All change: new website!

I started this blog four years ago in 2013. I had just started going out with a Californian (who's now my wife) and she encouraged me to start writing a blog to record my experiences studying the WSET Diploma as well as using the space as a platform to express my enthusiasm for wine and other drinks.

In that time, I've got married and passed the Diploma (I don't know which is a more extraordinary achievement). My knowledge of wine has increased greatly, and the development of that knowledge has been documented on this blog. I've published 175 posts, attracting nearly 90,000 individual page views.

The most important thing in writing a blog is feeling personally involved: write about what enthuses you. Having passed the Diploma and become a WSET Certified Educator, I feel it's time to move on.

So I've established a new website. It still revolves around wine and other drinks, but it's more immediate, attractive, and user-friendly. Podcasts are central to the new site, and pages are organised by countries.

Everything on this site will remain accessible, so readers and students will continue to be able to access my posts.

So keep on reading! I'm on twitter, facebook, instagram, and soundcloud. I hope you find the new website as much fun as I've had writing these posts over the last four years.

And here is where to go: Matthew's World of Wine and Drink

the new me

Southern Rhône

The southern Rhône has a much wider variety of grapes than the northern Rhône. The main grape is Grenache, but the wines are usually blends with Syrah and Mourvèdre playing an important part. Add whites and rosés to the mix and the southern Rhône produces an exciting diversity of wines. You can also follow my podcast on Soundcloud or on iTunes.

Music by Bensound

Northern Rhône Podcast

The Northern Rhône produces some of the world's greatest Syrah from famous hillside appellations as Côte-Rôtie, Hermitage, and Cornas, as well as great white wine from Viognier, Marsanne, and Roussanne. Listen to my podcast on the region to find out more about what makes these wines so unique. You can also follow my podcast on Soundcloud or on iTunes.


Music by Bensound

Beaujolais Podcast

The latest episode of my educational podcast focuses on Beaujolais. I wrote about this underrated region in a recent blog post; here I go into greater depth, exploring the history, appellation structure, and style of wine. You can also follow my podcast on Soundcloud or on iTunes.




Music by Bensound

Cabernet Franc

In my last blog post, I wrote about the underrated wines made from Chenin Blanc in the Loire. The same can be said about the region's major black grape, Cabernet Franc. It's one of the parent grapes of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Carmenère, as well as a grandparent of Malbec. Yet around the world it's often seen simply as a blending grape, probably because that's how it's used in Bordeaux. In the Loire, Cabernet Franc is treated much more seriously, with wines that can age for decades being produced. For more everyday drinking, there are also plenty of fruity, approachable wines. However, these are generally lower-alcohol, lighter-bodied wines, explaining why they don't always fit into international trends.

ripeness

Phillipe Boucard

As I've already mentioned in the previous Loire blog posts, the challenge of getting the grapes ripe in the region has changed a lot in the last twenty to thirty years. For both white and black grapes, this used to be much more unpredictable than it is now, accounting for huge vintage variation. I visited Lamé Delisle Boucard, a domaine based in Bourgueil, where the current winemaker, Phillipe Boucard, gave me a taste of the 1989 vintage, the bottle sourced from his cool cellar dug deep beneath the chalky soils. Tasting a wine that old is always a source of excitement, but Phillipe was quick to comment, "This wine was a disaster, and it was the first one I made. The 1980s were catastrophic, full of green, underripe aromas which no one outside the region wanted." The wine certainly had retained its herbaceous, green bell pepper aromas, though I thought it had also maintained its structure remarkably well. But Phillipe went on, "The 2000s have been fantastic," as they've seen a succession of warmer vintages which have allowed more consistency and riper aromas in the wines, making them more approachable to foreign markets. Making wine now is much easier than it was in the 1980s, and it's reflected in the wines: riper, fruitier, and more immediate while still retaining their acidity and tannic structure.

