Learning to Love French Wines - a white blend from Bordeaux

“Give me books, French wine, fruit, fine weather and a little music played out of doors by somebody I do not know.” – John Keats

The region of Bordeaux is best known for its hearty red wines including Cabernets and Merlots that hail from Médoc, Graves and Pomerol. 80 – 90% of the wines produced in Bordeaux are red. Tucked in the southernmost region of Bordeaux is a vast expanse of forested land known as Entre-Deux-Mers. The appellation for this region offers us a different focus with it’s white wines taking the lead in sales and recognition.  Today I will highlight an excellent wine for the summer, Château La Rose de Vitrac.

Château La Rose de Vitrac is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot.  This white blend has a surprisingly light taste in comparison with other whites from the Bordeaux region.

                                  

                                         Château La Rose de Vitrac

PositiveVines‘ HelpfulTip: Appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical area that is used to identify where the grapes for a particular wine were grown.

Château La Rose de Vitrac starts with a light melon taste with hints herbs and lemon flavors rounding out the experience. It is a zesty wine that is an excellent value at $8-$9 a bottle. Don’t let the low price make you think that this isn’t a quality wine. This is a great every day drinking wine that you don’t have to break the bank to enjoy. You can find it in a variety of wine and spirits stores. It pairs nicely with fish, fruit and cheeses. Be sure to try this one. It may become a summer favorite!

Remember to drink what it is that makes you truly happy and always think positively!

Drink Responsibly!

Enjoy a crisp Sauvignon Blanc from Groth Vineyards to start your summer festivities!

“It’s a smile, it’s a kiss, it’s a sip of wine… it’s summertime!” – Kenny Chesney

With Memorial Day hailing the unofficial start of summer in the U.S., I would like to share a review of a crisp Sauvignon Blanc blend that utilizes Sémillon grape stock from France. As you join friends and family members for impromptu cookouts and nights by the pool, considering adding the 2014 Groth’s Sauvignon Blanc (www.grothwines.com) to your list of must have wines for summer sipping.

Napa Valley is well known for it’s microclimates. The winemakers at Groth Vineyards and Winery are masterful at using grapes from multiple locations with temperature variations in creating this Sauvignon Blanc.

Warm climates in the Oakville California vineyard produced Sauvignon Blanc grapes that matured with hints of citrus flavor. Bordeaux stock of Sémillon grapes were blended from cooler areas in the same vineyard providing a little sweetness to a dry white wine. Groth’s Sauvignon Blanc does not disappoint. It is crisp with an early melon taste and smell that finishes up with mild hints of herbs. The combined tastes lightly linger after you take a sip.

                                         Groth's Sauvignon Blanc

The winemaking trio of Director Michael Weis, Cameron Parry and Eric Fidel utilize whole cluster pressing to produce the soft fruity taste. The wine is then allowed to ferment in natural oak barrels for 5 months, using a process known as sur lie.

PositiveVines‘ HelpfulTip: “Sur lie” aging is a technique that allows the wines to age with residual yeasts in order to extract additional flavors that may be missed by filtering the wine to remove yeasts at the start of the fermentation process.

Straw like in color – Groth’s Sauvignon Blanc can be paired with grilled seafood, fresh fruits and cheeses and a variety of chicken and salad dishes. It is an outstanding value at an average of $20 per bottle. The next time that you are shopping for great values in wines pick up a few bottles of this Sauvignon Blanc to have on hand for after work meals that you share on the patio with friends and family.

Remember to drink what it is that makes you truly happy and always think positively!

Drink Responsibly!

Learning to Love French Wines - the estate of Château-Landat

“I could probably die happy with a cheeseboard and a glass of French red wine - that's my idea of a perfect dinner.” – Deidre O’Kane

Red wine blends have grown in popularity throughout the U.S. The same enthusiasm is seen in French wines. One that is smooth to drink and easily accessible in local wine stores around the country  is from the estate of Château-Landat in the Haut-Médoc region of Bordeaux (http://domaines-fabre.fr/en/nos-Châteaux/Château-landat).

The Haut-Médoc region borders the southernmost part of the large Médoc region. The terroir in this region has excellent clay soil conditions for growing a variety of red varietals with access to the Gironde river.

Château-Landat is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot.  As a matter of information these are the only grape varietals that the estate of Château-Landat grows. That focus on varietals goes back to the AOC regulations discussed in the last blog which promote focus on growing the best that a vineyard can support versus dilution with too many grape types.

When sampled after 5 years of bottling, Château-Landat comes across as a medium bodied red wine. It is best aerated for at least an hour in a slightly cool room without direct sunlight before drinking. The 2011 vintage that we sampled was well balanced with minimal tannins and lots of black fruits such as currant and blackberries.

PositiveVines‘ HelpfulTip: Aeration is commonly referred to as letting a wine breath. The idea is that a wine will soften and the flavors become more pronounced once the wine hits the air. The best way to aerate a wine is to pour it in a decanter or carafe.

This Château-Landat is a 91 point wine that may be best held in a cellar for aging up to 10 years in order to have a fuller bodied experience. However, don’t feel that you have to wait 10 years to enjoy this wonderfully priced wine. At $17 a bottle, you can find 2-5 year aged bottles in your local wine store to enjoy now. My recommendation is that this medium bodied wine would go well with creamy sauced chicken dishes, Indian food and heavier fishes such as salmon.

Remember to drink what it is that makes you truly happy and always think positively!

Drink Responsibly!

Learning to Love French Wines!

“Give me books, French wine, fruit, fine weather and a little music played out of doors by somebody I do not know.” - John Keats

We’ve talked over the past few months about Cabernet Sauvignons, Chardonnays and many other varietal types of wine. The good majority of my blogs have focused on California wineries and vineyards. Today – I’d like to expand your knowledge or wines and wine labeling by discussing French wines.

You may wonder what makes wines from France that much different than those from California or Oregon or even New York state. Many parts of the US, Chile, Span and other countries produce exceptional wines. Besides the legend of French wines, you will notice a difference in the labeling.

French wines are labeled by the region that they are produced in. Some of the most noteworthy are Champagne, The Rhône and Bordeaux. Two-thirds of the wines produced in France are reds.

France has a set of complex wine laws designed to protect the integrity of the industry. In 1935 the INAO was created to set up a system of ratings and controls referred to as the AOC (Appellation d’origine contrôlée).

PositiveVines ‘HelpfulTip: AOC translates into controlled designation of origin. It is used to regulate production and sales of not only wine in France but, also of cheeses, butters and other agricultural products.

AOC labeling is complex so today I’ll give you the highlights contained on each label –

• The Area of Production (for example Haut-Médoc in Bordeux),
• Grape variety (each area has a limit on the types of grapes that can be grown) and
• The Name of the Winery.

What is important to remember is that you need to read the labels carefully in order to determine the grape varietals included in each bottle. In most cases wine stores stock these wines by the country and whether a bottle is a white or red. They are not identified as Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, or other varietal types.

During the next 3 months, I’ll write blogs that feature reasonably priced wines from each of the major wine producing regions of France. I will also further explore the complex wine labeling system to help you identify French wines that you may want to try. My goal is to target bottles that cost less than $25 and with excellent quality. While many of the best French wines are considerably more expensive, my goal is to keep things Positively affordable!

Remember to drink what it is that makes you truly happy and always think positively!

Drink Responsibly!