The case could easily be made that the Côte de Nuits is the most complex piece of land growing vines in the entire world. This little strip of land, perhaps two miles wide, along a single ride of limestone in hills of central France produce wines from a quilt of appellations and communes. And these aren’t any ordinary wines; the grape juice from these hills can command the highest prices in the world in any given year—how about $9,000 for that bottle of ’88 Richebourg at a fancy restaurant. That’s not a joke.

The wines of the Côte de Nuits are almost exclusively red, from only Pinot Noir. This special little segment of the Earth is blessed with the ability to grow the most graceful Pinot Noir around. The Côte de Nuits is one of the most northern wine-growing regions in the world; it lies along the 47^th parallel (which is about the same latitude as northern Minnesota!) That far north, the weather is inconsistent, it can go from very hot to very cold with hail an issue every summer. The climatic variation means that vintages are quite variable in quality levels.

As with most of the great wine regions of France, the Romans were the first to introduce vines to Burgundy, and the Côte de Nuits. The vines remained after the Romans left and continued to make wines, with a good amount of monastic supervision. The reputation of Nuits wines traveled far; the wines from the area were the favorite among the Popes when they briefly moved the church to Southern France. King Louis XIV drank only Nuits wines—his personal physician recommended them for supposed restorative properties.

Grand Cru vineyards in the Côte de Nuits have been proven over time to produce the best wines in the area, and there are many in the Côte. The village Givery-Chambertain has nine Grand Cru that share the last name –Chambertain, all are excellent. Clos de Vouget is a single vineyard inside of ancient monastic walls. Morey-St-Denis has the Grand Cru vineyards of Clos de la Roche, Clos St. Denis, Clos des Lambrays, Clos de Tart and Bonnes Mares. Though all the Grand Cru are famous, none is more so than those in the village of Vosne-Romanee, home to Romanée-Conti, La Tâche, Richebourg, La Romanée, Romanée-St. Vivant and La Grand Rue. These are the bank-busters, the archetype of red Burgundy and are sought after the world over.

The power and grace of wines produced in Nuits is legendary. Here, Pinot Noir reaches its highest potential, producing wines that have earthy aromas, elegant tannic structure, seamless integration of oak and acid and the ability to age with poise. These are expensive wines, but they are truly one of a kind, not found anywhere else, and the rarity along with the quality makes them worth every penny.

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There’s been an unfortunate history in the wine industry of labeling generic white wine “Chablis.” It’s unfortunate because the lake of inferior white wine carrying the Chablis name does no justice to real McCoy.

You see, Chablis is a real place. A real, cold, small place in northern France. The region lies on the 48^th parallel—roughly the same latitude as the U.S. border with Canada in the Great Lakes area—and is the northernmost limit of wine production. The Burgundy region claims Chablis—though it’s actually closer to Champagne—but it’s wine production is significantly different. Chablis produces good wines under the AOC designations with only the Chardonnay grape. Burgundy, of course, grows the grape as well, but the styles in which the wines in Chablis are made are distinctive.

Chablis is recognized for the uniqueness of its soils, the most famous of which is the Kimmeridgean. This soil is ancient, from the Jurassic period, and is composed of clay and ancient oyster shells. The soil is said to give the wines a distinct nose of flint, mineral and steel. Some say the reason that oysters and Chablis are such a classic pairing is that the Chablis vines grow from soil composed of fossilized oyster shells.

It’s important to remember that the Chablis region is very far north, which means the grapes often times do not ripen in the same way that more southerly Chardonnay will. The cooler climate and shorter growing season give the wines of Chablis a characteristic acidity, which is described as racy and green-apple-like. Another characteristic of Chablis wines is a faint tinge of green on the edges of the wine in a glass. The wines of Chablis are usually not made or aged in oak. This gives theses Chardonnay wines a particular purity of flavor not often found in Chardonnay from other parts of the world that use significant oak.

The AOC Chablis regulations divide the region into four levels, in ascending or of quality: Petite Chablis, AOC Chablis, Premier Cru and Grand Cru. All of the Grand Cru vineyards are located on a single southwest-facing hill; there are only seven but they’re all wonderful. All seven produce wines and label the bottles with the names of the vineyard; they are: Bougros, Les Preuses, Vaudésir, Grenouilles, Valmur, Les Clos and Blanchot. There are good wines produced from the Premier Cru vineyards as well, though they may or may not put the names of the vineyards on the labels.

