Get cozy with the wine regions of France. While wine is produced throughout the country, we’ll introduce you to France’s six main regions: Champagne, Alsace, the Loire Valley, Burgundy, Bordeaux, and the Rhône Valley.
Host and sommelier-in-training Carole Mac learns from some of the best French wine experts: Anna-Christina Cabrales, General Manager & Wine Director of the Morrell Wine Bar & Café, and Denise Barker, Regional Sales Director at TWINS Bordeaux. While the world of French wine is incredibly rich and diverse, we’ll focus on each region’s classic wines, grapes, and tasting notes. Can Carole identify them all? Here’s a cheat sheet:
Champagne: Quintessential sparkling wine, often made with Chardonnay. Look for notes of granny smith apple, fresh lemons, brioche, and chalk.
Alsace: German influence, and plenty of Riesling. Think lime, lemon, honey, beeswax, fresh peach, and petrol…like gas from a pump.
The Loire Valley: Sometimes called “The Garden of France,” Sancerre is the most beloved wine of this region, made with Sauvignon blanc. You’ll taste freshly cut grass, grapefruit, peach and lemon zest.
Burgundy: Known for Chardonnay white wines and Pinot Noir reds. Burgundy’s often lighter red wines are redolent of cherries, raspberries, mushrooms, and cloves.
Bordeaux: Cabernet Sauvignon thrives in the Left Bank’s gravelly soil while the Right Bank’s clay-rich vineyards are famous for Merlot. Esteemed Bordeaux blends are fuller-bodies reds with notes of cocoa, green pepper, plum, graphite, and violet.
The Rhône Valley: Close your eyes and taste notes of ripe black berries, raspberries, cinnamon, anise, and savory bacon-like quality. Reds from this regions are often crafted with blends including Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre and more.
Next up, we take you to Italy to explore some of the boot’s most prized wines. Sign up here to get notified when it comes out! We will be releasing all seven episodes over the next few months.
Series glassware provided by Stölzle USA.
