Le secret le mieux gardé de la France.

France’s Best Kept Secret

Our next tasting/dinner on May 8, 2019 will feature the wines of the Languedoc. If you've only just learned about this wine region, you're not alone. But, where do we start with an area this huge?  Production in Languedoc is almost three times what Bordeaux puts out, and more than the whole of Australia!

Languedoc. Pronounced "Lanhng-dawk," the name is easy once you know how to say it. The name of this southern French region literally means "speech" of the south French. Regardless of the language that you speak, there's one word that unites anyone who comes for a visit to this Pyrenees region, and that, mon cheri, is wine. ­

Influenced by everyone from the Greeks and their olive trees to the Spaniards and their Catalan, the Languedoc Roussillon region of Fran­ce is between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, making it a prominent trade route.

Known today for the castles of Carcassonne, the breathtaking vistas and agricultural scenes of France, the 700,000 acres of the Languedoc Roussillon region is one of the world's most productive and affordable wine regions.

Apart from the cuisine, architecture and culture native to Languedoc, this area is one of France's several appellations in which noble grapes are grown. With this recent official AOC appellation title, the region is looking to find a way into the minds and meals of consumers everywhere.  The Pittsburgh Chapter is doing its part! The variety of red and white (but mostly red) French wines typical of this southern region are potent, but very modestly priced, and we’re going to sample several of them.

Famous Wines of the Languedoc Roussillon

Grape development is generational, not only in the way that fine wines are passed down throu­gh families but also in the creation of a new grape, something that takes around 20 years for researchers to create and grow. We’ve learned in previous tastings about the influence that climate has on wine. The Languedoc Roussillon's Mediterranean heat makes a strong grape.

RED GRAPES

CARIGNAN is one of the most widely planted grape varieties in the Languedoc Roussillon region. This wine is high in alcohol, deep colored, full bodied with lots of tannin. It needs time to develop. When blended it adds structure and body.

CINSAULT probably originated in France and many regions use Cinsault for fruit. It’s usually combined with Carignon and Grenache Noir.

GRENACHE NOIR probably originated in Spain and is usually combined with Cabernet and Cinsault. Grenache is often used in Languedoc Roussillon to produce strong wine with deep color and flavor. This wine is low in tannin making it an excellent wine to blend with the higher tannin varieties.

SYRAH has been cultivated in France since Roman times. It produces a wine with the intense smell of violets, spices, green pepper and tar. It resists oxidation and ages well but needs several years to develop.

MOURVEDRE has been planted in Languedoc Roussillon since at least the 16th century. It produces a spicy wine with a deep opaque color when young with plenty of tannin and full bodied. It needs time to develop and goes very well with Grenache.

CABERNET FRANC is sometimes called as a poor relation of Cabernet Sauvignon, but the wines are lighter and more delicate in style. Cabernet Franc is usually blended with Cabernet Sauvignon.

MERLOT is grown in the cooler parts of the Languedoc and has become very popular. It gives a well colored wine of good quality and can be drunk young.

WHITE GRAPES

CHARDONNAY is one of the most famous wine varieties used to produce Champagne, Chablis and of course Limoux in the Languedoc. It produces a wine high in alcohol with a slight lemon flavor. More and more Chardonnay is vinified in Oak in this region.

GRENACHE BLANC is mainly grown in the southern part of the region. It produces wines lower in alcohol and with less flavor. It’s mainly used for Vin Doux Naturelle.

PICPOUL BLANC Is used in the production of Picpoul de Pinet which makes a dry, clean, slightly neutral wine.

MARSANNE came to the Languedoc from the Rhone valley and is generally blended to give body weight and aroma. It produces richly flavored, aromatic wines which age well.

ROUSSANNE also came from the Rhone valley and is a good wine for blending. It ripens late adding finesse and bouquet to a blend.

VIOGNIER has become increasingly popular in the Languedoc. It has a unique aroma and flavor and is usually sold without blending.

MAUZAC is the grape variety used exclusively for production of Blanquette de Limoux. These wines mature rapidly, have a fine bouquet with a slight apple flavor and a pleasant hint of bitterness and good acidity.

CHENIN BLANC came down from the Loire Valley and is useful in adding freshness and acidity to white wine blends. It can produce a crisp wine with good acidity and for this reason it is part of the blend in Blanquette de Limoux.

CLAIRETTE BLANCHE is probably the oldest white wine variety of the Languedoc. It’s used for the appellations Clairette du Languedoc and Clairette de Bellegarde and it is also used in Vin Doux Naturelle and Vermouth. This wine is high in alcohol and tends to oxidize quickly.

