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French Wine Explorers Wine e-Newsletter
www.wine-tours-france.com - August 2003

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This month's wine explorations:

The amazing 2003 grape harvest in France

You've probably heard about the terrible heat wave we had recently in France, with temperatures up to 120° F in some areas. In fact, since May of this year, we've had unusually hot and sunny conditions, with practically no rain fall. It's been very difficult on the general population and on farmers whose corn or wheat crops have withered from the heat and drought. Wine growers, on the other hand, are anticipating one of the best vintages in recent history. For the first time since 1893, the grape harvest was extremely early, in some areas as much as four weeks earlier than usual. This early ripening was evident when we were in Bordeaux for our July Best of Bordeaux tour - we saw the veraison (when the grapes turn from green to yellow or red) already well underway (usually the veraison takes place during the month of August). At that time, winemakers told us they were just starting to see signs of hydric stress (stress to the vines from lack of water), for example, the leaves were starting to turn color like in autumn. A little hydric stress is okay for the vine - a native of the hot, dry Mediteranean climate, grape vines are very resistant plants. 

But as we moved into August, you could see that the grape vines were suffering. The leaves were starting to fall off, and the grapes themselves were becoming wrinkled as the water inside them started to evaporate. Winegrowers had to start picking before the grapes became too dehydrated (which would make a juice with too much sugar and therefore create too much alcohol in the wine), before acidity levels dropped too much to make a balanced wine, and before the plants became so stressed from lack of water that the grapes stopped maturing and started rotting. So the historic early harvest began, with many wine writers and pundits heralding 2003 as an exceptional vintage in the making.

Now the big question is: What effect will this early ripening and hydric stress have on the wine? It's hard to say at this time. When you have very ripe grapes, in theory you make excellent wine. The wines will certainly be big and alcoholic due to the high sugar content of the grapes. But there is the possibility that they will be unbalanced as a result: too alcoholic, with not enough acidity to balance it. They will be easy to drink young, but they may not age as well as wines made in years where there was plenty of sunshine but not such extreme high temperatures and drought conditions. The 2000 vintage, for example, which was toughted as the "vintage of the century" with its very ripe fruit and full-bodied wines, may age less well than the 2001 vintage, which was less exuberent, but produced more balanced wines for many estates. Only time will tell. French winemakers are certainly excited about the vintage, but they are also espousing a conservative "wait and see" attitude as they start vinifying this historic harvest.

Join us for a wine tour in 2004, and be among the first to taste the 2003 vintage!  See 2004 schedule here.

News about our Cooking & Wine in Provence programs

We've redesigned our 2004 Cooking & Wine in Provence programs to give our guests a truly first-class experience.  Both programs will take place at the elegant, 18th century Chateau de Gignac in the gorgeous Luberon hills near Avignon.  This private chateau has been lovingly restored and decorated by famous French interior designer Michele Joubert, and features luxurious accommodations in classic French style.  We're renting the entire chateau, so you'll have full access to the 2 acre park, 20 meter swimming pool, music room and billiard room.

Also new is the lineup of excellent local chefs who'll lead our cooking classes.  You'll spend a half-day with Chef Edouard Loubet of Michelin 2-star rated Moulin de Lourmarin restaurant, learning an innovative style of Provençal cuisine based on fresh herbs and vegetables.  In the beautiful, spacious kitchen of the Chateau de Gignac, you'll enjoy classes with Chef Raoul Reichrath of highly-rated Le Grand Pré restaurant, and with Chef Robert Brunel of Avignon's Brunel restaurant, who also teaches at the famous Le Marmiton cooking school in Avignon.

Space is limited for these programs, so I encourage you to sign up soon!  For more information, see the tour itinerary and details.  To see photos of the Chateau de Gignac, see their web site.

Wine Tip of the Month: The Right Wine Glasses

Choosing the appropriate glass in which to serve your wine is an important decision.  It is certain that the right glass will bring out the aromas and tastes of your prized wines and enhance your wine tasting experience, while the wrong glass will make your tasting less enjoyable.  But which glasses have the Right Stuff, and which are better put aside for drinking juice or Coca Cola?

Good wine tasting glasses are made of clear, non-colored glass or crystal.  I know, those Czech crystal glasses you inherited from your grandparents with the fancy etching and colored glass are really beautiful, but they're just not suited to serious wine tasting.  They obscure your view of the wine, and of course judging the wine's color through a green- or purple-tinted glass is an excercise in futility. Plain, clear glass or crystal is the way to go.

