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

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This month's wine explorations:

Answering Your Wine Questions: What Makes a Good Vintage?

In this new feature, I'll answer your questions about French wine or wine in general.  Just send your question to me at info@wine-tours-france.com.  If I pick your question to answer in the newsletter, you'll get a $100 gift certificate for the tour of your choice.

Jane C. from Seattle, WA asks:  I understand that there are good and bad vintages, but what makes the difference?  Why are some vintages better than others?

The "vintage" of a wine refers to the year in which the grapes used to make the wine were harvested. So a good vintage refers to a good quality harvest of optimally ripe grapes in good sanitary condition (i.e., no rot or other damage).  You need ripe, healthy grapes to make good wine, so the quality of the harvest is of utmost importance in winemaking.  Grapes need hot, sunny conditions during the growing season (roughly April through October in the Northern Hemisphere) in order to ripen, particularly toward the end of the season, namely August and September.  The weather also needs to be relatively dry: too much rain, fog or humidity can cause the grapes to rot.  It's also important that it doesn't rain immediately prior to or during the harvest. The rain water gets absorbed through the roots of the vine and ends up in the grapes.  The addition of this water into the fermenting juice (must) dilutes the wine, making it watery and insipid.  Even rain droplets on the grapes can dilute the wine, so grape picking is usually halted when it starts to rain.

Northern climates are more susceptible to variations in the quality of the harvest than southern climates.  In northern wine regions like the Loire Valley or Champagne, wine growers have a continual fight against cryptogamic (fungus) diseases like mildiou and oidium, and the cooler, cloudier weather that can often occur in the north makes it difficult for the grapes to come to full ripeness.  In these regions, winemakers are allowed to chaptalize (add sugar to) the must to make up for the lack of ripeness that can make the wines too acidic. In Southern climates, as in the Rhône Valley or Languedoc, the summers are almost always hot and dry, the ideal conditions for grape growing.  There is therefore less variation from year to year in the quality of the grape harvest, and it's hard to find a truly bad vintage.

Advances in enology have enabled winemakers to "round out the edges" of even the worst vintage.  The must can be "corrected" to make up for lack of ripeness and minimize the effects of rotten grapes.  These days, it's rare to have a truly "bad" vintage; we now have "great" vintages, and "less great" vintages instead.

When buying wine, keep in mind that it's not necessary to only buy the best vintages.  Many winemakers are able to make wonderful wines even in "lesser" vintages.  Sometimes the only difference between a "great" vintage and a "less great" vintage is that the less great vintage will not age as long.  In France, winemakers advise wine lovers to buy the lesser vintages and drink them young, which will give you something to drink as you wait for the greater vintages to age!

Learn more about viticulture and the French wine regions on one of our 2004 wine tours.

Burgundy: Pleasure and Frustration

No one contests the fact that the Burgundy region of France produces great wines.  And yet, many wine lovers have a love/hate relationship with Burgundy that comes from an unfortunate and undeniable fact: for every great Burgundy produced, there are at least as many awful Burgundies produced.  To quote an old rhyme: when Burgundy is good, it's very, very good, and when it's bad, it's horrid.  Add to that the high prices that many Burgundies command outside of France, and you have a situation that produces a fair amount of frustration among lovers of great wine.  In the generic appellation "Bordeaux", you can find a fair number of good quality, good value wines - in the generic appellation "Burgundy", finding a good wine is much more difficult (particularly for the reds).

Why does Burgundy have such a split personality?  Perhaps the region rested on its laurels for too long.  Too many producers relied on the name Burgundy on the bottle to guarantee that their wine would sell, while doing nothing to increase quality (high yields being a big culprit).  Perhaps it's the nature of the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes used to make the wines.  These subtle varieties need special care to show their best stuff: low yields, excellent "terroir", careful vinification techniques.  Not all winemakers have been up to the task.  Or maybe it's the climate.  Burgundy is in the northern half of France, in a semi-continental climate that is not always very kind to the vine.  Hail storms and spring frosts can damage the grapes or cause crop failure; the sunshine and heat necessary to bring the grapes to full ripeness are not always there when needed.  The result can be unripe, rotten grapes that one can hardly call ideal for making wine.

