Posts Tagged ‘wine drinking’

Burgundy is one of the most difficult regions in the wine world to predict, but knowing a little something about the larger AVA’s in France can do one a lot of good when beginning to choose wine.

Cote D’Or: When people speak about Burgundy, they are almost always talking about this region. The region is approximately thirty miles long and is almost exclusively planted in limestone soil, which is split into two halves as far as the wine drinking public is concerned. The northern half grows solely red wine (Pinot Noir) and the southern half grows both red and white wine, although it grows more white wine than red. One village which literally everyone has heard of is Dijon which lies at the northernmost point of Burgundy. Yes, Dijon is the town which the mustard is named after and the village still produces 70% of the mustard consumed in France.

Chablis: It’s placement at the northernmost edge of Burgundy once made Chablis an important supplier of Chardonnay to the Paris bistros. Alas, with so many new producers of Chardonnay from all over the world and easier transit of wine in general, both the pedigree of Chablis and the quality of its wines has dipped over time.

Cote Chalonnaise: Situated next to Cote D’Or, this is the region to look toward if you want to drink a quality Burgundy, but can’t afford one of the premiere wineries of the region. Again, the top producers may vary from year to year and if you get a year with less then ripe grapes the wine may end up watery and uninteresting….but in good years, WOW! Again, this is a region where is makes sense to find a quality wine shop and receive recommendations based on recent vintages from someone whom has had the chance to try and wines themselves.

Maconnais: Despite the fact that the village of Chardonnay can be found in this region, the wines produced here are more characteristic of jug wine then anything of higher quality. Historians are even suspicious of the name of the village, there is plenty of debate regarding the time line of the Chardonnay wine being produced, or the village named. It is possible the village took the name of a famous wine to encourage tourism and bring in more jobs.

In general the average wine drinker should look for wines from either Cote D’Or, if you can find an affordable version, or Cote Chalonnaise for a more affordable version of the great Burgundy that so many people crave.

Author: Mark A Aselstine
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Guest blogger