the caves

Chinon's château

Many producers such as Lamé Delisle Boucard age their wines in underground cellars that have naturally cool conditions perfect for storing wine. These cellars are extraordinary, dug over the centuries to provide stone for local buildings. In the Touraine area of the Loire, the soil is tuffeau, a chalky limestone soil which was used for the construction of the region's famous châteaux. It's ideal for growing grapes as well as building castles, as the rocky surface doesn't retain water, forcing the vines to dig deep to seek underground resources. The cellars give you a great opportunity to see what the soil actually looks like underneath the surface, as well as creating damp, humid, cool conditions that allow the wines to slowly mature. The Loire is also famous for the historic troglodyte people who lived in caves dug into the rocky landscape. Again, producers take advantage of these ancient caves, storing wine in dark, cool conditions hidden well away from the sunshine. The Loire is a region whose winemakers work harmoniously with its beautiful landscape.

troglodyte cave

Chinon and Bourgueil 

Joan of Arc in Chinon

These are the two most important appellations for Cabernet Franc in the Loire, and one could argue in the world. They lie either side of the Loire river and, despite just being half an hour's drive from one other, display considerable differences in styles of wine. Chinon is perhaps the more famous. It's the birthplace of Rabelais, the French author who is, in part, the inventor of the modern novel, and the town was a focus for the many wars waged against England: Chinon was once the base for French kings and was where Joan of Arc pled her case to help lift the siege of Orléans. It's a beautiful village dominated by its fortress and old medieval buildings, situated on one of the Loire’s many tributaries, the Vienne. Style varies within the appellation. Near the banks of the rivers, the soils are sandy and produce fruity, easy-drinking wines. Further up the slopes away from the rivers, the soils become more limestone and gravel based, leading to complex wines with grainy tannins, more restrained fruit aromas, and intense peppery wines. Unless the name of a vineyard is on the label, it’s difficult to know where a wine is from and what it’s going to taste like: in which case, price is a guide.

Vienne river, Chinon

Bourgueil is north of the Loire, where the clay-gravel soils on south-facing slopes rising from the Loire result in intense, tannic wines with great ageing potential - arguably the best Cabernet Franc wines anywhere in the world. Again at Lamé Delisle Boucard, I got to taste a wine from 1964. It was astonishing how fresh, alive, and strutcured the wine remained, proof that Cabernet Franc can age as well as the best wines of Burgundy or Barolo. Old wines are not always the easiest to drink, but this wine belied its age. The wines can be drunk young too, with fresh red fruit aromas, high acidity, and firm tannins. In either case, these are extremely food-friendly wines, the acidity, tannins, and restrained fruit aromas making them great with rich chicken, pork, or lamb dishes, with maybe a little bit of spice.

Within Bourgueil is St-Nicholas-de-Bourgueil, which produces much fruitier wines for earlier drinking. Cabernet Franc is also grown throughout the Anjou-Saumur region; generally the wines are again fruitier and easier drinking, though some more serious examples are made. One further wonderful aspect of Cabernet Franc in the Loire is the price. Domaine du Closel, more famous for their white wine from Savennières, also produce some red wine. Le Rouge 2009 (✪✪✪✪) is mature, floral, and herbal with great acidity and tannin structure: they sell it for €9.

... and Cabernet Sauvignon 

Despite its universal fame, Cabernet Sauvignon is not my favourite grape, so it was satisfying to travel around the Loire and hear producers say that they are pulling out Cabernet Sauvignon in favour of local grapes such as Grolleau. Perversely though, I find it at its most interesting when it displays slightly green, herbaceous aromas which are frowned upon in areas such as Napa Valley. I'm definitely in a minority on this, but it means Cabernet Sauvignon in the Loire intrigues me. On its own, I don't think it works - it's just too green as it's so difficult to get it fully ripe in Loire's cool climate. It's mainly grown for rosé, when complete ripeness is not an issue. But it's also allowed in the Cabernet Franc based appellations to add tannins and black fruits to the red wines. And despite my aversion to Cabernet Sauvignon, one of my favourite wines of the trip was Clau de Nell's Violette 2015 ($50; ✪✪✪✪✪), which is 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Cabernet Franc. The Loire is a region which never ceases to surprise.