The wines of Chablis are unique, with strong floral, flinty, earthy aromas and bracing acidity. In good vintages they can be excellent, and, due to the relative lack of demand for them, they can be reasonably priced. Look for wines from ’02, ’05 or ’07 and look for a label with a vineyard name on it—it will at least be a Premier Cru. Expect to pay anywhere from $15-$50 for a bottle.

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Perhaps no other wine region in the world is as obsessed with terrior as Burgundy is. And just what is terrior you ask? Terrior is and idea the French came up with to describe a piece of land given the variables of: microclimate, soil composition and local geography. The differences in those variables and the way that they come together can have a profound impact on the resulting wine. Burgundy has been classifying tiny parcels of land according to soil, climate and geography for centuries. Most believe they were the first to start this practice.

Burgundy is located in the east of France, just north of the Rhone district. The area has been under cultivation for thousands of years and today remains one of the premier wine regions in the world. Climatically, the Burgundy region is described as continental, which means it has distinct seasons, cold winters, hot summers and potentially severe weather.

The Burgundy district contains several regions: in the north there is Chablis, in the south there is Beaujolais, and in the center is the Chalonnaise, Maconnais and Côte d’Or. All the regions produce quality wine, but only the Côte d’Or is home to the astronomically priced wines that are often associated with Burgundy. The Côte d’Or itself is split roughly into two areas, north and south. The North is the the Côte de Nuits and the south is the the Côte de Beaune.

The region of Burgundy covers a significant geographic area and contains more separate AOC areas than any other in France, but it uses only a small number of grapes. The dominant white grape in Burgundy is Chardonnay. Grown from the north to the south, Chardonnay makes most of the white wines in Burgundy, though some is made from Aligote as well. There are only two significant red grapes in Burgundy: Pinot Noir and Gamay. Gamay is only grown in significant amounts in Beaujolais, other than that, Pinot Noir is the dominant grape, especially in the Côte d’Or.

The Catholic Church has played a significant role in the history of Burgundy. Historically the Church has owned many vineyards and monks were vintners of Burgundy. The Cistercians were the first to really put together the idea that different vineyards made different quality levels of wines. This was the beginning of the concept of terrior that is so crucial today in Burgundy. The other key player in Burgundy is the negociant, a person or company that buys grapes or grape juice from many vineyard owners and then makes and bottles wine from this collection of sources. The negociant plays a critical role in Burgundy because so many of the important vineyards have had their ownership split into tiny parcels as they have been passed down generationally. In some vineyards an owner may only own one or two rows of vines. It’s not feasible for this owner to make wine commercially, so they sell their grapes to the negociant.

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The right bank of the Gironde just doesn’t get the same respect that the other side of the river does. They classified the left bank in 1855, but then they took 99 years to get around to classifying the right bank. The wines of the right bank deserve a little more attention, and people have begun to notice. The right bank is home to several appellations that produce quality wines, mostly red, and a movement towards very small-scale production.

The right bank is known for using Merlot as the main grape in its blend; as opposed to the left bank which is very Cabernet Sauvignon-heavy. The area is home to two very important AOCs: Pomerol and St. Emilion, along with secondary AOCs: Bourge, Blaye and Fronsac amongst many others.

When the French did get to classifying the right bank, they focused their efforts on the commune of St. Emilion, and the AOC which surrounds it. After the survey was complete, they deemed 55 houses to be Grand Cru and 13 to be Premier Grand Cru—a higher classification. The two best producers were given their own category— Premiers Grands Crus Classés A. These top dogs are Ch. Ausone and Ch. Cheval Blanc. (Ch. is a shorthand for Chateau, which is a house in French and is basically a company which makes wine) St. Emilion is bordered by the Pomerol region and the Dordogne River. Here, the climate is a bit wetter and the soils less gravely, conditions which led the region to choose Merlot for its blends. The wines of St. Emilion are rich and are much less dry and austere than the wines of the left bank.

Pomerol is the AOC adjacent to St. Emilion and historically was a white wine producing area. Today though, red grapes Merlot and Cabernet Franc dominate. The area is thought of as being the newcomer to fine wine production in Bordeaux. The soils in the area are quite favorable to wine production, with a gravel base and sand or clay mixed in. While Pomerol has no classification system, the two best producers are very well known: Ch. Petrus and Le Pin. These wines, in some years, sell for more money than any other wine in the world. The wines of Pomerol are generally ready to drink early, a few years after bottling and are rich and gentle, less tannic than left bank wines are almost creamy in texture.