'Da Man or 'Da Myth

The ‘popping’ cork, the fizz and the bubbly taste, it could only be Champagne. Or should we say, ‘Merret’? For nearly three centuries, the French have fought to ensure that only the sparkling wine made in a particular part of France can be called Champagne.

Success, as the saying goes, has many fathers. So it’s not surprising that many folk claim to have “invented” champagne. Legend has it that in the 17th century a French monk named Dom Pierre Pérignon first made this wine at the abbey of Saint Pierre d’Hautvillers in the region called Champagne. “Come quickly! I am drinking the stars,” were Pérignon’s supposed words when he first tasted what we now know as champagne.

The story was probably created by the monastery’s 19th-century cellar master, Dom Groussard, trying to boost the abbey’s reputation and his own. In the 17th century, the last thing Dom Pérignon would have wanted in his wines were bubbles, because bottles in those days would usually explode from the pressure. Cellar workers wore metal masks to protect their faces from flying glass and accidentally fermented wine was known as vin du diable (devil’s wine). But the star-sipping story contributes to the mystique surrounding France’s most famous export.

If you really want to taunt a Champenois, try repeating the story popular in the region of Limoux, in Languedoc, claiming that France’s first sparkling wine, known locally as blanquette, was invented by Benedictine monks at the abbey of Saint Hilaire more than a century before Dom Pérignon was born.

There is evidence from abbey records dating back to 1531 to support that the brothers of Saint Hilaire developed a technique to create bubbles in their wine, probably by bottling it before fermentation had been completed, a technique known as the méthode rurale or ancestrale. The wines would be kept in flasks stoppered with plugs made from the bark of cork trees found in Spain. But there is little to support the claim that Saint Hilaire was a victim of espionage when the secret of sparkling wine was stolen by Dom Pérignon when he was a small friar.

Even if Dom Pérignon had stolen Saint Hilaire’s secrets it wouldn’t have mattered, because the process he is credited with inventing is the méthode champenoise, in which a sparkling wine is created by inducing a second fermentation once the wine has been bottled.

So forget the Limoux story. If you want to taunt the French a second time, claim that sparkling wine in the champagne style, the true méthode champenoise, was discovered by the English!

The evidence for that is fairly reliable, derived from a paper presented in six years before Dom Pérignon arrived in Hautvillers to the Royal Society by English scientist Dr. Christopher Merret. Merret’s paper was on winemaking practices in which he described the English custom of adding “sugar and molasses to all sorts of wine to make them brisk and sparkling”.

So sacre bleu! Is it really Merret we have to thank for the sound of a cork popping? Long before Dom Pérignon drank his stars English winemakers were starting a second fermentation in the bottle that would add carbon dioxide to their imported wine. 

In the same year of 1662 Sir Kenelm Digby perfected a glass bottle that, when stoppered with corks tied down with string, was strong enough to withstand the pressure created by a second fermentation. The stars aligned to make possible the sparkling wine we just happen to call champagne but which should—pace to the monks of Limoux—probably be called Britfizz.

Check the blog often for more news, tips, and tasting notices! 

http://aws-pittsburgh.blogspot.com/

French Wine with Joe Barsotti

Why are winemakers from France (or Remulak) so good at wine? One reason is that they've been making it a lot longer than the rest of us Earthlings. But like any oenophile worth his sel, you’ll find that it's also a function of the philosophy that guides their efforts. At the heart of their system is the concept of terroir: the idea that wine is chiefly a product of the physical environment (or the planet) in which the grapes were grown, that matching the right grape to the right soil is the first step to making fine wine, and that a wine should not just taste good but exude a sense of place.

Come and join your fellow Earthlings as we consume mass quantities of fermented grape juice!

Joe Barsotti will present six French (or Remulakian) wines that demonstrate their terroir at our next tasting on April 12, 2017. (Stop that!  The wine is TOTALLY French! Meps!)

WEDNESDAY, April 12, 2017 at 7:OO

Evergreen Community Center, 3430 Evergreen Rd, Pittsburgh, PA 15237 

REMEMBER TO BRING YOUR WINE GLASSES!

The cost for members and guests is $25.

Please reply before April 7, 2017 to:

aws.pittsburgh@gmail.com

Or you may reply to 412-657-0777.

Mail your check, payable to AWS to:

Dr. Dennis Trumble

1302 Arch St

Pittsburgh PA  15212

Don’t forget to visit the website for directions, useful tips, and recipes.

