42 | living wine
Alsace is famous for white wines
French wine regions:
F
rance is one of the top 3 wine producing countries in the world, both in terms of volume and economic value, with 37 of the top 50 most expensive wines of the world hailing from France. First place is usually a close call between France, Italy and Spain. In 2019 Italy came in first and France second. China recently took first place for hectares planted, so it’s a matter of time until they take first place overall. The total vineyard area in France is around 800,000ha, spread across some 75,000 holdings. Not all are separate wineries – some supply cooperatives or are for personal use. Nonetheless, comparing this to other important New World wine producing countries like Australia, with a total area of around 135,000ha under vineyards and approximately 750 wineries, and South Africa with around 95,000 ha and approximately 550 wineries, we can see that France has many hectares but also many small operators. All that scale and diversity means a multitude of wine regions to know about, even more ‘appellations’ (360 to be precise) and many different wines. In this edition I’m focusing on white wines, which represent around a third of French production. In the next, I will pick up on red wines and then I’ll come back to the key grape varietals.
www.livingmagazine.fr
White wines LIVING’s resident wine expert Caro Feely demystifies the bewildering array of names on our wine labels
Alsace Alsace wine region covers around 15,000ha and is famous for white wines, particularly noble varieties of Gewürztraminer and Riesling. Vines are planted on the eastern foothills of the Vosges mountains, where they experience dry, warm autumns perfect for ripening grapes. There are many soil types offering a great diversity of taste of terroir. Their white wines range from dry to full sweet. Bordeaux whites – Sémillon and Sauvignon blanc Bordeaux is most famous for red wines, but the greater Bordeaux region also produces beautiful whites. Sweet white wines like Sauternes south of Bordeaux city, plus Saussignac and Monbazillac in the Bergerac region, are primarily from the Sémillon grape. Dry whites are from Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc. Examples include Pessac-Léognan, often a richer style with barrel ageing,
and Entre-Deux-Mers, usually a fresher style with more Sauvignon Blanc. Burgundy – Chardonnay and a little Aligoté Many people associate Burgundy with Pinot Noir but it produces more white wine, with 60% white, 30% red and 10% sparkling. You find most of the whites south of Beaune. Examples include Meursault, Montrachet and the Mâconnais, creating whites made from Chardonnay (and Aligoté in some parts) which are often barrel aged. In the far north of the Burgundy area is a white wine icon: Chablis, an appellation famous for steely-dry Chardonnay that is rarely barrel aged.
Loire Valley – Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc The Loire Valley, like Alsace, is best known for white wines. It spans more than 800km from fabulous Sancerre in the east to Muscadet in the far west. You will find Sauvignon Blanc from famous commune appellations including Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé and Menetou-Salon and Chenin Blanc from Touraine region, with the famous commune appellation of Vouvray. The sub-region of Saumur Anjou includes white dessert wines like Coteaux du Layon and outstanding dry Chenin
