor Boeuf Bourguignon (Beef Stewed in Red Wine). And as dessert indulge yourself with Pain d’pices (Gingerbread).

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed

Maison Champy Pernand-Vergelesses 2004 13% about $20.00

Let’s start by quoting the marketing materials. Tasting Note: The complex set of aromas includes apricot, lemon zest, pear, mineral, oak, and a hint of butter. This dry, youthful wine is good now and will become very impressive with a few years of maturation (2-4 years). This long finishing wine will work nicely with grilled trout or Chicken Kiev.

My first meal consisted of chicken hamburgers with harissa (a Tunisian hot pepper sauce), roasted potatoes cooked in chicken fat, and spicy pickle slices. The wine was quite round and sweet. (I might have guessed it to be a Riesling.) It tasted of lime and was somewhat unctuous with a great length. Frankly, it was too good for this simple meal.

The next meal involved stove-top chicken cooked in a soy-honey sauce with rice and green beans. The Burgundy was refreshingly acidic, tasting of white grapefruit and lemon. It was feathery and yet powerful. I don’t understand why it was sweet with the first meal, and certainly not sweet here.

The final meal was a packaged Eggplant Parmagiana to which I added grated Parmesan cheese. The wine was quite long, nice and fruity, with good acidity.

The first cheese pairing was with an Emmenthaler (Swiss) cheese that actually came from Germany. The wine was multilayered and nicely acidic but not sweet. I then tried this Chardonnay with goat cheese from the Poitou-Charentes region of central western France. The wine was muted but not flattened.

Final verdict. I would buy this wine again but not waste it on plebian food pairing. I really think it could hold its own with gourmet meals.

Author: Levi Reiss
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: US Dollar credit card