Whatever the cause of the poor quality of many Burgundy wines, it's heartening to know that there is a definite trend today in Burgundy to improve quality.  Younger winemakers coming out of viticulture/enology school are improving techniques both in the vineyard and in the winery, and their innovation is having a positive effect on the old-timers as well.  Competition from "new world" wines is spurring winemakers to improve quality to remain competitive.  And those who have always made fabulous wines in Burgundy continue to maintain their tradition of quality while also innovating and progressing.

The best Burgundies can be the most subtle and elegant of all French wines, and there ARE excellent values to be found.  It's worth the search (even though sometimes arduous) to find those producers who make the type of Burgundy wines that poets and pundits have been writing about for centuries.  The pleasure you'll have in drinking them will erase the memories of lesser Burgundies past.

Some very good Burgundies to try without breaking the bank:

  • Domaine Daniel Rion - many of the major appellations of the Côtes de Nuits, good values.
  • Bouchard Père et Fils - one of Burgundy's best négociants makes village appellation and 1er Cru wines that, while not cheap, are worth their price.  Try Clos de la Mousse 1er Cru, a lovely soft red that is a good value at around $40.  Or their generic "Bourgogne Chardonnay" or "Bourgogne Pinot Noir", a great value at around $12.
  • Chartron & Trebuchet - their Bourgogne Chardonnay is a nice everyday wine, only around $13.

Join us for a Burgundy wine tour, and taste the best Burgundy has to offer at its most prestigious estates.

Wine Tip of the Month: Transporting Fine Wines

Fine wines are sensitive creatures of habit.  They prefer to be left alone in their dark little niche in your temperature and humidity-controlled cellar, sheltered from light and vibration.  In this safe environment, they can calmly continue their natural aging process, their aromas and textures becoming more and more refined and profound as time goes on.  Take them out of this environment, and they get upset.  When transported in your car for long periods of time over bumpy roads, they can become traumatised, and literally shut down their aromas and flavors. Aunt Millie risks being quite disappointed when the '82 Lafite you brought her to serve with her famous prune and sausage-stuffed turkey has all the character of a Bordeaux ordinaire after 6 hours in the backseat of your Range Rover.  We won't even talk about what happens to that wine you sent from the Saint Emilion shop where they assured you they had no problem shipping to the U.S.  When it arrives three months later after spending a month in the stifling heat of Bordeaux airport's non-air-conditioned warehouse, it may bear little resemblence to the heavenly nectar you tasted at Chateau XYZ in Pomerol.

Is the answer to never transport wine any further than from your cellar to your table?  Of course, that would be ideal, but impractical: you know that you're going to have to transport wine at some point in your life.  There are some precautions you can take, though, to minimize the shock to your wines and the resulting damage that can occur:

  • In your car, place the wine upright.  If you lay the wine down on its side, the wine will slosh around with the movement of the car.  With the wine upright, the wine hits up against the sides of the bottles as you drive.  There is no danger of the cork drying out in a one-day trip.  Place your coat or another object around the bottle so it doesn't fall or roll around on the seat or the floor of the car.  If it's cold out, place the wine in the trunk where it will stay cool, rather than inside the heated car (of course, unless it's -20° outside).  If it's hot, better to keep it inside the air conditioning with you.
  • When moving to a new home, same holds true - wine upright, and of course, well cushioned with styrofoam, or in a box held tightly with other wines.  If it's hot out and you have delicate old or very fine wines, take your best wines in the car with you in a cooler, or at least with the air conditioning on.  If you have a very large cellar of fine wines, find out about renting a refrigerated truck.
  • When having wine shipped by a third party, find out under what conditions the wine will be shipped, and how long the transport will take.  A reputable shipper will ship fine wines in a refrigerated truck or airplane compartment, particularly in summer.