Chenin Blanc

Chenin Blanc is one of the world's greatest white grape varieties, but there are only two areas that specialise in it: South Africa and the Loire Valley. In South Africa, it's often cheap and off-dry, although there are some select producers who produce quality examples. It's in the Loire that it excels, with world-class dry and sweet wines being made from the grape as well as more variable sparkling wine. There's a growing focus on dry wine, which is increasing in quality, but the less fashionable sweet wines still rank among the world's best.

the grape variety

Chenin Blanc is naturally high in acidity, which is accentuated by the cool climate of the Loire. This acidity used to be so searingly high that it took decades for the best wines to open up and be drinkable. The warmer climate and better vineyard practices have tamed the acidity a little and the riper grapes make the wines more approachable when young. Chenin Blanc, particularly in the Loire, is not an especially fruity wine, but it's much more aromatic than, for example, Chardonnay. In the Loire, there are citrus and stone fruit aromas, with tropical aromas in the sweet wines, with an unusual nutty toastiness especially as the wines age.

the appellations

There are dozens of appellations in the Loire which specialise in Chenin Blanc, many of them too small to be found outside the region. Here are some highlights, by no means exhaustive, from my trip through the Loire:

Anjou

Anjou is home to some of the great Chenin Blanc appellations, but some excellent white wine is made under the Anjou appellation itself. Unfortunately, Anjou has fallen from fashion because of too much cheap wine (especially rosé), but there's a renewed effort among winemakers to increase the quality of the dry whites. A good example is Château Soucherie who make very good sweet wine, but who are now focusing more on dry wine. Their Blanc Ivoire 2016 (✪✪✪✪; €13) is great for the price, with a rich creamy texture, crisp acidity, and pear, stone fruit, floral, and spicy aromas. Clau de Nell are just starting to make wine from Chenin Blanc, having previously only made red wine. 2014 saw their first Chenin Blanc; I tasted the 2016 from the barrel and the bottled 2015 (✪✪✪✪✪). Again, the wine was creamy and rich with stone fruit aromas, and it could have been mistaken for a high-quality Chardonnay but with high acidity and a dry mineral texture. This wine isn't actually under the Anjou appellation because the vines were planted 100 x 91cm instead of the minimum 100 x 100cm. As winemaker Sylvain Potin said, "Rules are great except when they don't work." Instead, the wine is under the Val de Loire IGP.

tasting at Clau de Nell

Savennières

Lying north of the Loire river, the south-facing slopes of Savennières soak up the sunshine resulting in rich wines that nevertheless maintain high acidity from the grape variety and the cool nights. The wines of Savennières used to be notoriously difficult, perhaps because it used to be more difficult to get the grapes fully ripe, but now they are more approachable when young - though they still benefit from many years ageing. Domaine du Closel, a picture-postcard property in the heart of the village, have been run by female members of the family for several generations. They make three single-vineyard expressions of Savennières. La Jalousie 2014 (✪✪✪✪✪; €24) is mouth-wateringly acidic with a mineral texture typical of Savennières. Les Cailladières 2013 (✪✪✪✪✪; €30), made from thirty-year-old vines, is creamier, richer, and rounder with herbal, thorny aromas. Le Clos du Papillon 2015 (✪✪✪✪✪; €37), from volcanic soils and fifty-year-old vines, is a smoky, meaty wine that manages to be rich and austere at the same time.

Coulée de Serrant

Further down the road resides Coulée de Serrant, the luxurious but old-fashioned property of Nicholas Joly, one of the pioneers of biodynamic winemaking (I've never visited a region where biodynamics is practised so widely). He's such a signficant figure that the winery has its own appellation, Coulée de Serrant AOC, which sits on a steep, sun-baked slope. I got to try the 2007 (✪✪✪✪✪; €90), which was more balanced and approachable than the younger wines, but retaining its acidity and still rich and spicy, with stone and tropical fruit aromas. The wine, made in the cool Loire Valley, came in at 15.5%.

