Every author feels that she or he is unique. I haven't seen a series of articles quite like mine. I love French wine and food and I am writing a series on the wines and foods of France's eleven wine regions. That should keep me busy for some time, and I hope you'll join me on this journey. You may even find some bargains, I have. Keep coming back, I'll be adding more articles regularly.
Another Provence Bandol" Provence. The eyes pop and the mouth waters. Make no mistake about it, Provence is not considered one of France’s fine wine regions. But there are exceptions... "
A Wine Lover's Weekly Review Of $10 Wines - A Heart-Healthy (?) Madiran Under $10" ...which is used to reduce the ferocity of the tannins without lowering the levels of some chemicals alleged to be good for the heart when wine is consumed in moderation. "
A Bordeaux, France Merlot Under $15" ...No one knows Merlot better than Christian Moueix, owner of the world famous (and Merlot-based) Château Pétrus. ... "
I Love Organic Wine - An Alsatian Sylvaner" ...If you are a real hardliner you won't drink wines that are not fully certified as organic. But other fans of organic wine will... "
A White Châteauneuf-du-Pape" ...And live a bit like those French Popes almost seven hundred years ago. "
A Rosé From Provence" ...The rosé tasted of light cherries. It was softly acidic and nicely long. The word feathery popped up again. I had ... "
A Wine Lover's Weekly Review Of $10 Wines - A Mediterranean White Wine" ...This fantastic region is not particularly well known for fine wines. Many... "
A White Sancerre" ...The wine tasted like a Chablis, full of lemon and steel with some herbal notes. When I tried it with... "
A Red Sancerre" ...In the Loire, red wines require a warm, consistent growing season to obtain ripeness. In 2003, with the European-wide heatwave,... "
A Loire Valley Bourgueil" ...The complex set of aromas includes apricot, lemon zest, pear, mineral, oak, and a hint of butter. This dry, youthful wine is good now and .... "
A Wine Lover's Weekly Review Of $10 Wines - An Alsatian (France) Sylvaner" Over the years I have enjoyed and reviewed many wines from Alsace, France with their distinctively shaped bottles and sometimes, but not always, their distinctive taste. This is the first time... "
A Rhone Valley Rosé" ...Tavel produces some of the richest, yet driest rosés on the market. They work beautifully as a sipper and are quite adaptable to a variety of foods such as .... "
A Wine Lover's Weekly Review Of $10 Wines - A Loire Valley (France) Muscadet" ...Muscadet is a classic fish and seafood wine, so we are going to try some nontraditional pairings... "
A Loire Valley Bourgueil" ...The wines of the domaine are characterized by body, cleanness, charm, and in a great vintage, by aristocracy. And now for my review.... "
A Wine Lover's Weekly Review Of $10 Wines - A French Syrah Primeur (New Wine)" ...After reviewing tow Gamay-based Beaujolais Nouveau wines we finish out 2008 new wine series with an offering from the Languedoc region of southwestern France... "
A Wine Lover's Weekly Review Of $10 Wines - A 2008 Beaujolais Villages Nouveau" ...During the coming year, consumers all over the world are expected to buy several million bottles... "
A Wine Lover's Weekly Review Of $10 Wines - A 2008 Beaujolais Nouveau" This article treats one of the world's most successful marketing campaigns - the French red wine that arrives just in time for Thanksgiving, Beaujolais Nouveau... "
A Southwestern Red Blend" ...Parts of this region neighbor Bordeaux so don’t be surprised if some of the wines are quite good, and yet more moderately priced than many of its world-famous neighbor’s offerings. "
A 2007 Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau" Let me present a few tidbits of information before reviewing what may be one of the best Beaujolais Nouveau wines... "
A 2007 Beaujolais Nouveau" ...The first thing that hit me was the taste of bubble gum, more or less dominating everything else. The wine was pleasant... "
A Burgundy Chablis" ...The wine was very refreshing with plenty of lime and acidity, strong and yet subtle. This combination was classic and the wine emerged slightly different with each..."