The stem of the glass should be long enough that you can comfortably hold the glass by its stem.  This helps you avoid holding the glass by the bowl, which would warm up the wine and obscure your view.

Most importantly, the bowl should be long (high) enough that you can easily swirl your wine without it whipping out the top and onto your shirt. And the top of the glass should taper toward the middle, to concentrate the aromas so you can smell them more easily.  Professional tasting glasses (see example here) have all of the above characteristics, and while they're nothing special to look at, they work well for all types of wine, even Champagne.

There are many glasses available in the marketplace that meet all the criteria above and can therefore work as all-purpose wine glasses.  I particularly like the "Oenologue" series from J.G. Durand - crystal, but affordable, ideally shaped, very attractive, and available in a variety of sizes.  But you might also try Riedel's "Sommelier's Chianti" (we were recently served in this glass at Chateau Margaux) or "Sommelier's Bordeaux Grand Cru" if you like a bigger glass, or Spiegelau's "Red Wine Goblet" or "Tasting Glass".

So what about all those beautiful glasses in every shape and size that we see in the wine accessories stores?  They're certainly lovely - go ahead and buy them if they appeal to you and you can afford them.  Some of them actually do help bring out the best in the type of wine for which they're designed.  But for those of us with modest means, be reassured that your all-purpose glass as described above will work just fine.  I would make just one exception: Champagne really is best served in flutes (again, the top should taper in to concentrate the aromas), because the verticality of the glass gives the bubbles a good long distance to travel, so you can appreciate their quality and persistance.

Our friends (and recent clients) at Wine Studio Wine Accessories have a great selection of stemware, and can give you excellent advice on buying wine glasses - visit their web site here.

Rosé: Guilt by Association

No wine has a worse reputation than rosé.  Rosé is like that beautiful, bad girl in high school who "gave out" - everyone liked to trash her, but secretly they kind of envied her.  Rosé is like that: we're supposed to hate it, but there's that beautiful color all ready to seduce us if only we could just relax and give in . . . 

Rosé suffers from bad associations (that bad girl hung around with the "wrong crowd", didn't she?).  For those of us who grew up in the 50's or 60's, think rosé and Mateus comes to mind, the sweet Portugese plonk we drank in college to "get romantic". My other early association is Rosé d'Anjou, the sweet, inexpensive Loire Valley rosé my father used to buy for family get-togethers.  So "rosé" equals "sweet" (and bad) for many of us.  Certainly not a wine to drink with a fine meal.

Think again.  That bad girl from high school is now president of a major corporation, and today's French rosé is dry, suave and sassy, a great match with many kinds of food.  From the bone dry rosé's of Sancerre to the deep cherry "clairet" of Bordeaux, to the refreshing Côtes de Provence and the complex, full-bodied Tavel, you'll find excellent quality, dry rosé's all over France.  We love rosé in the summertime - you just can't beat a chilled, delectable rosé with toast and tapenade (olive paste) served out on the patio on a hot day.  Rosé speaks vacation to me, sunny days, cool breezes, flavorful foods, good company, laughter.  What more could you want from a wine?  And the beauty part is that you can keep drinking rosé well past summer, with dishes like smoked or poached salmon, roast chicken or pork, or tuna steaks.  So leave your old preconceived ideas on the doorstep - rosé is real wine, and a real pleasure.  Go ahead, give in, you know you want it!

You'll taste great rosé wines on most of our tours, but especially on our Northern & Southern Rhône Valley tour, and our Cooking & Wine in Provence programs.

Special Incentives for Group Leaders

Do you have a group of friends or colleagues who share your interest in wine and food? Just get a group of 10 people to take a customized, private wine tour together in 2004, we will offer the tour to you at no cost. For our scheduled tours, just get six other people to sign up for any of our tours, and once again, we will offer a tour to you at no cost. There really is no catch - if you bring in that many clients for us, it's worth it to us to reward you! This incentive has been extended to the end of 2003 for our 2004 tours - just contact us for details.

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Contact Us

I'm always available to answer your questions about our wine and culinary programs, our company, and wine in France in general. Don't hesitate to contact me at info@wine-tours-france.com, or toll free at  1-877-261-1500.

Best regards,

Lauriann Greene-Sollin, Sommelier-Conseil
President/Founder

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FRENCH WINE EXPLORERS
info@wine-tours-france.com
www.wine-tours-france.com
Tel:  1-877-261-1500
Fax: 1-253-423-5316

Copyright 2003, French Wine Explorers. Articles © 2003 Lauriann Greene.  All rights reserved.  WST #601 903 728.