bordeaux grapes

red
cabernet sauvignon
merlot
cabernet franc
petit verdot
malbec

plus
carmeniere
st macaire

whites
semillion
sauvignon blanc
muscadelle

Chateauneuf de Pape Grapes

varieties allowed are


Bourboulenc - White
Cinsault -Red
Clairette - Blanche (Rose)
Counoise - Red
Grenache Noir Blanc - Red White(Gris)
Mourvèdre - Red
Muscardin - Red
Picardan - White
Picpoul - Noir Blanc -Red White(Gris)
Roussane -White
Syrah -Red
Terret Noir -Red
Vaccarèse -Red

North / South Rhone Grapes

Northern Rhone- Septentrionales (Ok this is cool, Septentrion is the antiquated french term for northern, coming from the ancient roman septen (meaning seven) and trion (meaning steer or pulling pack animal) which was the term they used to refer to the big dipper, as in the seven stars always revolving with the earth, but always pointing to the north)

Grapes:
Viognier - White
Marsanne - White
Roussane - White
Syrah - Red

simple point. all reds in the north are made with syrah, but they are allowed to blend in a small percent of these white varietals to soften what historically would have been huge tannic wines, mostly due to maceration with stems.

now Viognier commands such high prices, that most growers will make viognier alone.

Northern and Southern Rhone are divided by the town of Montelimar

Southern Rhone - Meridionales ( Meridian being the equator, or halfway mark, so referencing the southern half)

Grapes from the Southern Rhone get complicated, because for example, the wines in Chateauneuf-de-Pape can use ANY of 13 grapes in the wines, but if they only use one grape in a red wine it must be Grenache

jura grapes

white: chardonnnay and savagnin

red: pinot noir ploussard and trousseau

vin jaune

vin jaune is a white wine from Jura. it can be made anywhere in Jura, but it mostly comes from Arbois

in Chateau Chalon, all white wine must be Vin Jaune

100% Savagnin, fermented dry. It is then put into 225L wooden barrels that are at least 5 years old. The wine is left in these barrels for 6years and 3 months UNTOUCHED

The wine will lose 20% volume over this time and will develop a veil, or vouile

the vouile serves as anti-oxidant. protecting the wine from the air

the act of topping up barrels is referred to as 'ouillage' and vin jaune is subjected to 'pas ouillage'

the wine is bottled in a 62cl bottle called a clavlin. This is to represent the 20% loss of wine in the making.

If vin jaune is not bottled in a clavlin, but in a regular sized bottle, it must be called yellow jura wine

Jura

Jura has a specific different shaped bottle. similar to a burgundy bottle with squarer sides. They are embossed with the name Jura on them.

The soil in Jura is mostly made up of 'marne' or marlstone

Grey marlstone is best for trees but the red and blue marlstone are well suited for vines and give the wine an oilyness.

Jura Cremant

In Jura there are sparking wines, which like the rest of France outside of Champagne, are called 'Cremant'

They are made in 'methode traditional' using Chardonnay and Savagnin grown between 50 and 300m elevation.

The rules for making cremant are ruled by each individual AOC

A lot of winemakers will send out there still wines in bulk or 'vrac' and have these wines made sparkling.

Cremant in Jura must age minimum 9 months in bottle

Bonnezeaux

Small appellation that nestles in the anjou region of France's loire Valley.

Located within the larger côteaux du layon appellation, Bonnezeaux is one of the two premier dessert wines from the Loire- quarts de chaume is the other. Both have grand cru status. The grapes used are chenin blanc which, in better years, are attacked by botrytis cinerea (noble rot). This mold produces shriveled, raisiny, intensely sweet grapes that in turn create rich, luscious wines.

The Chenin Blanc grape's naturally high acid content helps these wines age well-some for 20 years or more.

http://www.answers.com/topic/bonnezeaux-ac

loire red wine

IN the eastern part of the Loire valley, the central vineyards grow pinot noir, of a usually bright and light quality, but without the complexity of a Burgundy

futher west, in Chinon, there is some fantastic >Cabernet Franc being produced. They also grow Gamay.

