Introduction 1
How to Use This Book 2
Part I: Why France is the Home of Great Wines 3
Part II: France’s High-Profile Wine Regions 3
Part III: France’s Other Wine Regions 3
Part IV: The Part of Tens 3
Part V: Appendixes 4
Icons used in this Book 4
Part I: Why France is the Home of Great Wines 5
Chapter 1: France, Superstar 7
In the Beginning 7
Natural Talents 8
Climate ups and downs 10
Old dirt 11
Time passages 12
French Wine-Think 12
Chapter 2: French Wine Today 15
We’re Number One 15
The Variety of French Wine 16
The colors of France 16
Dry, sweet, and bubbly 16
Collectable to highly affordable 17
Regional characters 18
The Grapes of France 18
Chapter 3: Wine Laws and Labels 21
France’s Wine Laws: The Opposite of Laissez-Faire 21
Privileged versus ordinary locales 22
Small is beautiful 23
AOC, VDQS, and Vin de Pays 23
Degrees of pedigree within the AOC ranks 26
The French Wine Label 28
Part II: France’s High-Profile Wine Regions 29
Chapter 4: Elite Red Wines of Bordeaux 31
The Bordeaux Advantage 32
Bordeaux the red 33
Red Bordeaux’s grape varieties 34
The High-Rent Districts 35
The Left Bank style 36
The Villages of the Haut-Medoc 36
The Right Bank style 38
Classified Information 39
The 1855 Classification 40
The Graves/Pessac-Leognan classification 42
The St.-Emilion classification 43
Bordeaux’s Best Reds 45
Our top ten 45
Great Haut-Medoc wines 46
Top Pessac-Leognan wines 47
The Best St.-Emilion Bordeaux 48
A Pomerol ranking (unofficial) 50
Drinking Red Bordeaux 52
Visiting Bordeaux 52
Haut-Medoc and Graves 53
St.-Emilion 54
Chapter 5: Red Bordeaux on a Budget 55
Where the Bargains are 55
Cru Bourgeois wines of the Medoc and Haut-Medoc 56
Petits châteaux and generics 59
Other Bordeaux Districts 62
Fronsac and Canon-Fronsac 63
Cotes de Bourg and Premieres Cotes de Blaye 64
Chapter 6: White Bordeaux—Dry or Sweet, and Delectable 67
Dry White Bordeaux Today 67
Where the dry whites are born 68
Two white grapes — and neither is Chardonnay 69
Drinking white Bordeaux 70
Good Producers of White Bordeaux 71
The star performers 71
Where quality and value meet 72
Other notable dry whites 73
Sauternes and Barsac 73
The Sauternes wine district 74
Sauternes’ grape varieties 75
Enjoying sweet Bordeaux 75
Producers of Sweet White Bordeaux 76
Beyond Château d’Yquem: great Sauternes/Barsacs 77
More good Sauternes/Barsacs 77
Bargain dessert wines 78
Chapter 7: Burgundy—Queen of France 79
The Where and Why of Burgundy 80
Soil and climate 81
The two great Burgundy grapes 81
The scale of Burgundy 82
Burgundy’s AOC System 84
Burgundy’s Districts 89
Chablis, from Chablis, France 90
Chablis appellations 91
Good Chablis producers 93
Recent Chablis vintages 94
Burgundy Royalty: Cote d’Or 95
The Cote d’Or wine villages 96
Cote d’Or wines in the market 99
Cote d’Or producers to buy 100
The Cote Chalonnaise: Affordable Burgundies 103
Cote Chalonnaise appellations 104
Chalonnaise producers to buy 105
Everyday Whites: Mâcon 106
Mâcon’s appellations and wines 106
Mâcon producers to buy 108
Serving Burgundy 109
Enjoying white Burgundy 109
Pairing Burgundy with food 110
Chapter 8: Beaujolais, The Fun Red 111
What Makes Beaujolais 111
The Beaujolais terroir 112
The Gamay grape 113
Beaujolais winemaking 113
From Frivolous to Firm 114
Beaujolais and Beaujolais-Villages 114
Beaujolais Nouveau 115
Cru Beaujolais 115
Producers and prices 117
Enjoying Beaujolais 118
Chapter 9: Robust Rhone Reds and Unique Whites 121
Two Regions in One 122
The nature of the North 122
