France « In Vino Paratus

Melon de Bourgogne and its Avatar Muscadet

Melon de Bourgogne is an ancient Burgundy variety that fell out of favor in its homeland but found a deserving new home in the neighboring Loire Valley. Loire winemakers produce pure varietal wine from Melon de Bourgogne, known as Muscadet. Under this name, the grape is well-known among modern wine lovers.

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Learn to Read Labels. France.

The benefits of knowing how to read wine labels and understanding of wine law common for EU are discussed in the article “Learn to Read Labels. Europe.” Here, I will be talking about things that are specific to France. I will not be returning to the basics, so I highly recommended reading the article about Europe first, as it is quite important for understanding this one.

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Burgundy. Introduction

Burgundy has often been named the stomach of France (as Paris is the head, and Champagne is the soul), but I don’t think that such a comparison is correct. If you associate France with the body, then Burgundy is its tongue with all its taste buds. Because Burgundy is not about gluttony, it is about enjoyment. Enjoyment of meal, enjoyment of wine. For this Burgundy has everything. As Burgundians say – it is an Epicurean place. Burgundian wines are famous around the world.

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Wines of North Burgundy

About Burgundy in general I am talking here, so let’s talk about North Burgundy in particular. In our wine case, we are talking about the Yonna region. The most well-known part of Yonna is Chablis. Famous, worldwide known wine. One of the most often illegitimate used names. Absolutely unique Chardonnay. Many simplified wine maps show this part of France just like Chablis, not caring about anything else. However, not only Chablis exists on the wine hills of the region. So, Yonna.

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Golden Chenin Blanc

Chenin blanc – a noble grape of remarkable potential. Sadly, this grape variety is often underappreciated, perhaps due to the challenges it presents to winemakers. Crafting exceptional wines from Chenin requires knowledge, skill, and dedication; without these, the results may be discouraging.

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Kir

Let’s delve into the world of Burgundy’s offerings once more. Kir is a cocktail born in Burgundy, crafted from entirely Burgundian ingredients: Aligoté white wine and blackcurrant liqueur known as crème de cassis.

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Aligote

Burgundy, renowned as the progenitor of globally celebrated grape varieties such as Chardonnay and Pinot noir, birthed another notable offspring deserving of attention— Aligoté.

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Tannat

April 14 marks Tannat Day, an occasion that beckons aficionados of robust, full-bodied, and weighty red wines to turn their attention to the Tannat grape. Noteworthy is its gradual yet steadfast ascent in the global wine market over the past two decades.

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Syrah

Syrah, undeniably one of the grape world’s cornerstones, commands a distinguished place among the dozen most favored varieties, flourishing in vineyards across the globe. Originating from the Rhône Valley in France, Syrah reigns supreme as the primary grape in the production of North Rhône red wines.

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Ratafia de Bourgogne

Not only wine filled the alcohol world of Burgundy. If you ask locals what to try specifically Burgundian, they tell you about Ratafia. In the world, the word Ratafia is used for two different things. Actually, for three, but the third one is biscuit and is not related to the subject of this topic.

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North Burgundy. Vezelay

Vezelay – it’s about history, architecture, religion, and wine.

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North Burgundy. Irancy

Irancy is a small, nice town, that is located on the right bank of Yonna, about four kilometres from the river. It was founded in 900 AD when Abbot Richard, Duke of Burgundy expanded his abbey. Also, it is one of the most northern French AOCs for red wines. Its specialization is Pinot noir. And it is also the ideal place to understand the idea of terroir.

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World of Magic Bubbles

In the article about Champagne I talk in detail about the history of the foremother of all sparkling wines, about Champagne’s styles and technology. However, the world of magic bubbles doesn’t restrict to Champagne; it is wide, deep, diverse, and very interesting.

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Champagne

The sparkling wine world is huge and inimitable. Careful examination of all its part requires time, patience, ~~and trained liver~~. Today we will talk about the origin of sparkling wine, about champagne – the foremother of all of them, about the main methods of sparkling wine production, and about countries those sparkling wines are wildly present in the world market.

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Grenache

September 17 is The International Grenache Day. So, it is a good time to say a couple of words about this interesting and beautiful grape variety.

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Cognac

It is time to talk about cognac.

Technically, cognac is a brandy (a spirit made by wine distillation) produced in French region Cognac according to the Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée rules (about EU and French wine laws read here and here ). However, cognac is not just brandy with geographical identification, it is the name, the history, the pride, and the worldwide recognition of France (and its income source, more than 90% of cognac production is exported, and every second, five bottles of cognac are sold in the world).

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Pinot Noir. Red grape – red, white, and rose wine

Pinot Noir is one of the most popular red grape varieties in the world. Pinot Noir is a delicate and finicky grape, requiring special care and attention from winemakers. However, the effort pays off a hundredfold, as it produces remarkable wines. Pinot Noir is also unique in that it can yield red, white, or even rosé wine with equal distinction.

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Chardonnay: the taste of climate and oak

If you drink white wine in general, you almost surely drank Chardonnay. More than likely you drank it many times, even sometimes you probably didn’t know that it was Chardonnay in your glass. This is a very popular grape variety. Nowadays every wine-producing country makes Chardonnay. Every wine store, every restaurant has a multiple choice of Chardonnay. Its popularity keeps first place among white wines (or shares it with Sauvignon blanc that is more probable).

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Wines of France. Buzet AOC

Let’s talk about the small wine region Buzet, which I searched out travelling on the barge and tasting local wines; about a trickery of Bordeaux wine negotiants; and about winemaking co-ops.

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Beaujolais Nouveau. The First Wine of the Harvest.

On the third Thursday of November, Beaujolais Nouveau of currant year’s harvest appears on the market. This is the first wine of this harvest; all others still need a lot of time until they are ready for consumption. In France, England, Japan and many other countries this is the feast day (and not just a single day), the celebration day of a young wine.

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Chartreuse. The Elixir of Longevity with Four Hundred Years of History.

During my visit to Lyon last autumn, I couldn’t resist spending a day in the birthplace of my favorite liqueur, exploring the fascinating world of the original Elixir Vegetal de la Grande-Chartreuse, discovering the home of the Carthusian monks who created it, and delving into the captivating history and present-day allure of this enigmatic elixir.

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