WINES & CHEESES with Liz Wheadon
Your guide to French Wine
Our monthly Channel Wines and Cheeses columnist is Liz Wheadon, General Manager of Glengarry Wines. Liz is also a passionate foodie. Weekends are often spent first planning the event and then entertaining friends and family with magnificent food and wine experiences.
Your guide to French Wine
The difficulties with understanding French wine lie in their labelling. Unlike New Zealand, Australian, Chilean and Argentinean wine which show the variety on the label. French wine labels tell you the region the wine is from, often the village and the appellation. There’s of course an exception, in Alsace the wines are labelled with the variety. Having been for a large part of history part of Germany, the region is a little confused and often sits outside the norm in France. Here’s a quick guide breaking down the main regions and identifying the variety.
Starting in the North, an hour south of Paris is the Northern tip of Burgundy and the village of Chablis. All Chablis is produced from Chardonnay, the style is very different to the predominant style in New Zealand, and the wines are flinty, having gorgeous lime and lemon characters. The different quality levels in Chablis are, Grand Cru Chablis (the top), Premier Cru Chablis, Chablis and Petit Chablis. In addition to the quality level the wine is often labelled with the vineyard. A great way to start experiencing Chablis is with a Petit Chablis. The Seguinot Bordet Petit Chablis is excellent valueThe winery dates back to 1590; it’s contemporary in approach and over delivers on its price point.
Further South is Beane, the heart of Burgundy. In Burgundy, reds are made from Pinot Noir and whites from Chardonnay. Similar to Chablis, the wines are labelled Grand Cru, Premier Cru, Village, and Region. For example; Nicolas Potel Chambolle Musigny is a red Burgundy (Pinot Noir), from the village of Chambolle Musigny.
The Southern most point of Burgundy is home to Beaujolais, wines from this region are made from Gamay. Two styles are produced, one through a unique process that accentuates the fruit and one into very serious Gamay wines.
Continuing South, just below Lyon is the top of the Rhone Valley. The predominant grape variety here is Syrah. The different quality levels found in Burgundy are not used in the Rhone, the wines are labelled from the village they come from. For example Rostaing Cote Rotie is a Syrah from the village of Cote Rotie.
At the bottom of the Rhone valley just outside Avignon is the village of Chateauneuf du Pape, wines from this village can be made by blending up to 13 different varieties together. Often Grenache and Syrah dominant, these are soft and supple red wines.
Wines labelled Cote du Rhone can come from a blend of varieties grown throughout the Rhone Valley. Usually a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mouvedre (GSM) these are labelled, Cote du Rhone, then the next step up Cote du Rhone Villages.
Now to Bordeaux, white wines from Bordeaux are not often seen in great quantities in New Zealand. They are produced with Sauvignon and Semillon. Red wines are made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec. The area in Bordeaux that the wines are from determines the grape variety that is predominant.
In the Loire Valley, the wines from Sancerre are made from Sauvignon Blanc and those from Vouvray are from Chenin Blanc.
Glengarry imports an extensive range of French wines from all areas, this is a quick guide to understanding the areas, don’t hesitate to pop in store and discuss our French wines with the team.
Do make sure you pop in for our Bastille Day celebrations, jump on-line today www.glengarry.co.nz and sign up for our weekly email, you’ll get advance notice of our Bastille Day events and all upcoming activity.
… and cheese the French love it!
With the Tour of France, Bastille Day, Glengarry’s celebration of all things French this month and the fact that I’ll be in France all month it seems only fitting that I write about French cheese this month.
Perhaps first a little about what I am doing in France. I’ve travelled to firstly attend Vin Expo. A large trade event that occurs every two years in Bordeaux, 50,000 of the worlds wine trade gather in Bordeaux to taste, meet and explore business opportunities. Following Vin Expo I’ll travel to Burgundy to meet with our suppliers and then to champagne to do the same. Whilst it sounds like a dream job (and it is my dream job) it is a large amount of work – lots
of meetings and work – but all while talking about and
tasting wine.
There are over 400 different styles of cheese in France, and that’s only the ones known about. There are likely to be many more produced in small batches on family farms. Most French cheese eaten in France is unpasteurised – in New Zealand – there’s a mixture. All are clearly labelled in Didas. Some cheeses are produced under the AOC regulations for that particular cheese – like with wine. This controls all aspects of production.
Here’s a guide to some of the my favourite French Cheeses:
Comte
This hard cheese is made from raw cow milk. It matures in a fortress in the Jura Mountains for one year, and it is regularly washed of with brine. Full-bodied, nutty flavour, its one of the top sellers in France.
Ossau Iraty Brebis
Ossau-Iraty is french AOC mountain cheese from the Pyrenees in the very south. This cheese is a blend of milks, predominately sheet. It has a wonderful texture and tastes of almonds, hazelnuts and olives, it is mild but complex and instantly satisfying.
Pont l’Evêque
Pont l’Evêque is a washed-rind cow’s milk cheese made in Normandy. It is somewhat similar to Livarot with warm, buttery, savoury flavours and tangy, fruity undercurrents.
Saint Nectaire
Saint Nectaire is an ancient cheese, similar to cheeses made in monasteries. Saint Nectaire has a nutty and fruity flavor with a touch of salt and spice. A milder washed rind cheese, Saint Nectaire does develop into a creamy soft cheese as it matures.
Roquefort
One of the greatest blue cheeses in the world, Roquefort has a white to ivory colored curd with a velvety appearance and creamy texture. The veined cavities of intense blue give it a generous and unique flavour typical of Roquefort cheeses.
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