Let’s look at a white wine or two…
Wine Club Insider back, yet again!
Well, it’s the middle of winter, but wine is the gift that keeps on giving! I just got my Pepperbridge Wine Club shipment – www.pepperbridge.com- three bottles of their famous Seven Hills Vineyard Cab, and had to try one, even as young as it is. Let me tell you, if you haven’t tried Pepperbridge, you’re missing out! This Walla Walla winery is among the best I’ve tasted, vintage in and vintage out… between Seven Hills (rated as one of the best USA vineyards) and their Pepperbridge Vineyard, they have the foundation and terroir to make some of the best reds in the USA, and they do. Awesome!
Well now, we’ve touched on some of the world famous red wine grapes… let’s look at the top two whites of Bordeaux:
By far the largest planted and popular white wine is… NOT Chardonnay! That’s right! Especially in France, Chard runs a distant fourth or even fifth, behind Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Ugni Blanc (also called Trebbiano – the most popular white wine world wide, though it is very close with the Spanish-based white wine Airen) abd Muscadelle.
Sauignon Blanc is one of the true indigenous grapes of France, and gets its name from the words “Sauvage” (wild) and “Blanc” (white), and is a green skinned white grape, often described as “crisp,” “elegant” and “fresh.” It can range in taste from somewhat grassy to almost tropical and fruity, and makes wines ranging from dry to the very sweet dessert wines of Barsac and Sauternes.
The Sauv Blancs of New Zealand have risen to prominence as some of the world’s best, and it is grown almost everywhere.
Semillon (pronounced SEM -ee-on) is another famous white wine grape, and the wine it produces range from the very dry Bordeaux Blanc, to the sticky sweet, world famous dessert wines of Sauterne, made famous by Chateau d Y’quem. For the sweet varieties, it is exposed to Botrytis Cinerea, or “Noble Rot,” which basically turns it in to a giant raisin. d’Yquem’s website is at http://www.yquem.fr/yquem.php?lang=uk, and it is truly one of the most spectacular wines in the world, and one of my all time favorites. I actually plan to do an entire posting on this magnificent winery sometime soon… I mean, there aren’t that many wineries that still have verticals back to 1860 in perfect condition!
Back to talk about Chard tomorrow!
Cheers,
Wine Club Insider out.
Bordeaux, Chardonnay, Dessert Wine, Fine Wine, French Wine, International Wine, Sweet Wine, Vineyards, Vintage Wine, White Wine, Wine Cellar, Wine Club, Wine Education, Wine Lovers, Wine Making, Wine Reviews, Wine Storage