Coteaux du Layon

Quarts de Chaume

South of the Loire river, all wine made in Coteaux du Layon is sweet - more vines from the appellation are now being used for dry Anjou Blanc. Coteaux du Layon wines are good but not that exciting, usually made from a mixture of late-harvest and botrytised grapes. Where the wines really come into their own is in the small appellations of Quarts de Chaume and Bonnezeaux. Quarts de Chaume lies on a hill overlooking the small, narrow Layon river which provides the fog in the autumn mornings to cause the grapes to be affected with noble rot. This is the only appellation in the Loire to use the Burgundian Premier and Grand Cru terms. The Premier Cru grapes are grown on the plateau at the top of the hill, with the Grand Cru grapes lower down on the slope near the river. 2011 was apparently a perfect year for botrytis and I was fortunate enough to taste Château Soucherie's Premier Cru from that year (✪✪✪✪✪✪✪). With 180g/L of residual sugar, this is a rich, sweet wine but the acidity lifts the wine and stops it being too heavy. This is a beautiful, complex, layered wine that still has a rich, fruity immediacy: as good as sweet wine gets.

Chinon

Moving into the Touraine section of the Loire Valley, the majority of wine made in Chinon is red, from Cabernet Franc (more on that in the next blog). I didn't even know that white wine was made there, but I got to taste a rare example. Château de Coulaine Chinon Blanc 2014 (✪✪✪✪✪; €20) was rich and creamy, with a grainy, mineral texture and stone and tropical fruit aromas (most noticeably banana). Again, a wine that could be mistaken for Chardonnay.

Vouvray/Montlouis-sur-Loire

I had been looking forward greatly to visiting Vouvray, but the small village itself was something of a disappointment. The highlight of the area was in fact a wine from neighbouring Montlouis-sur-Loire. This was a sparkling wine made by a young producer called Xavier Weisskopf (who also makes a fantastic Malbec), under the Domaine Le Rocher des Violettes label (✪✪✪✪; €20). Sparkling wine in the Loire can vary in quality, but this one had a rewarding apple fruitiness, high, refreshing acidity, and balanced autolytic aromas. Unlike in Champagne, the second fermentation had started with indigenous yeasts - yet another example of the hands-off approach to winemaking by Loire producers.

The advantage of the Loire is also its disadvantage: there are so many styles of wine to choose from which will enthrall the wine lover but perhaps confuse the everyday drinker. Chenin Blanc exemplifies this aspect of Loire wine - it can be dry, sweet, or sparkling, and changes subtly according to the area and the producer. But these food-friendly, ageworthy wines at their best stand up against any white wine from elsewhere in the world.

Muscadet

As a whole, the Loire valley isn't as fashionable as it should be, and no other region within the Loire suffers as much as Muscadet. This is the largest part of the Loire and the high-volume, restrained, acidic, relatively low alcohol wines don't fit into international trends. But visiting the area I discovered not only its beauty but also the variety, quality, and immediacy of its wines.

the region

Muscadet is the most westerly of the Loire's many wine regions. Located not far from the Atlantic Ocean, the climate is maritime. This wet, ocean influence is also felt in the food, for the wines of Muscadet pair perfectly with fish and seafood. The largest and highest quality of the region's appellations is Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, named after two rivers that flow south and south-east out of the Loire. Here, the variety of volcanic and marine soils lend the wines a lean, mineral texture - a concentration that belies the lack of aromas. There are also a number of small appellations rarely found outside the region, each with their own subtly distinctive character.

the Sèvre river

the grape variety

The local grape variety now seems to have three names: the traditional Melon de Bourgogne, which indicates its Burgundian origins; Melon Blanc, which distances the variety from Burgundy; and the even simpler Melon. It's very rarely grown outside Muscadet, mainly because it doesn't taste of very much. At its simplest, it's boring but refreshing because of its naturally high acidity - which is great on a hot summer's day. (As an aside, anyone doubting climate change should visit the Loire. Historically, it's been difficult to ripen grapes; when I was visiting it was 36 degrees.) At its best, however, Melon produces wines with a surprising intensity and depth of flavour with an acidity that enables the wines to age for a few years.

