FOOD & DRINK
LEGENDE Vineyard
BORDEAUX WINES
QUINTESSENTIAL SIPS FROM SOUTHERN FRANCE By Jenny Peters
s summer arrives, it’s hard not to dream of a visit to Bordeaux, that ancient city and beautiful wine region of Southern France, where famed vintages have been created since Roman times. A visit to the vineyards would be pleasant, but we’ll settle for sips here at home for now. The wines of Bordeaux are graded in the French system that began in the 1400s, the “Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée” or AOC designation, which protects and brands foods and wines to a specific place in the country. Bordeaux has a dizzying 60 AOC designation (the most of any wine region in France), with Graves, Médoc (and its famed subappellations of Pauillac, Margaux, Saint-Estéphe, and Saint-Julien), Saint-Emilion, Pomerol, and Sauternes the most famous. Since we’re all staying in town these days, the wines we’re suggesting are all available either in New York metro area shops or via shipping. Quaffing during this time can mean opening your first bottle at lunchtime and rolling straight into dinner; for those days, perhaps a lessexpensive bottle of Bordeaux wine fits the bill. But let’s start with one of the very best to celebrate any special occasion. 56 | OUR CITY, YOUR LIFE | JULY/AUGUST 2020