As well as in Samur, an area known for its Crement production

Loire valley - Central Vineyards

The eastern most part of the Loire is referred to as the central vineyards. not due to their location in the Loire, but their location in the center of France.

The central vineyards are located in the Burgundy department

In the central vineyards, Sauvignon Blanc rules, as the tuffeau soils are replaced with more silex, limestone and a band of kimmeridgian clay. For red grapes, Pinot Noir is the main varietal

The most well known are

Sancerre producing white, red, and rose
Pouilly only white

as well as
Reuilly White, red and rosé
Quincy White
Menetou Salon White, red and rosé

Tuffeau

The soil of the Loire valley is mostly made up of a vulcanized chalk called Tuffeau.

It is made up of the remains of bodies and fragments of rock brought down to the sea by rivers as silt.
Aged 90 million years, sediments deposited suffered a downturn that pressure, they were allowed to recrystallization and cementation.
The limestone is the result of this long and slow transformation of sediment into rock by cementing particles together fossils.

Google translation is funny.

Loire River Valley

East of Muscadet, and west of the central vineyards, the Loire valley produces a majority of Chenin Blanc.

This grape has such complex acidty, interesting fruit, and complex body that it is very open to a winemakers hand. The Tuffeau or Tufa soil also plays a huge part.

It is produced sparkling in Saumur, where 80% of Loire Cremant comes from.

It is produced fruity, dry, with tons of minerality, around Tours, where it is commonly called Vins de Touraine, Loads of melon and grapefruit with a suggestion of sweetness, these wines are balanced with beautiful acidity and mineral, almost tin quality that cuts through that perceived sugar and leaves you refreshed.

It is also let to be affected with Botrytis in the Coteaux du Layon-Chaumes, where Sélection de Grains Nobles is employed to pick only the berries and bunches affected with the 'noble rot'.

Due to the proximity to the river in Chaumes, the vines will be affected naturally with Botrytis and this will cause the grapes to shrivel and the flavors inside to be concentrated. The harvest will be done in many trips or Trie, each time walking though, and only picking the botritis berries. It may take 6-12 Trie to finish the harvest, with the goal being 90-100% of picked berries having rot used in wine making.

Outside of Chaumes, in the more generic Coteaux du Layon, where botrytis isn't guaranteed, the farmers will employ Passe Raillage, a technique where the vein attaching the bunch of berries to vine is nicked or cut without removing the bunch.

This is done after verasion, and its purpose is to slow or stop the nutrient and water supply to the fruit. The stems and stalks attached to the berries will in turn draw water from the reserves inside the fruit, and serve to rasinate the berries while still on the vine. This isn't a fast process, and these berries may be affected with noble rot, and a Trie harvest picked on them, but in the generic AOC only 50-70% of the fruit will be botrytis affected.

Muscadet

Starting in the east, on the atlantic coast in Brittany, we have the mouth of the Loire estuary, and Muscadet.

Muscadet wines are made from the Melon de Bourgogne grape.

Muscadet has three AOC levels

Muscadet AOC
Muscadet-Sur Lie AOC
- wines that have been aged on the lees over the winter

Muscadet-Sevre et Marne-Sur Lie AOC
- wines further inland in the Sevre and Marne river valleys. also aged on lees.

Thoughts on burgundy

So i def got my ass kicked by the Burgundy test last night, Village names, and GC's and 1er C's in the different regions are so such a clusterfuck. I do feel good about the overall knowledge, but man, the named places are a bitch

Cote de D'Or - Villages

Cote de Nuit - north to south

Gevry-Chambertin
Vouget
Vosne-Romanee
Nuit St George

Cote de Beaune - north to south

Aloxe-Corton
Pommard
Volnay
Mersault
Chassagne-Montrachet

beaujolais crus

brouilly
cote de brouilly
chenas
chiroubles
fleurie
julienas
morgon
moulin a vent
regnie
st amour