the lees

The neutrality of the Melon grape means that many producers let their wines stay on the lees until around March after the vintage. The lees are the dead yeast cells left over after fermentation, and they give the wine body, structure, and complexity, with aromas of biscuits and nuts. Expect to see sur lie on most bottles of Muscadet, especially those exported.

the producer

I made a point of visiting Domaine de l'Ecu, the producer to have done more than anyone to promote the diversity and quality of the Muscadet region. Loire producers have been pioneers in promoting organic and biodynamic winemaking and Domaine de l'Ecu have been chemical-free since 1972 and biodynamic since 1998. There were originally five co-owners, but now Fred Niger is solely in charge.

Their most famous wines are based on the range of soils in Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine, with photographs of each soil on the label. The Gneiss 2015 (€9.50; ✪✪✪✪) is quite neutral, with the high acidity and mineral texture expected from the region. The Orthogneiss 2015 (€10.65; ✪✪✪✪✪) is more floral and expressive, lightly nutty, but still with that dry, mineral, acidic finish. Finally, the Granite (€10.65; ✪✪✪✪) is richer, creamier, and leafy.

Domaine de l'Ecu also produce a series of select, beautifully-labelled wines. This range includes an unusual Muscadet called Taurus, which is aged in Burgundy barrels: it's rich, creamy, slightly oxidated, and fabulous (€24; ✪✪✪✪✪✪). Even more unexpectedly, there are two red wines; the Rednoz (€12.50; ✪✪✪) is made using carbonic maceration from Cabernet Sauvignon, a grape which I don't think quite works on its own in the Loire as it results in green, herbaceous aromas. In contrast, Mephisto (€25.50; ✪✪✪✪✪), made from Cabernet Franc, Loire's signature grape variety, is much more successful with smoky, spicy, meaty, perfumed, and red fruit aromas, with a long, peppery finish. This was the first Cabernet Franc tasted on my Loire trip, with many more to come ...

Côte Chalonnais and Mâconnais Podcast

This week's episode of my new educational podcast focuses on the lesser known Burgundy regions of Côte Chalonnais and Mâconnais - tremendous value can be found here if you know where to look.

Follow my podcast on SoundCloud or on iTunes.


Music by Bensound

Côte de Beaune Podcast

Here's the fourth episode of my new podcast, continuing the focus on Burgundy by looking at the Côte de Beaune. You can follow the podcast on Soundcloud or iTunes.



Music by Bensound

Côte de Nuits Podcast

Continuing my educational podcast series, this episode looks at the Côte de Nuits in Burgundy where some of the world's greatest Pinot Noir is produced. Check out all the episodes on SoundCloud or iTunes.


Music by Bensounds.

Chablis Podcast

Continuing my educational podcast series, we focus on Chablis, the first of four episodes on Burgundy. Follow the podcast on SoundCloud or on iTunes.


The episode features a defintion of "minerality" by Chablis winemaker Lyne Marchive of Domaine des Malandes. You can watch the video of the full interview on YouTube , taken from the Vins de Bourgogne website.

Music by Bensounds.

Loire Valley Podcast

This blog takes a new track as it's now going to feature a series of educational podcasts. These are designed to help WSET students, particularly for Levels 3 and 4, as well as those taking other wine courses.

They can be found on my SoundCloud page and iTunes, as well as here on the blog.

The first episode is on the Loire Valley. Enjoy!



music by Bensound

Cru Beaujolais

Beaujolais may be the second most misunderstood wine in the world, after sherry. It's known, often to its detriment, for inexpensive, fruity wine that's designed to be drunk young. There's certainly a lot of that, but it also produces complex, sometimes challenging wines that demand ageing. These wines come from the ten crus, based around spectacularly situated hilltop villages. Vines abound here, crawling up the slopes in incredibly densely planted vineyards. The grape is Gamay, a high-yielding, early-ripening grape that often produces fruity and simple wines. Control those yields, however, and subject the juice to serious vinification and suddenly the grape produces high-quality wine - kind of what happens with any other grape variety in the world.

