Posts Tagged ‘vineyard acreage’

If you are looking for fine French wine and food, you should consider the Loire Valley region of central France. You may find a bargain, and I hope that you’ll have fun on this fact-filled wine education tour in which we review a white Sancerre wine based on the Sauvignon Blanc grape coming from the eastern part of the Loire Valley.

The Loire is longest river in France. Among eleven France’s wine-growing regions the Loire Valley number three in total vineyard acreage. This region is subdivided into four sections going from west to east: Nantais, Anjou-Saumur, Touraine, and Central Vineyards, the home of the wine reviewed below. This region’s major white grape is Sauvignon Blanc and major red grape is Pinot Noir.

Bourges is a town of over seventy thousand people that’s almost in the center of France. It’s an old style market town with a high and mighty Cathedral, the Thirteenth Century Cathdrale St-tienne that is really something to see. It is a World Heritage Site. Don’t miss the Fifteenth Century Palais Jacques-Coeur (Palace) that was used as a model for several New York City Fifth Avenue mansions. For natural beauty visit the marshes of the Voiselle and Yevre rivers.

Before reviewing the Loire wine and imported cheeses that we were lucky enough to purchase at a local wine store and a local Italian food store, here are a few suggestions of what to eat with indigenous wines when touring this beautiful region. Start with Salade de Faisan (Pheasant Salad). For your second course savor Noisette de Biche (Deer Medallions). And as dessert indulge yourself with Poire Rotie au Beurre (Pear Roasted in Butter).

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

Wine Reviewed
Marnier-LaPostolle Chateau de Sancerre Rouge 2003 12.5% alcohol about $19

Let’s start by quoting the marketing materials. Tasting Note: Straw yellow color; grapefruit and mineral notes on the note; clean and refreshing citrus/grapefruit and herbal flavors. Serving Suggestion: Shellfish; goat’s cheese dishes; veggie dishes. And now for my review.

My first meal consisted of poached salmon-colored trout in red pepper (the vegetable, not the spice) sauce with boiled rice. The wine tasted like a Chablis, full of lemon and steel with some herbal notes. When I tried it with a salad composed of Clementines, baby spinach, pear, and mango accompanied by a sweet mustard dressing the Sancerre became more acidic while retaining its flintiness. It took on floral aspects when faced with home-made (my grapes, someone else’s) jelly.

The second meal was a purchased organic spinach pizza. The wine was floral, round, and even a bit sweet. It was quite pleasant. With an apple-rhubarb tart the Sancerre was nicely acidic and feathery.

The third pairing involved a lightly sauted chicken breast, boiled rice, and a spicy tomato-based Turkish salad. It was round, light, and quite long. Then I added a Tunisian hot pepper sauce (harissa) to the bland meat. Interestingly enough the Sancerre became fruitier and somewhat shorter.

Instead of finishing the bottle with cheese I went to a cheese-less lasagna made with whole wheat noodles, tomato sauce, peas, and ground chicken. The wine was very fruity and quite round. Its refreshing acidity really cut the grease.

One of the classic wine and cheese pairings taught in schools and verified in practice is Sancerre and goat’s milk cheese, preferably Crottin de Chavignol coming from the same area as the wine.

Final verdict. This is a fine wine. I like Sancerre but find it somewhat overpriced. I am always ready to try another Sancerre, looking for better value.

Author: Levi Reiss
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: PCB Prototype & Manufacturing

If you are looking for fine French wine and food, you should consider the Loire Valley region of central France. You may find a bargain, and I hope that you’ll have fun on this fact-filled wine education tour in which we review a red Sancerre wine based on the Pinot Noir grape coming from the eastern part of the Loire Valley.

The Loire is France’s longest river. Of the eleven French wine-growing regions the Loire Valley ranks third in total vineyard acreage. It is subdivided into four regions going from west to east: Nantais, Anjou-Saumur, Touraine, and Central Vineyards, the home of the wine reviewed below. This region’s major white grape is Sauvignon Blanc and major red grape is Pinot Noir.

Sancerre is a medieval hilltop town of less than two thousand residents. The town’s name is synonymous with a white wine. The town may have hosted a temple dedicated to Julius Caesar. Sancerre is proud to have pushed back the British twice during the Hundred Years’ War and to have been a regional command center for the French Resistance in World War II. Sights to see include the Sixteenth Century bell tower Belfry of St. Jean, the Tour des Fiefs, the remains of a feudal chateau built at the end of the Fourteenth Century, and the wine exposition house dating from the Fourteenth to Sixteenth Centuries. You’ll enjoy the medieval streets and fine food and wine.

Before reviewing the Loire wine and imported cheeses that we were lucky enough to purchase at a local wine store and a local Italian food store, here are a few suggestions of what to eat with indigenous wines when touring this beautiful region. Start with Salade de Perdreau Roti (Roasted Partridge Salad). For your second course savor Pot au Feu de Canette (Duckling Stew). And as dessert indulge yourself with Crepe au Grand Marnier (Grand Marnier Crepe).

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

Wine Reviewed
Fournier Sancerre Rouge 2003 12.5% alcohol about $24

Let’s start by quoting the marketing materials. Red Sancerre is made exclusively with Pinot Noir. These wines are rarely seen in our market because a large portion of them are enjoyed locally. In the Loire, red wines require a warm, consistent growing season to obtain ripeness. In 2003, with the European-wide heatwave, Fournier was able to achieve just that. The wine exhibits classic Pinot aromas and flavors of cheery, underbrush and beetroot. The producer recommends serving this wine, lightly chilled, with bouillabaisse. And now for my review.

My first meal consisted of beef stew and potatoes with a Tunisian hot pepper sauce and Moroccan spiced carrots. The wine was earthy and somewhat powerful tasting of black cherries and tobacco. This Pinot Noir had no trouble dealing with the meat’s spicy sauce.

The second meal was an Atlantic salmon marinated in a commercial Italian-style grill sauce. The fish was accompanied by potatoes roasted in chicken fat. The wine was round and earthy, and relatively long. There was some aftertaste.

The final pairing involved a purchased barbecued chicken breast, once again potatoes roasted in chicken fat, and caponata, Italian style eggplant with tomatoes, garlic, and olives. Quite surprisingly the wine was plummy. The combination was excellent, bringing out the fruit in the wine.

Something happened and I did not get to taste this wine with cheese. As you may know, I am not usually all that happy with wine and cheese pairings. Anyway, my apologies and at least for the time being I plan to go back to wine and cheese tastings.

Final verdict. I think that the wine was overpriced. To my way of thinking a wine priced in the mid-twenties it should have been excellent more than once out of three tastings. I definitely won’t buy it again just to try the wine and cheese pairings. And there is no way to get authentic Bouillabaisse this far from Marseille.

Author: Levi Reiss
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Canada duty tariff