Bordeaux wine

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Bordeaux wine, refers to all wine, red or white, produced in the Bordeaux region of France.

Contents 1 Region 2 Grapes 3 Classification 4 History 5 Problems and prospects 6 See also 7 External links 8 Source 9 Footnotes

[edit] Region

The Bordeaux region of France is the second largest wine-growing area in the world with 284,320 acres under vine, 57 appellations, 9,000 wine-producing châteaux, and 13,000 grape growers. Only the Languedoc wine region with 617,750 acres under vine is larger.^[1].

With an annual production of over 700 million bottles Bordeaux produces everything from large quantities of everyday table wine, to the most expensive and prestigious wines in the world. Yet while the reputation of Bordeaux is based upon a few prestigious red and sweet white Sauternes, Bordeaux also produces white wines, rosé wines, and even the sparkling Crémant de Bordeaux.

The major reason for the success of winemaking in the Bordeaux region is the excellent environment for growing vines. The geological foundation of the region is limestone, leading to a soil structure that is heavy in calcium. With the natural paths of the Garonne and the Dordogne rivers to irrigate the land, and an oceanic climate that provides humidity to the atmosphere, an almost perfect environment is created in which grapes can, and do, flourish.

[edit] Grapes

Red Bordeaux, which is traditionally known as claret in the United Kingdom, is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec, and Carmenere although the Malbec is very seldom used and Carmenere is now virtually absent in Bordeaux, excluding incorrectly labeled Merlot grapes. White Bordeaux, including the sweet Sauternes, is made from Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, and Muscadelle.

As a very broad generalization, Cabernet Sauvignon dominates the blend in red wines produced in the Médoc. Merlot tends to predominate in Saint Emilion and Pomerol.

In California, red or white wines that use the same grapes as Bordeaux are called Meritage wines.

[edit] Classification

The Bordeaux wine region is divided into subregions including Saint-Émilion, Pomerol, Médoc, and Graves. In 1855, a classification system, known as The Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855, ranked the wines into five categories according to price. The first growth red wines (four from Médoc and one, Château Haut-Brion, from Graves), are among the most expensive wines in the world.

The first growths are:

• Château Lafite-Rothschild
• Château Margaux
• Château Latour
• Château Haut-Brion
• Château Mouton Rothschild

In 1955, St. Émilion AOC were classified, adding an additional two Premier Crus (Class A):

• Château Ausone
• Château Cheval Blanc

Pomerol has never been officially classified, but its best estates, such as Château Pétrus and Château Le Pin, fetch very high prices that often exceed even the prices of the first growths.

Sauternes is a subregion of Graves known for its intensely sweet, white, dessert wines such as Château d'Yquem. The intense sweetness is the result of the grapes being affected by Botrytis cinerea, a fungus that is commonly known as noble rot.

Many critics, including Robert M. Parker, Jr., believe that the 1855 classification is out of date and that a reclassification would be in the interests of consumers. Apart from being out of date, the 1855 classification was based entirely on wine prices. Since 1855, châteaux have bought and sold vineyards; prestigious winemakers have died; and many other important changes have occurred. In 1961, the French government decided to review the classification and delete 17 châteaux. In the end, the proposed reclassification never happened because the government finally yielded to political pressure applied by owners of the affected châteaux, who feared that a demotion would mean that they would need to reduce their prices. Certainly, there are some wines that are not as good as their classification would lead the average consumer to believe, and there are many producers that make excellent wine despite little or no recognition according to the 1855 classification. Nevertheless, it is generally agreed that all the first growths are among the finest wines available.

[edit] History

Wine production seems to have begun sometime after 48 AD, during the Roman occupation of St. Émilion, when the Romans established vineyards to cultivate wine for the soldiers.^[2] However, it is only in 71 AD that Pliny recorded the first real evidence of vineyards in Bordeaux.^[3] France's first extensive vineyards were established by Rome in around 122 BC in today's Languedoc, the better part of two hundred years earlier.^[4]

Although domestically popular, French wine was seldom exported, as the areas covered by vineyards and the volume of wine produced was low. In the 12th century however, the popularity of Bordeaux wines increased dramatically, following the marriage of Henry Plantagenet and Aliénor d’Aquitaine. In the 14th century, Clement V, first French Pope, always served Bordeaux wines during his travels around France an Europe.

As the popularity of Bordeaux wine increased, the vineyards expanded to accommodate the demands from abroad. Being the land tax beneficiary, Henry II was in favour of this industry, and to increase it further, abolished export taxes to England from the Aquitaine region. In the 13th and 14th century, a code of business practices called the police des vins emerged to give Bordeaux wine a distinct trade advantage over its neighbouring regions.^[5]

In 1725, the spread of vineyards throughout Bordeaux was so vast that it was divided into specific areas so that the consumer could tell exactly where each wine was from. The collection of districts was known as the Vignoble de Bordeaux, and bottles were labelled with both the region and the area from which they originated.

Due to the lucrative nature of this business, other areas in France began growing their own wines and labelling them as Bordeaux products. As profits in the Aquitaine region declined, the viticulteurs demanded that the government impose a law declaring that only produce from Bordeaux could be labelled with that name.

In 1936, the government responded to the appeals from the winemakers and stated that all regions in France had to name their wines by the place in which they had been produced. Labelled with the AOC approved stamp, products were officially confirmed to be from the region that it stated. This law later extended to other goods such as cheese, poultry and vegetables.

[edit] Problems and prospects

The important Bordeaux wine industry is facing problems. Consumption of wine in France has been declining, New World wines present strong competition in major export markets, increasing consumer preference for brand names and varietal labels create marketing challenges, high production costs reduce competitiveness, along with other problems have created economic difficulties.

France has an unsurpassed wine infrastructure, a long tradition of making wine, and a strong international reputation. Proposals such as Plan Bordeaux and actions such as vine pull schemes are designed to build on the region's strengths and bring about a return to prosperity.

[edit] See also

• Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855
• Comité Régional d'Action Viticole Radical terrorist group of growers.
• French wine
• Garagistes
• Globalization of wine
• Jacques Hemmer
• Judgment of Paris
• Thierry Boudinaud
• Vineyard
• Wine fraud

[edit] External links

• Official Bordeaux Wine website (CIVB)
• Bordeaux Classifications
• "The Judgment of Paris: What the French didn't learn from the legendary wine-tasting."
• Wine war: Savy New World marketers are devastating the French wine industry
• Bordeaux Wine Everything you need to know about Bordeaux Wine

[edit] Source

• Echikson, William. Noble Rot: A Bordeaux Wine Revolution. NY: Norton, 2004.
• EU Attacking French AOC System. Chez Mistral [1]
• Teichgraeber. Bordeaux for less dough. San Francisco chronicle, June 8, 2006 [2]

[edit] Footnotes

1. ^ Jancis Robinson, "Oxford Companion to Wine", Second Edition pg 397. Oxford University Press 1999
2. ^ Hugh Johnson, Vintage: The Story of Wine pg 50. Simon and Schuster 1989
3. ^ Hugh Johnson, Vintage: The Story of Wine pg 50. Simon and Schuster 1989
4. ^ Hugh Johnson, Vintage: The Story of Wine pg 48. Simon and Schuster 1989
5. ^ Hugh Johnson, Vintage: The Story of Wine pg 149. Simon and Schuster 1989