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French Wine Explorers Wine e-Newsletter
www.wine-tours-france.com - December 2004

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

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This month's wine explorations:

Super Tuscans: An Italian Winemaking Revolution

For many years, much of Italian winemaking was more about quantity than quality.  As in the South of France, large quantities of mediocre table wine were produced by big négociant firms, or by farmers who grew winegrapes along with other crops and had no particular winemaking skill.  By the 1970's, even in the best fine wine-producing DOCG appellations (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) like Brunello di Montalcino in Tuscany or Barolo in the Piemont, winemaking creativity had been thwarted by overly strict regulations, and the wines produced no longer interested most of the winebuying public.

A small revolution happened in Tuscany in 1970 that changed the course of Italian winemaking.  It was in that year that the marquis Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, at his estate Tenuta San Guido, first introduced to the international market a wine he had been making for private consumption since the late '40s: the now world-famous Sassacaia.  Incisa della Rocchetta was the first to make a Tuscan wine using a majority of the French grape variety Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend, and to age it in French oak barrels (a technique unheard of in Tuscany at the time).  By the mid-70's, Sassacaia had won international acclaim, and several visionary négociants and winemakers, most notably Antinori, saw in this success a way to break out of the inertia of the strict rules of the DOC system and bring Italian wines back into the quality wine market.  The concept of the "Super Tuscan" (thus named by American wine critics for the astronomic prices they achieved) was born.  The regulatory commission that oversees the DOC system prohibits the use of non-Italian grape varieties, and promptly categorized Sassacaia and the other Super Tuscans as Vino di Tavola (Table Wine), the lowest level on the Italian quality scale.  But this disapproval did not stop Antinori from making Tignanello and Solaia, or Tenuta dell’ Ornellaia from making Ornellaia and Ornellaia Massetto, wines that now fetch hefty prices.  These wines blend the traditional Sangiovese grape of the Tuscany region with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot, and are produced in the rich, full-bodied "international" style using modern techniques made popular by famous enologists like Bordeaux's Michel Rolland.

The popularity and success of the Super Tuscans forced the Italian government to drop the Table Wine designation and create a new category that would encompass these wines.  A new denomination called Indicazione Geografica Tipica (IGT) gives more freedom to these winemakers for experimentation and blending with non-traditional grape varieties. The new DOC of Bolgheri in the beautiful coastal Maremma area was also created to recognize the terroir of some of the greatest Super Tuscan wines.  Most importantly, the advent of the Super Tuscans has brought new life to the traditional DOC's and DOCG's of Tuscany, where winemakers adopted more modern vinification and marketing methods and regained their rightful place in the international marketplace.

Enjoy the privilege of visiting the best Super Tuscans and tasting Sassacaia and Ornellaia on our Great Wines of Tuscany tour, May 9-14, 2005, or ask us to create a private, customized wine tour for you in Tuscany including some of the greatest estates of the region.

Tours Update - Space Still Available on Selected Tours

As we move into 2005, we wanted to let you know that space is going fast on Burgundy & Champagne Prestige and Wine & War, which have only 6 spaces left each.  Wine & War is a ONE-TIME-ONLY event, so be sure not to miss this exceptional tour that includes meetings and tastings with some of the biggest names in French wine.  

Bordeaux Prestige is now sold out.  If you would like to experience wine touring in Bordeaux in 2005, I encourage you to try one of our great Best of Bordeaux tours, which offer tastings at First Growths and fabulous accommodations.  We also have wonderful tours in the fascinating and beautiful regions of the Rhône Valley, Champagne/Loire Valley, and Tuscany for 2005, and all of these tours still have space available at this time.

Remember that we do NOT offer last-minute discounts, and after the first of the year, we expect the tours to start filling up quickly.  Please contact us for more information, or see the French Wine Explorers web site at http://www.wine-tours-france.com for full information, itineraries and reservation forms.