A Saumur (Loire Valley) White" Saumur is a city of about thirty-five thousand inhabitants where the Loire and the Thouet Rivers meet in the Anjou and Saumur zone of the Loire Valley, east of the Nantes and west of Tours. It is a bourgeois city proud of... "
A Rhone Valley Crozes-Hermitage" I know how much this wine likes beef and veal, so I decided to try it with barbecued chicken marinated in a commercial Mediterranean-style light sauce. The wine was careful... "
A Touraine (Loire Valley) White" ...The story has it that the Emperor wanted to divert the Loire River to create a moat but wiser heads prevailed and he had to be satisfied with diverting the Cosson River. When he came to visit it took twelve thousand horses... "
A Provence Bandol" ...I am getting an image: people sitting around a campfire devouring raw or scarcely cooked bear meat – I have no idea what bear meat tastes like but I know this Bandol... "
A Burgundy Aligoté" ...This little hilltop village seems to come straight out of the Middle Ages, except for the tourists who have recently discovered it. Its focal point is the Château (Castle) built in 1132 and occupied by the same family for nine generations until 1456 when Cathrine of Châteauneuf was burnt to death; it is said that she... "
A Bordeaux Rosé" My first pairing was with home made barbecued chicken accompanied by rice, grilled Portabello mushrooms, and grilled red peppers. It was quite substantial for a rosé. However... "
An Alsace Riesling" The next shot was a commercially barbecued chicken leg (of course not as tasty as my own barbecued chicken) with its skin in a paprika sauce accompanied by, Turkish salad, and Greek olives. I started by sipping the wine alone, as I was afraid that I might have lost the bottle because the wine sat in the fridge for quite some time... "
A Midi Syrah" Among the eleven wine-growing regions of France, Languedoc-Roussillon ranks fourth in total vineyard acreage. This area, which includes the Midi, (the home of the wine reviewed below) was traditionally known for producing ton after ton of mediocre table wine called vin ordinaire. But times change and in spite of global warming... "
A Languedoc-Roussillon Pinot Noir" ...You may recall from the initial article in this series (I Love French Wine and Food – Launching a Series) that Vin de Pays is a relatively recent French classification for wines of promise that for one reason or another don’t meet the stricter requirements of the presumably better classifications. Even though almost one third of French wine is classified as Vin de Pays we don’t get too many of them here. I smelled a potential bargain. "
A Midi Merlot" My first meal was take out. It consisted of chicken breast with the skin on, potato salad, and a somewhat spicy tomato, red pepper, and garlic salad. No, I didn’t buy this last salad in the Midi... You know the old story about not getting a second chance to make a first impression... "
An Alsace Pinot Blanc" I usually don’t go with a non-imported cheese when tasting wines. However, I am making an exception for a Canadian Asiago cheese that our local supermarket almost never carries. This cheese is perhaps the best that I have tasted in a long time; in my opinion it clearly surpasses its Italian Asiago cousin. When a cheese is that good, I am quite anxious to try it with wine. The result... "
A Midi Viognier" The Viognier grape was on the edge of extinction about forty years ago. At that time it was restricted to France with a grand total of about 35 acres. Times have changed and this grape is now grown in... "
A Bordeaux Merlot" ... but the wine reviewed below is very affordable. Interestingly enough, its noble cousin, Chateau Petrus, crafted by the same producer with the same grape in the same area holds no prestigious classification. However, Chateau Petrus is definitely world class and comes with a price to match, if the wine merchant will even look at your money. "
A Red Côtes du Rhône" My first meal consisted of rib steak and fried potatoes. The steak was marinated in a homemade ketchup and horseradish mustard sauce. By accident too much mustard fell into the sauce, but I didn’t want to throw it out and start over again... "
A Mâconnais (Burgundy) Chardonnay" This Chardonnay was fermented in stainless steel tanks and never saw the inside of an oak barrel. The Pouilly-Vinzelles is a not very well-known neighbor of the more expensive Pouilly-Fuissé. And now for the review. "
An Alsace Pinot Noir" My last meal associated with this wine consisted of filet of sole wrapped around salmon accompanied by two types of fried potatoes. The commercial fish preparation sounded much better than it actually was. The concoction took forever to cook and the final product was overcooked, undercooked, and waterlogged. Furthermore, there was so little salmon that it was hard to get an idea of its taste, or how it paired with this wine. However, ... "
An Alsace Pinot Gris" Saint-Aubin is a soft French cow’s milk cheese traditionally packed in a wooden box. This cheese has a creamy brie-like texture and a stronger taste. The wine’s fruit came out to meet the cheese, but... "
A Red Beaujolais" Final verdict. I first started drinking Beaujolais decades ago, in part because I was no fan of tannins. Then I sort of dropped Beaujolais with the exception of the yearly tryst with Beaujolais Nouveau. This bottle was my first Beaujolais Cru wine, and I... "
A White Beaujolais" Let’s start by quoting the marketing materials. The name “Pisse-Dru” comes from an amusing French vintners expression: when an old vigneron says with a smile of satisfaction on his face, “ça pisse dru”, it means that... "
Launching A Series"
We are going to look at eleven wine French regions: in alphabetical order they are... Each article will discuss the region and its distinctiveness. We’ll talk about the wines and the foods that characterize the region. We will try to have at least two articles per region... "
Beaujolais Nouveau" Final verdict. For many years I have not been a fan of new wines. I taste them every year, and am always willing to change my mind. This... "