The right bank is home to a trend of microproducers in Bordeaux. These are individuals making wine in their homes or garages from a very small amount of land. The producers are generally called garagistes and the wines “vin de garage,” because most of them operate out of their garage. The movement was a response to perceived international desire for Bordeaux wines that are ready to drink quickly. In general, the wines are red and are much fruitier and softer in style than most other Bordeaux. They can go for extreme prices, are generally made from vines with very low yields. The best is usually considered to be Valandraud.

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They say the Southern Rhone is separated from the Northern Rhone by a no-man’s land for grapes. Despite this gap in wine production, the Rhone is still one of the world’s legendary wine regions. The south is known for its red and roses from Grenache and the north is known for its whites from the Viognier grape and its reds made from Syrah.

There are several legends as to how the Syrah grape made it to the northern Rhone river valley; most involve the Romans bringing it at some point in time in antiquity. Modern DNA analysis however, has shown that grape most likely is a native of the Rhone area. In its homeland of the Rhone, the Syrah grapes can reach its full potential. The area of the northern Rhone is home to several appellations including Côte-Rôtie, Condrieu, Hermitage and Crozes-Hermitage.

The northernmost Rhone wine region is the legendary Côte-Rôtie—the roasted slope. The name refers to the steep hillsides where the vines are planted and to the long hours of sun they receive each growing season. The wines of Côte-Rôtie are made from Syrah and up to 20% Viognier—a white grape. Blending white grapes to make red wine is a very unique practice, and produces a very unique wine. Côte-Rôtie wines exhibit a very floral nose as well as savory notes of meat and bacon, the wines are concentrated—from low grape yields—intense and deep.

Condrieu is just south of the Côte-Rôtie and produces wine from only one grape—Viognier. The wines of Condrieu are luscious, viscous, floral and ethereal with aromas of anise, melon, peach and white flowers. The entire area produces only about 350,000 bottles of wine annually—compare that to the 400 million produced in all of the Rhone! This rarity, and the difficulty in growing Viognier, account for the price tag on Condrieu. If you can find it, look for Chateau Grillet—a single vineyard with its own AOC and perhaps the pinnacle of Condrieu wine.

Perhaps no other name evokes power of the northern Rhone as Hermitage. This tiny appellation is named for the single hill on which the grapes are grown; on the hill of Hermitage, most of those grapes are Syrah. The wines of Hermitage are powerful, with strong aromas of earth, leather and berries. The wines are rich with tannins and structure that allow the wines to age for up to 40 years. The area of Crozes-Hermitage lies all around the hill of Hermitage, for several miles to the north, east and south. The wines are also made from Syrah, and can be similar to Hermitage at their best. Though they rarely live up to their namesake appellation, the wines of Crozes-Hermitage can still be great examples of old world Syrah.

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The River Loire winds its way gracefully from vineyard to vineyard as it travels to the Atlantic. In the east are the legendary areas of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, regarded the world over for their intense Sauvignon Blanc wines. As you travel farther west, you reach the area known as the Middle Loire. No longer is Sauvignon Blanc grown—here is the home of Chenin Blanc.

The versatility of Chenin Blanc in this area is incredible; it produces table wines that range from bone-dry to sweet, as well as sparkling wine and dessert wine from botrytis affected grapes. The AOCs of the middle Loire even boast respectable red wine producing areas, no small feat for an area located so far north. Like the upper Loire, the middle contains many small AOC areas, the most important are Chinon, Vouvray, Anjou and Saumur.

Sparkling wines the Loire are second only in production to Champagne in all of France. The biggest single area for production in the Loire is Saumur. Each year more that 12 million bottles of Saumur Mousseux are produced. The name derives from the texture that the wines are supposed to have—the small, dense bubbles in Mousseux are likened to that delicate French dessert, mousse.

Anjou is the appellation near to Saumur, it grows the Chenin Blanc grape as well as the red Cabernet Franc, the region produces a spectrum of wines. Reds and roses are popular here; the off-dry Rose d’Anjou is made from a blend of red grapes and Cabernet d’Anjou is a dry red made from Cab Franc and Cab Sauvignon. A dry white is made from Chenin Blanc called Savennières this is very distinct wine. Unlike most whites, it can be aged for extended periods; the concentrated wines are very intense (and a little funky). Sweet wines are made from several appellations, the best being Quarts-de-Chaume and Bonnezeaux.

Vouvray is another appellation producing a diverse range of wines. Depending on the weather each year, the area produces dry still wines, sparkling wines and off-dry still wines. In years with enough moisture, noble rot takes over and there is production of very sweet dessert wines. the wines should be labeled according to the sweetness so that the consumer can tell what they are getting. The driest is called “sec”, off-dry wines are called “demi-sec”, sweet wines are “moulleux” and very sweet wines are “doux.”

