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Author:   Ed McCarthy ,  Mary Ewing-Mulligan
Publisher:   John Wiley & Sons Inc
Imprint:   For Dummies
Dimensions:   Width: 14.00cm , Height: 2.30cm , Length: 21.30cm
Weight:   0.295kg
ISBN:  

9780764553547

ISBN 10:   0764553542
Pages:   320
Publication Date:   15 August 2001
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1 How to Use This Book 2 Part I: Why France is the Home of Great Wines 3 Part II: France’s High-Profile Wine Regions 3 Part III: France’s Other Wine Regions 3 Part IV: The Part of Tens 3 Part V: Appendixes 4 Icons used in this Book 4 Part I: Why France is the Home of Great Wines 5 Chapter 1: France, Superstar 7 In the Beginning 7 Natural Talents 8 Climate ups and downs 10 Old dirt 11 Time passages 12 French Wine-Think 12 Chapter 2: French Wine Today 15 We’re Number One 15 The Variety of French Wine 16 The colors of France 16 Dry, sweet, and bubbly 16 Collectable to highly affordable 17 Regional characters 18 The Grapes of France 18 Chapter 3: Wine Laws and Labels 21 France’s Wine Laws: The Opposite of Laissez-Faire 21 Privileged versus ordinary locales 22 Small is beautiful 23 AOC, VDQS, and Vin de Pays 23 Degrees of pedigree within the AOC ranks 26 The French Wine Label 28 Part II: France’s High-Profile Wine Regions 29 Chapter 4: Elite Red Wines of Bordeaux 31 The Bordeaux Advantage 32 Bordeaux the red 33 Red Bordeaux’s grape varieties 34 The High-Rent Districts 35 The Left Bank style 36 The Villages of the Haut-Médoc 36 The Right Bank style 38 Classified Information 39 The 1855 Classification 40 The Graves/Pessac-Léognan classification 42 The St.-Emilion classification 43 Bordeaux’s Best Reds 45 Our top ten 45 Great Haut-Médoc wines 46 Top Pessac-Léognan wines 47 The Best St.-Emilion Bordeaux 48 A Pomerol ranking (unofficial) 50 Drinking Red Bordeaux 52 Visiting Bordeaux 52 Haut-Médoc and Graves 53 St.-Emilion 54 Chapter 5: Red Bordeaux on a Budget 55 Where the Bargains are 55 Cru Bourgeois wines of the Médoc and Haut-Médoc 56 Petits châteaux and generics 59 Other Bordeaux Districts 62 Fronsac and Canon-Fronsac 63 Côtes de Bourg and Premières Côtes de Blaye 64 Chapter 6: White Bordeaux—Dry or Sweet, and Delectable 67 Dry White Bordeaux Today 67 Where the dry whites are born 68 Two white grapes — and neither is Chardonnay 69 Drinking white Bordeaux 70 Good Producers of White Bordeaux 71 The star performers 71 Where quality and value meet 72 Other notable dry whites 73 Sauternes and Barsac 73 The Sauternes wine district 74 Sauternes’ grape varieties 75 Enjoying sweet Bordeaux 75 Producers of Sweet White Bordeaux 76 Beyond Château d’Yquem: great Sauternes/Barsacs 77 More good Sauternes/Barsacs 77 Bargain dessert wines 78 Chapter 7: Burgundy—Queen of France 79 The Where and Why of Burgundy 80 Soil and climate 81 The two great Burgundy grapes 81 The scale of Burgundy 82 Burgundy’s AOC System 84 Burgundy’s Districts 89 Chablis, from Chablis, France 90 Chablis appellations 91 Good Chablis producers 93 Recent Chablis vintages 94 Burgundy Royalty: Côte d’Or 95 The Côte d’Or wine villages 96 Côte d’Or wines in the market 99 Côte d’Or producers to buy 100 The Côte Chalonnaise: Affordable Burgundies 103 Côte Chalonnaise appellations 104 Chalonnaise producers to buy 105 Everyday Whites: Mâcon 106 Mâcon’s appellations and wines 106 Mâcon producers to buy 108 Serving Burgundy 109 Enjoying white Burgundy 109 Pairing Burgundy with food 110 Chapter 8: Beaujolais, The Fun Red 111 What Makes Beaujolais 111 The Beaujolais terroir 112 The Gamay grape 113 Beaujolais winemaking 113 From Frivolous to Firm 114 Beaujolais and Beaujolais-Villages 114 Beaujolais Nouveau 115 Cru Beaujolais 115 Producers and prices 117 Enjoying Beaujolais 118 Chapter 9: Robust Rhône Reds and Unique Whites 121 Two Regions in One 122 The nature of the North 122 