In any event, you should be sure to let the wine rest once you reach your destination and before drinking it.  The longer the wine was in transit, and the older and/or finer the wine, the longer the rest it will need.  When wines are shocked, they tend to "shut down" and lose flavor, aromas and balance.  Let the wine sit for at least a week; it will take that time for the sediment in an older red wine to settle to the bottom again.  A month or more is ideal, to really let the wine recover and open up again.

Wine and Health: Is Red Wine the Secret to a Long Life?

Scientists have long touted the benefits of the antioxidants in red wine for lowering cholesterol, an effect popularly called the French Paradox. In a recently published study announced this month, a Harvard Medical School doctor has identified another substance present in red wine that may actually extend your lifespan.

The substance is a chemical called resveratrol that occurs naturally in red wine, especially those from cooler climates such as Burgundy or the Loire Valley. When ingested, the chemical mimics the effect of a low-calorie diet, which has been proven to lengthen life span in experiments with rats. Studies indicate that eating a diet containing 30% less calories than generally recommended could considerably extend human life span.  Unfortunately, maintaining such a diet is extremely difficult for a healthy adult.  If resveratrol is proven to mimic the life-lengthening effect of eating a low-calorie diet, then the implications of this discovery could be significant.  Some scientists are saying that life expectancy could be increased by as much as 30% if their assumptions about this chemical turn out to be true.

Studies are now underway to thoroughly test these theories, but we probably won't see a drug containing resveratrol or one of its derivatives for at least 10 years.  In the meantime, scientists agree that it certainly doesn't hurt to start drinking a glass of red wine each day "just in case", and many admit to having already adopted this practise.

Resveratrol exists on the skin of both red and white grapes.  During the vinification process for red wines, the grape skins stay in contact with the juice, while white grapes are pressed immediately and the skins discarded.  Red wine therefore contains 10 times as much resveratrol as white wine.  Pinot noir tends to have high levels of the chemical, and cabernet sauvignon has lower levels.  Generally, wines produced in cooler regions contain more resveratrol, while those produced in hotter, drier climates like California, Australia or Provence have less.

What a great excuse to invest in some fabulous Chambertin's and Chinon's, and savor them as you drink literally "à votre santé" (to your health)!

You can taste top-quality, cool climate red wines on our Burgundy Tours and our Paris, Champagne and Loire Valley tour.

Upcoming Wine Events in France

  • October 25-26: Bordeaux "Vin Nouveaux" fair, www.bordeaux-tourisme.com
  • November: The Flame of Armagnac: festival for the yearly start of the distillation in Armagnac - open house in many distilleries: +33 (0)5 62 08 11 00
  • November 7-11: Wine and Food Expo, Brest Parc des Expositions: +33(0)2 98 47 88 00
  • November 8-10:  Wine Trade Fair, Toulouse Parc des Expositions: +33(0)5 62 25 45 45
  • November 15-19: Les Trois Glorieuses: weekend of wine events in Burgundy, including the Hospices de Beaune wine auction and the Paulée de Meursault: +33(0)3 80 21 22 62
  • November 19-23: Beaujolais Gourmand fair, http://www.beaujolaisgourmand.com/
  • November 19: Les Sarmentelles - celebrations for release of the Beaujolais Nouveau in the Beaujolais region, Beaujeu: +33 (0) 4 74 69 22 88
  • November 20: Beaujolais Nouveau celebrations - cafés and bars all over France.

P.S. The Beaujolais Nouveau festivities in the region of Beaujolais are an unforgettable event that will give you an authentic experience of the French countryside.  We have room for 6 people (you can sign up individually or as a group) on this special tour, but you need to sign up NOW!  A great last-minute trip you'll always remember.

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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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Contact us for more information about our wine and culinary programs in France:

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.