The nature of the South 125
The Northern Rhone, Up Close 126
The reds rule 127
Uncommon whites 132
The Southern Rhone in the Spotlight 136
The major wines of the South 137
Satellite wine zones of the Southern Rhone 144
Enjoying Rhone Wines 146
Part III: France’s Other Wine Regions 147
Chapter 10: Champagne: The World’s Greatest Sparkling Wine 149
What Champagne is 149
The Champagne Region 151
Champagne’s climate and soil 153
The grape varieties of Champagne 155
The four grape-growing districts 156
Styles of Champagne 158
Non-vintage, vintage, and prestige cuvees 158
Blanc de blanks, blanc de noirs, and rose Champagnes 163
From dry to sweet: Brut, Extra dry, and Demi-Sec Champagne 165
The Great Champagne Houses 167
“House styles” 168
Grower-producer Champagnes 169
Aging Champagne 170
Champagne with Food 171
Chapter 11: Alsace: White Wine Wonderland 173
Location, Location 173
Mountains’ majesty 174
Forecast: sunny and dry 175
The Grapes of Alsace 176
The Range of Wines 177
The dominant style 178
Legally speaking 179
VT and SGN: Measures of ripeness 182
Riesling, Above All 183
Alsace’s Other Wine Gems 185
Gewurztraminer 185
Pinot Blanc 186
Tokay-Pinot Gris 187
Other Alsace wines 188
Enjoying Alsace Wines 188
Top Alsace Producers 189
Chapter 12: The Loire Valley’s Hidden Gems 191
The Rambling Loire Valley 191
The Loire’s climate and soil 192
The major wine districts 194
The Upper Loire: Sauvignon Blanc’s Spiritual Home 194
Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume 195
Other wines of the Upper Loire 197
Leading Upper Loire producers 198
The Diverse Central Loire 199
Touraine’s (too) many AOCs 199
The many faces of Vouvray 201
The Touraine’s best red wines 204
The dry and the sweet of Anjou-Saumur 205
Muscadet: The Value White 210
Enjoying Loire Valley Wines 212
Chapter 13: The South of France 213
Languedoc-Roussillon: The Mother Vineyard of France 213
The lay of the land 214
The seeds of change 216
Classical wines: better than ever 218
Languedoc fringe dwellers 222
Beautiful Provence 223
Climate and soil 224
The wines of Provence 225
Chapter 14: Other French Wine Regions 229
Southwest France 230
Bergerac 230
Cahors and vicinity 233
Bearn 235
Jura 236
Savoie 239
Corsica 241
Other French Regions 242
Part IV: The Part of Tens 243
Chapter 15: Answers to Ten Common Questions about French Wines 245
Why are French Wines so Expensive? 245
How are French Wines Different from American Wines? 246
Are Rose Champagnes Really Dry? 247
Are French Wines the Best Wines? 247
Do French Wines Age Long? 248
Are Prestige Cuvee Champagnes Really Better? Or are they Just a Rip-Off? 248
Can I Keep My Wines in the Refrigerator? 249
The French Make a Big Deal about “Terroir.” Isn’t This Concept Overrated? 249
Is AOC (Appellation d’Origine Controlee) Status a Guarantee of Quality for French Wines? 250
Are All Burgundy Wines Expensive? 250
Chapter 16: Ten French Wine Myths Exposed 251
Champagne Isn’t For Dinner 251
Red Bordeaux Takes Forever to Mature 252
Sauternes are Delicious Young 252
Chablis is too Dry and Acidic 252
Champagne is too Expensive 253
You Must Drink Beaujolais Nouveau before spring 253
Châteauneuf-du-Pape is Full-Bodied and Long-Lasting 253
All Rieslings are too Sweet 254
Wines of Southern France are Rustic and Mediocre 254
Champagnes Don’t Age Well 254
Part V: Appendixes 255
Appendix A: Pronunciation Guide to French Wine Terms 257
Appendix B: Bordeaux and Burgundy Classifications 265
Appendix C: French Wine Vintage Chart: 1979 to 1998 277
Index 281