The nature of the South 125 The Northern Rhône, Up Close 126 The reds rule 127 Uncommon whites 132 The Southern Rhône in the Spotlight 136 The major wines of the South 137 Satellite wine zones of the Southern Rhône 144 Enjoying Rhône Wines 146 Part III: France’s Other Wine Regions 147 Chapter 10: Champagne: The World’s Greatest Sparkling Wine 149 What Champagne is 149 The Champagne Region 151 Champagne’s climate and soil 153 The grape varieties of Champagne 155 The four grape-growing districts 156 Styles of Champagne 158 Non-vintage, vintage, and prestige cuvées 158 Blanc de blanks, blanc de noirs, and rosé Champagnes 163 From dry to sweet: Brut, Extra dry, and Demi-Sec Champagne 165 The Great Champagne Houses 167 “House styles” 168 Grower-producer Champagnes 169 Aging Champagne 170 Champagne with Food 171 Chapter 11: Alsace: White Wine Wonderland 173 Location, Location 173 Mountains’ majesty 174 Forecast: sunny and dry 175 The Grapes of Alsace 176 The Range of Wines 177 The dominant style 178 Legally speaking 179 VT and SGN: Measures of ripeness 182 Riesling, Above All 183 Alsace’s Other Wine Gems 185 Gewurztraminer 185 Pinot Blanc 186 Tokay-Pinot Gris 187 Other Alsace wines 188 Enjoying Alsace Wines 188 Top Alsace Producers 189 Chapter 12: The Loire Valley’s Hidden Gems 191 The Rambling Loire Valley 191 The Loire’s climate and soil 192 The major wine districts 194 The Upper Loire: Sauvignon Blanc’s Spiritual Home 194 Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé 195 Other wines of the Upper Loire 197 Leading Upper Loire producers 198 The Diverse Central Loire 199 Touraine’s (too) many AOCs 199 The many faces of Vouvray 201 The Touraine’s best red wines 204 The dry and the sweet of Anjou-Saumur 205 Muscadet: The Value White 210 Enjoying Loire Valley Wines 212 Chapter 13: The South of France 213 Languedoc-Roussillon: The Mother Vineyard of France 213 The lay of the land 214 The seeds of change 216 Classical wines: better than ever 218 Languedoc fringe dwellers 222 Beautiful Provence 223 Climate and soil 224 The wines of Provence 225 Chapter 14: Other French Wine Regions 229 Southwest France 230 Bergerac 230 Cahors and vicinity 233 Béarn 235 Jura 236 Savoie 239 Corsica 241 Other French Regions 242 Part IV: The Part of Tens 243 Chapter 15: Answers to Ten Common Questions about French Wines 245 Why are French Wines so Expensive? 245 How are French Wines Different from American Wines? 246 Are Rosé Champagnes Really Dry? 247 Are French Wines the Best Wines? 247 Do French Wines Age Long? 248 Are Prestige Cuvée Champagnes Really Better? Or are they Just a Rip-Off? 248 Can I Keep My Wines in the Refrigerator? 249 The French Make a Big Deal about “Terroir.” Isn’t This Concept Overrated? 249 Is AOC (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée) Status a Guarantee of Quality for French Wines? 250 Are All Burgundy Wines Expensive? 250 Chapter 16: Ten French Wine Myths Exposed 251 Champagne Isn’t For Dinner 251 Red Bordeaux Takes Forever to Mature 252 Sauternes are Delicious Young 252 Chablis is too Dry and Acidic 252 Champagne is too Expensive 253 You Must Drink Beaujolais Nouveau before spring 253 Châteauneuf-du-Pape is Full-Bodied and Long-Lasting 253 All Rieslings are too Sweet 254 Wines of Southern France are Rustic and Mediocre 254 Champagnes Don’t Age Well 254 Part V: Appendixes 255 Appendix A: Pronunciation Guide to French Wine Terms 257 Appendix B: Bordeaux and Burgundy Classifications 265 Appendix C: French Wine Vintage Chart: 1979 to 1998 277 Index 281

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Ed McCarthy and Mary Ewing-Mulligan co-authored the bestselling Wine For Dummies. Ed also wrote Champagne For Dummies. Mary, the only woman Master of Wine in the U.S., owns International Wine Center, a New York wine school.

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