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Vintages - A Festival of France

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Feature Story

For the history buff, the wine lover, the art lover, the food lover and the lover of life, every corner of France is magnifique. Read on as we take a trip through France’s wine regions and see what’s happening.


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Alsace

Wintry weather need not mean chilled spirits, especially when you’re night skiing, dogsledding, or relaxing in a hot tub in one of the many spas that dot the breathtaking Vosges Mountains, themselves a year-round feast for the eyes. Over the centuries, political control of Alsace has passed back and forth between France and Germany; a volatile history that has given rise to a culture, architecture, language and wines that are neither quite German nor French but rather a dynamic blending of the two. The most famous wines here are made from Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris and Muscat, which are the “noble” grapes of Alsace.


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Champagne

Though Champagne’s undulating vine-covered hills are charming, visitors can’t help being drawn to what lies beneath: the labyrinthine underground wine cellars dug into the chalky soils. The largest network has some 28 kilometres of tunnels and vast vaults dating to 1743 and belongs to Moët & Chandon. Situated 145 kilometres northeast of Paris, Champagne is France’s northernmost wine region. The combination of latitude, the moderating influence of the Marne River, and those chalky soils creates Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier with the high levels of acidity required to produce Champagne, the most famous sparkling wine of them all.


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Loire

With more than 300 jaw-droppingly gorgeous castles to view, the Loire is a postcard from a fairy tale brought to life. The grapes of the Loire include Melon de Bourgogne, Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc, the most famous of which come from Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé. Sancerre’s soils are primarily white limestone terres blanches with high concentrations of silex that impart the wine’s famed gunflint character.


Chablis, Burgundy and Beaujolais

When it comes to provenance, Burgundy is the world’s star, with more than 100 appellations divided into grand cru, premier cru, village and regional wines. Burgundy is the global benchmark for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Chablis creates crisp, lean, mineral Chardonnays, while places such as Meursault offer rich, round, buttery versions. There are 12 appellations in Beaujolais, which is the wine region directly south of Burgundy, with each producing light-to-medium-bodied wines from Gamay. The top wines come from the region’s 10 crus, and the very best wines can age 10 years or more.


Bordeaux

February is when the equestrian set gather for international show-jumping action at the Bordeaux Salon du Cheval. Between events, you may want to trot along to the Musée du Vin et du Négoce de Bordeaux to experience a more intimate look into the history of wine reflected through exhibits displayed in an 18th-century wine merchant’s cellar. The Cabernet-based wines of the Garonne’s left bank are firm, with cassis, graphite, tobacco, cedar and herbal notes. The right bank is Merlot country and contains two primary appellations: Saint-Émilion and Pomerol. Saint-Émilion’s wines are plump, complex and elegant, with notes of plum and fruitcake.


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Southern Rhône

Defined by heat, low rainfall and the formidable mistral winds, the Southern Rhône is a forge in which great wines are skillfully fashioned on the anvil of extremes, and most famous of these are the wines of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Officially, the blend for CdP can include up to 18 grapes of both red and white varieties, but the wines are typically led by Grenache with Syrah, Mourvèdre and Cinsault in support.


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Languedoc and Southwest France

Walking the city of Montpellier is like strolling through an outdoor museum where medieval structures like the Cathédrale Saint-Pierre and ambitious contemporary architecture such as La Grande Motte exist side by side. This nicely mirrors the old-world character and thoroughly modern gusto of many  Languedoc wines. Languedoc’s reds are mostly Mourvèdre, Grenache, Syrah and Lledoner Pelut, while the whites are primarily Grenache Blanc, Marsanne and Roussanne.

In France’s Southwest region, you can dip your spoon into the great cassoulet debate. The honour of originating this rich, slow-cooked stew is claimed by Castelnaudary, Carcassonne and Toulouse, but regardless which city owns parentage, any cassoulet is awesome with wines made in the Southwest. The varieties here include Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Malbec (a.k.a. Côt)


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