Wine from Bordeaux :
Wine from Bordeaux is a very important for wine. It has many vineyards.
In the region of Bordeaux, when we talk about wine, there are 7 under-regions :
- Entre Garonne et Dordogne
- La région des Graves
- Le Blayais et le Bourgeais
- Le Libournais
- Le Médoc
- Les appellations régionales de Bordeaux (Bordeaux, Bordeaux Supérieur, Crémant)
- Les vins blancs liquoreux
Wine from Bordeaux ☞ Different AOC :
Then, in these regions, you have different AOC (Protected Designation of Origin) :
- Entre Garonne et Dordogne, 9 appellations : Bordeaux haut-benauge, Entre-deux-mers, Entre-deux-mers haut-benauge, Cadillac-côtes-de-bordeaux, Côtes-de-bordeaux-saint-macaire, Graves-de-vayres, Sainte-foy-bordeaux, Premières-côtes-de-bordeaux, Côtes-de-Bordeaux
- La région des Graves, 3 appellations : Pessac-léognan, Graves, Graves supérieurs
- Le Blayais et le Bourgeais, 4 appellations : Blaye, Côtes-de-blaye, Blaye-côtes-de-bordeaux, Côtes-de-bourg
- Le libournais, 12 appellations : Saint-émilion grand cru, Castillon-côtes-de-bordeaux, Francs-côtes-de-bordeaux, Canon-fronsac, Fronsac, Pomerol, Lalande-de-pomerol, Saint-émilion, Lussac-saint-émilion, Montagne-saint-émilion, Puisseguin-saint-émilion, Saint-georges-saint-émilion
- Le Médoc, 8 appellations : Pauillac, Saint-estèphe, Saint-julien, Margaux, Médoc, Haut-médoc, Listrac-médoc, Moulis-en-médoc
- Les appellations régionales de Bordeaux, 6 appellations : Crémant-de-bordeaux, Bordeaux, Bordeaux clairet, Bordeaux blanc, Bordeaux rosé, Bordeaux supérieur
- Les vins blancs liquoreux, 6 appellations : Cadillac, Loupiac, Sainte-croix-du-mont, Cérons, Barsac, Sauternes
In these different AOC, you can have red wine, white wine, rosé,… They are made with different grape varieties, that we call “cépages”. You have the red one with cabernet (franc et sauvignon), merlot, petit verdot, malbec, carménère. You also have the white one with sémillon, sauvignon, muscadelle, colombard, merlot blanc, sauvignon gris, ugni blanc.
The different types of grapes are collected in several places of the region : on the left bank of the river Gironde and Garonne : the red wines of Médoc, and going down you have : the red wines and the white wines of Graves and in the south, the wines of Sauternais. On the right bank of the river Gironde and Dordogne spread the Blayais et le Bourgeais, the Libournais and l’Entre-deux-Mers is between the two rivers : Dordogne and Garonne.
Something also important when you want to choose a wine is looking at the vintage, what we call “millésime”. It gives you the details about the crop of the grapes during the year, how the weather was and the consequences it has about the wine and its taste.
Vocabulaire :
- Une région : a region
- Une vigne : a vineyard
- AOC (appellation d’origine contrôlée) : Protected Designation of Origin
- Le cépage : A grape variety
- Collecter, ramasser : to collect, to harvest
- Les millésimes : vintage