France is the #1 producer of wines in the world and they make some of the best white wine. So where is all this great white wine made in France?
Regions:
Loire Valley, pronounced LWahr, produces fresh crisp white wine. It is here that you can find Pouilly-Fume, Muscadet, Sancerre, and Vouvray. The main grapes grown here are sauvignon blanc (Pouilly-Fume & Sancerre) and chenin blanc (Vouvray).
Loire Valley Wine Styles:
Pouilly-Fume: 100% Sauvignon Blanc, dry, has the most body and concentration, age 3-5yrs
Muscadet: 100% Melon de Bourgogne, light and dry, 1-2yrs aging
Sancerre: 100% Sauvignon Blanc, between the two above in style, 2-3yrs aging
Vouvray: 100% Chenin Blanc, can be dry, semi sweet or sweet
Alsace, pronounced al-sass, produces dry, spicy whites. The wine here tends to be higher in alcohol and very ripe. In this region you will see they uses varietal labeling on the bottle and usually the wine will be 100% of that grape. The main grapes here are Riesling, Gewurtztraminer, Pinot Blanc, and Pinot Gris.
Bordeaux produces some killer whites. Here you can find sauvignon blanc and semillon blends. The regions include Graves, Pessac-Leognan and Sauternes.
Bordeaux Wine Styles
Graves: Sauvignon Blanc & Semillon, produces dry wines
Pessac-Leognan: Sauvignon Blanc & Semillon, higher quality wines
Sauternes: Semillon & Sauvignon Blanc, always sweet, noble rot
Burgundy’s regions include Chablis, Maconnais, Cote Chalonnaise, Cote de Beaune and the Cote d’Or, all of which produce wines made from 100% Chardonnay.
White Burgundy Wine Styles (all 100% Chardonnay)
Chablis: produces only white wine, more acidic wines
Maconnais: limestone and clay soil, light, uncomplicated whites
Cote Chalonnaise: Montagny and Rully are the highest quality wines in this region
Cote de Beaune: produces some of the best dry white Chardonnay
The 7 white wine Grand Cru vineyards of Cote de Beaune (in Burgundy)
Corton-Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Montrachet
Chevalier-Montrachet
Bienvenue-Batard-Montrachet
Criots-Batard-Montrachet
Batard-Montrachet
The 7 Grand Cru vineyards of Chablis (in Burgundy)
Blanchot
Bougros
Les Clos
Grenouilles
Preuses
Valmur
Vaudesir
Main villages producing white wine in the Cote de Beaune (in Burgundy)
Aloxe-Corton
Beaune
Meursault
Puligny-Montrachet
Chassagne-Montrachet
Quality:
Village wine: 0-2yrs aging
Premier Cru: 2-4yrs aging
Grand Cru: best soil, up to 8yrs aging
Definitions:
Sur lie: means wine was aged on its sediment
Vin de Pays: means non traditional grapes in certain regions, and allowing vintners to label wines with the varietal rather than region. Higher quality than Vin de Table.
Vin de Table: table wine, marketed under proprietary names and is the equivalent to California jug wines.