  

aws-pittsburgh.blogspot.com

Earthling Joe Barsotti uses his experience in the wine trade to bring the finest wines to your table. Barsotti Wines is a wholesale supplier to restaurants, clubs, and caterers throughout Pennsylvania.   As a distributor of quality wines from the world's great wine-producing regions (and other planets), they take great pride in the products they represent and sell.

Barsotti Wines has a long-term relationship with Pittsburgh's most recognized restaurateurs. Their clientele find that they are experts in marketing and delivering fine wines in a quick, prompt manner.   Their wines are available to common Earthlings for delivery to your neighborhood Wine and Spirits Store. Contact them for minimum order requirements and prices.

 In addition, Barsotti Wines provides a number of services to the greater Pittsburgh area, including:

·         Wine List Consultation

·         Staff Training

·         Corporate Wine Tastings

·         Private Wine tasting

·         Wine Education Classes

To see what Joe Barsotti and Barsotti Wines can do for you, contact

http://www.barsottiwines.com/

Comment dites-vous. . .

Have you ever found yourself standing in the middle of the State Store with no idea of how to pronounce the words on the bottle? Do you ask for Yellow Tail because you’re embarrassed about your pronunciation of Châteauneuf-du-Pape? Fear no more! We’ve put together a cheat sheet for decoding French wine region pronunciation that’ll have you soundin’ like a City of Light native in no time. With our upcoming tasting of French wines, you may find this useful!

MAJOR REGIONS:

Alsace – [al-ZASS] – Predominately white-wine producing region in northeastern France, known for Riesling, Gewürztraminer, and Sylvaner.

Bordeaux – [bore-DOUGH] – Located off the central-south western coast of France, mainly known for its red blends of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, white blends of Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon, and sweet dessert wines. The five first growth chateaux are found here.

Bourgogne – [bore-GUNya] – Region of western France producing white wine from Chardonnay and red wine from Pinot Noir, with exceptions. The origin of the term terroir stems from this region.

Beaujolais – [bOH-shoh-lay] – Considered by some to be a part of Burgundy, though very different in terms of terroir and soils. Gamay is the grape used to produce red wine.

Champagne – [sham-PAH-nyuh] – sham-PANE in America. Most famous sparkling wine producing region in the world. The wine is made from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier grapes.

(Côtes du) Rhône – [coat-doo-RONE] – DO NOT pronounce the “s” in Côtes! Includes the valley surrounding the Rhône River, broken into “northern” and “southern” parts, with over 90% of wine production in the southern half.

Jura – [shur-AH] – Cool climate wine region between Burgundy and Switzerland, known for vin jaune (yellow wine) production, similar in style to Sherry production.

Languedoc – [lang-uh-dock] – Largest wine producing region in the world, comprising one third of France’s wine production. Wines are generally blends and affordable. Mediterranean coastline between Spain and Provence.

Loire Valley – [luh-WAHR vah-lee] – Comprised of appellations along the Loire River, from the Atlantic Ocean to Sancerre in central France. All varieties of wine are produced here; though white wines made of Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc dominate production.

Savoie – [sav-WAH] – Eastern France below Jura, with white wines predominantly made from Jacquere, Roussanne, and Altesse grapes, and reds from Mondeuse.

MAJOR APPELLATIONS:

Appellations are legally defined geographical indications within major regions with specifically enforced grape varietal and winemaking practices. These enforcements vary from appellation to appellation.

St. Emilion – [sant-em-ill-ee-ohn] – Major appellation in Bordeaux, found on the right bank of the Dordogne River. Red blends are mostly Merlot.

Chablis – [shub-LEE] – Northernmost appellation of Burgundy, producing white wine from the Chardonnay grape. Many think of Chablis as a separate entity from Burgundy (much like Beaujolais) because of the different style of wine produced here.

Pouilly-Fuissé – [pwee-fwee-say] – White wine producing region in southern Burgundy. Made from Chardonnay.

Châteauneuf-du-Pape – [shat-do-nuff-doo-pahp] – The first classified appellation in France’s AOC system (early 1900s.) Loosely translated, it means “The Pope’s New House”. Located in the southern part of Rhône valley, known for strong, full bodied red blends dominated by Grenache; very small amounts of white wine are produced here.

Sancerre – [sohn-SARE] – One of the easternmost appellations of the Loire Valley, known for white wines made from Sauvignon Blanc. Small amounts of red produced from Pinot Noir are also found here.

Muscadet – [MOO-skah-day] – One of the westernmost appellations of the Loire Valley, producing white wines from the Melon de Bourgogne grape. Reputable as a perfect pairing for oysters.

Don't forget to check the blog often for

Tasting Notices, Wine Tips, and News!

http://aws-pittsburgh.blogspot.com/