Finally, the area called Chinon produces red wines from Cabernet Franc and contains several sub-regions called Bourgueil and Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil. All of the areas produce reds; some use a blend of Cab Franc along with some Cabernet Sauvignon. These areas are the largest red wine producers in France.

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If you think you love Chardonnay, you need to experience the wines of the Côte de Beaune. More importantly, if you think you hate Chardonnay, you need to try a good Côte de Beaune. The greatest expression of the grape lie in the vineyards along the limestone escarpment that make up the backbone of this region. The Côte de Beaune is home to both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, but there is little doubt as to who’s in charge in the Beaune. This single region, and the amazing wines it produces, is the sole reason that Chardonnay has been able to take over the wine producing world in our time.

It’s a little surprising to hear that this most sacred of wine regions did not host its signature grape, Chardonnay, until the 17^th century. Before whatever happy accident brought Chardonnay to the Côte, the grape of choice was Pinot Gris. Certainly not a bad grape, it just has never been able to pull off the high-wire acid/body structure that is a great Chardonnay. The Côte de Beaune lies on the southern half of the Côte d’Or, and is home to many fine AOCs producing wine from Chardonnay. Two of the many noteworthy of these appellations producing white wines are Mersault and Montrachet.

If you want to sound very Frenchy and cool to your wine geek friends, make sure to pronounce it “moan-ra-shay.” Montrachet is both a village and Grand Cru. To add to that confusion, some of the Grand Cru in the Village of Montrachet attach the name to the end of their Grand Cru names; so we end up with Puligny-Montrachet and Batard-Montrachet. There is however, no confusion about the best Grand Cru in the area—it is Le Montrachet. The Chardonnay produced from this escarpment in the French countryside is the archetype of white Burgundy—and thus Chardonnay produced anywhere. The wines of Le Montrachet are intense and succulent with excellent acidity and structure and a long finish. Even if you can’t find the Montrachet, anything with the name Montrachet attached will be a great bottle of wine.

Though there are no Grand Cru vineyards’ in Mersault, the region is still considered one of the greatest in the whole Côte de Beaune. The wines here are Chardonnay and they tend towards a buttery, soft and rich style. The appellation produces some decent values—if you can find Mersault-Villages bottles, look for Les Charmes or Les Perrieres.

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Châteauneuf-du-Pape is one of those French words that look horribly unpronounceable and cause terror in those attempting to pronounce it. It’s really not too bad, here’s how it goes: sha-tow-noof-do-pop. It means “the Pope’s new castle,” if you were curious. The intriguing name comes from an era in history when the Pope relocated his administration to a town in the area called Avignon. Apparently the Pope, Clement V, had been living in Bordeaux before he was christened and felt a little homesick in Italy. The papacy returned to the Vatican of course in good time—but while they were there, the Popes of Avignon worked to better the wines coming from the area we now call Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

In the subsequent rulings of later Popes in the area, the wines were called Vin du Pape, then in the 18^th century the wines were called Vin d’Avignon. The wine we call Châteauneuf-du-Pape today, was born out of the areas plethora of grape varieties and a set of unique climatic and geographic nuances.

The most famous aspect of the geography of Châteauneuf-du-Pape is the galets. These are smooth, round stones of golf-ball size that cover the clay soils in some areas of the AOC. These rocks are glacial remnants smoothed over by the river Rhone. These stones act to absorb the plentiful heat of the day and then radiate that heat back to the vines at night. This process helps to ripen the grapes in the vineyards with galets faster than other areas that lack them.

Châteauneuf-du-Pape produces both red and white wines, though production of red wine greatly exceeds that of white. There are 18 grapes permitted to make both red and white wine in the AOC (this was changed from 13 recently). There are no restrictions on the amounts of any grape that go into a Châteauneuf-du-Pape blend, so producers are left to mix as they see fit. Most producers in the area make red wines with a dominant percentage of Grenache, along with much smaller amounts of Syrah and Mourvèdre. The only producer that consistently uses all the grapes in the blend Château de Beaucastel.

Red wines of Châteauneuf-du-Pape usually exhibit a earthy, gamey nose (sometimes referred to as “barnyard-y”) along with leather and fresh or dried savory herbs. The wines are generally strong and tannic and can age very well.

When buying Châteauneuf-du-Pape look for the raised seal on the bottle. This will be stamped into the glass. In an era (long ago) when paper labels were expensive and fell off, this stamp was a way for producers to mark their product as being genuine Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Though the practice isn’t really necessary anymore, it’s now a tradition and is recognized the world over.

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Beaujolais can be really good.