2004 in Review: A Tumultuous Year for French Wine

If 2003 will be remembered for its hot temperatures, 2004 may well be remembered for its hot tempers.  This has been a year of upheaval in the French wine business, of self-questioning and struggle to retain the country's historical stature in a changing and increasingly competitive world wine market.  Let's take a look at some of the pivotal events that shaped this year in France:

  • The anti-alcohol lobby: controversy raged throughout the year on the Evin law which bans advertising that blatantly promotes alcohol consumption.  The anti-alcohol lobby managed to get some fairly innocuous wine advertising banned, which sparked a huge reaction on the part of winemakers all over France.  Late in the year, winemakers staged a rally and protest march to implore the government to amend the Evin law to allow reasonable wine advertising that would allow winemakers to compete in an increasingly competitive marketing arena.  When one considers that Australia spends ten times more on advertising than all the wine regions of France combined, one can see why French winemakers are concerned and angry at government limitations on wine advertising.  These winemakers rightfully feel that wine is being demonized by a fanatical anti-alcohol lobby that makes no distinction between hard alcohol and the fruit of the vine.  Spain has very wisely avoided this issue by elevating wine to the status of a food product that is an integral part of the country's culture, a measure that winemakers are pushing the French government to adopt.  What makes the issue even more distressing is another development --
  • The drop in annual wine consumption in France: it was this year that the French wine community began to react vocally to the sharp drop in annual consumption of wine in France. Tighter controls on drunk driving and the installation of highway radar machines have finally been fruitful (excuse the pun), and people are now drinking less wine when they go out for lunch and dinner. Since the government began its all-out road safety campaign in late 2002, it is estimated that wine consumption has dropped by 10-15% in France (and 99% of what people were drinking was French wine).  Winemakers are definitely now feeling the squeeze, particularly because there has also been --
  • A drop in French wine exported abroad: competition from other wine-producing countries and the strength of the Euro have caused as much as a 10% decrease in French wine sales abroad.
  • The premier of Mondovino: the great documentary by American sommelier/filmmaker/ Francophile Jonathan Nossiter (highly recommended) caused quite a stir in the French wine business when it premiered this November.  Even though Nossiter openly admires terroir-oriented French wine producers like Aimé Guibert or Hubert de Montille in the film, others get thoroughly lambasted (like enologist Michel Rolland, whom he portrays as a cigar-puffing, arrogant businessman).  Never have the inner workings of the secretive world of French wine been so baldly exposed to the public, and not always in a very attractive light.

As a result of these and other factors, 2004 will be remembered as the year that the French wine industry declared itself "en crise" (in crisis).  Does this mean that France will be toppled from its status as the world's greatest producer of quality wine?  Not likely.  France still has the most advantageous geographical position in the world for winemaking, located between the ideal latitudes and with the temperate climate and ideal geological makeup needed to produce great wines (see our web site article "What is Wine" for more on this).  It also has the greatest variety of excellent terroirs, and the greatest concentration of winemaking savoir faire.  But it does mean that France will have to reposition itself in the increasingly complex fine wine marketplace, and re-evaluate its domestic policies to be able to maintain its great winemaking traditions while taking into account the realities of modern life.  Will France be able to rise to these challenges?  We'll have to wait and see in 2005!  

Upcoming Wine & Food Events in France: Rhône, Burgundy & Loire

  • Jan. 21-24, 2005: Wine Market of Ampuis (Northern Rhône Valley), Salle polyvalente, 69240 AMPUIS:  56 producers and négociants display their wines for tastings of Côte Rôtie, Condrieu, Hermitage and more. For more info: Tel: + 33 04 74 56 18 20, victordesire@aol.com.
  • January 29: St. Vincent Tournant, Beaune (Burgundy): The winemakers of Burgundy pay tribute to their patron saint in this traditional festival, which takes place this year in the city and appellation of Beaune.  For more info:  www.saint-vincent-beaune.com, Tel : +33 (0)3 80 25 04 80.
  • Jan. 31-Feb. 2:  Loire Valley Wine Salon, Parc des Expostions, Angers: 600 exhibitors invite you to discover the great wines and terroir products of the Loire Valley. For more info:  www.salondesvinsdeloire.com, Tel: +33 (0)2 41 93 40 50.

We're always happy to design a customized, private tour for you in the region of your choice, so you can take advantage of the many wine-related events available throughout the year!

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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. Please feel free to contact me at lgreene@wine-tours-france.com, or toll free at  1-877-261-1500.

With best wishes for a very Happy New Year,

Lauriann Greene-Sollin, Sommelier-Conseil
President/Founder

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FRENCH WINE EXPLORERS
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Tel:  1-877-261-1500
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© 2004 French Wine Explorers. Articles © 2004 Lauriann Greene.  All rights reserved.  WST #601 903 728.