Of course this is contrary to what all budding oenophiles are told. Wine dogma likes to brand all Beaujolais as sweet, light, simple, stupid crap. The Beaujolais producers association even sued a French wine critic because he called Beaujolais vin der merde (that would be: crap wine).

Notice in that first sentence that there is no nouveau…?

Beaujolais makes good wine. Beaujolais nouveau is not good wine. Therein lies the problem for Beaujolais. Georges Duboeuf did such a great job selling Beaujolais nouveau, that it is difficult for the wine consuming public to differentiate Beaujolais (the good) from Beaujolais (the nouveau). Both Beaujolais are produced with the same grape, Gamay, in the same appellation; the differences lie in the production, aging and location.

Beaujolais nouveau is made all over the Beaujolais area. Beaujolais is one of the first grapes to ripen, so, historically the first bottles of Beaujolais were celebrated as the first wines of the new year. The wine is light, simple and meant to consumed as fast as possible.

The producers use carbonic maceration. This is a process were the whole grapes are put in a huge container and sealed. The weight of the top grapes crushes the bottom grapes, which break, and the whole lot begins to ferment in the sealed container. This whole process is done in four days and leaves a tell-tale bubblegum flavor.

Good Beaujolais is Cru Beaujolais. The Crus of Beaujolais refer to small winemaking areas within the Beaujolais district. They are all located near each other in the southern end of the Beaujolais appellation. These areas were originally planted by the Romans—yeah, the 2,000 years ago Romans. The Crus are Saint-Amour, Juliénas, Chénas, Moulin-à-Vent, Fleurie, Chiroubles, Morgon, Régnié, Brouilly and Côte de Brouilly.

The Crus of Beaujolais are basically small towns or small growing areas that have been consistently producing good wine for eons. Cru Beaujolais does not put the word “Beaujolais” on its label—you can probably guess why—instead they simply put the name of the Cru, “Brouilly” or “Fleurie” for instance. Instead of the carbonic maceration used by the nouveau producers, the cru producers use standard wine making practices and age in wood barrels.

Cru Beaujolais is a wine of quality, but it is still not meant to be aged for extended lengths. Instead, enjoy these wines after a few years, though some can age for 10 or more years. The cru Beaujolais wines have characteristics similar to Pinot Noir (Gamay is a Pinot Noir cross), though with a little more body. Depending on the cru and vintage, notes of berries, currants, peaches or roses and some can achieve structure and palette similar to its northern neighbor, Burgundy.

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The region and the wines of Alsace are just a little different from the rest of France. The wine must be bottled in the signature flûtes, which are tall and thin. The wines are made from grapes foreign to the rest of France—Riesling and Gewürztraminer. Also, they put the name of the grape on the wine bottle. That may not sound like a monumental practice, but for French wine, it is.

Tall bottles, Riesling, name on the label…hmm, those all sound like German wine ideas… Well, they are. That shouldn’t be too surprising given that Alsace has been governed by intermittently by Germany and France in recent history. These days, the population speaks French, but more than a third still speak Alsatian, a German-based tongue.

The region lies in the northeast of France, right on the border with Germany. The wine producing are in the region lies on a narrow strip that runs north and south between the Vosges mountains to the West and the Rhine river to the east. The long strip of grape growers lies in the rain shadow of those Vosges Mountains, this gives the region a rather dry and sunny climate. If you can ever make it this neck of the woods, the Wine Route of Alsace is a 100 miles of wineries in beautiful country that will surely make a few happy days.

Alsace produces several styles of wines from a mixture of grapes. The dominant grape is Riesling, followed by Gewürztraminer and Pinot Gris. A few kinds of Muscat are also planted, but not in a great amount. The wines of Alsace have a range of sugar levels. Fully dry wines are common, especially Rieslings, but it’s up to the individual producer to determine how much residual sugar to leave in. This practice can be a little confusing for the wine drinker because the bottles aren’t labeled as to whether they are dry or off dry. Read reviews online or ask the restaurant staff if you’re ordering out and you should be able to get what you want.

And if the sweet stuff is what you’re after, Alsace has you covered. Semi-sweet Alsatian wines are labeled as Vendage Tardive, or VT for short, which means late harvest. These wines can be made from any of the grapes and the label will say Vendage Tardive. They’re similar to a German Auslese in sugar level. Finally there is the Selecion de Grains Nobles. This is wine made for grapes affected with noble rot (botrytis). This wine is very sweet and is comparable to a Sauternes or a Beerenauslese. These wines can again be made from any grape and will be labeled as Selecion de Grains Nobles.

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