Fleurie

The problem that Beaujolais has, of course, is Beaujolais Nouveau, a style of wine that's marketed as one to be drunk young rather than to be aged. Beaujolais Nouveau grew out of a series of crises that afflicted the region - phylloxera, subsequent overproduction, and two world wars - and it in effect performed a rescue act that allows us to enjoy the wines of Beaujolais today. There's a place for Beaujolais Nouveau, as after all most people like to drink young, fresh fruity wines for immediate consumption, but it dogs the image of Beaujolais and prevents people understanding that the best wines of the region get better and better with time.

Basic Beaujolais comes from the flat plains to the south of the region, the grapes grown on clay and limestone soils that do little to limit yields. The plains rise to the north, where 38 villages contribute to Beaujolais-Villages, a higher-quality appellation. At the top of the slopes are the ten crus, where the granite-based soils, mixed with quartz, schist, and sand, limit yields and create much more intense wines.

I attended a tasting in San Francisco which featured wines from each cru. There were some fantastic wines on display, demonstrating how the ten crus differ in style and taste. Neighbouring Burgundy successfully markets such intra-regional differences as terroir, causing the wines to command very high prices. Cru Beaujolais is much cheaper, just as varied, and in my opinion just as good: the discerning consumer is in the advantageous position of being able to afford wines of such quality.

The problem that Cru Beaujolais has is not just one of image, but that it's very hard to categorise. Each cru has its own distinct character, and each producer have their own distinct style. Some producers make their wines with a form of carbonic maceration, making their wines softer and fruitier. Others destem and ferment the wines 'normally,' allowing the tannins to express themselves. Few, however, use new oak - and this is a wonderful aspect to Beaujolais as you get to taste the wine rather than the oak.

the ten crus

So, how to make sense of Beaujolais and its varied crus? The simple fact is that each cru and their producers make fantastic wine: it's hard to go wrong. These are very food-friendly wines that go well with salmon, chicken, pork, beef, or game dishes. They can be drunk young because of the natural fruitiness of Gamay, but they can age extremely well too - if you spot an older cru Beaujolais snap it up.

The highlight of the tasting was Domaine Marcel Lapierre's 2015 Morgon. Marcel Lapierre, who died in 2010, was one of the icons of Beaujolais, with a focus on quality and minimal intervention in the winery. The wine was simply incredible: fruity, chewy, ripe, crunchy, and spicy, with a long, warm finish. 2015 was a hot vintage, so the wine is probably bigger than usual, but there's still an elegance and balance to it. If you can get hold of a bottle, it retails for $48. ✪✪✪✪✪✪✪

the ten crus from north to south

Saint-Amour

sales apparently shoot up around Valentine's Day. Yes, that's the culture we live in. The wines are bigger and spicier than most Beaujolais.

Juliénas 

the cru that's in the middle of all Beaujolais's styles, and therefore my favourite: fruity, with some tannins and ageability.

Moulin-à-Vent 

one of the more famous of the crus and one of the more ageable.

Fleurie 

floral and pretty wines that can still age: Clos de la Roilette's Marque Déposée is a great example.

Chiroubles 

we tried Domaine Damien Coquelet, a producer who made his first wine in 2007 when he was twenty. He's trying to revive Chiroubles's reputation and doing a very good job.

Morgon 

there is a verb in French, though I don't know if anyone still uses it: morgonner - to Morgon, which means when a wine becomes like Pinot Noir as it ages. Morgon, like many of the crus, can certainly taste like Pinot Noir as the wine gets older.

Régnié 

the youngest of the crus (it became an appellation in 1988) and high up, the wines are aromatic and best drunk young.

Brouilly 

fruitier and designed for earlier drinking. This is the furthest south of the crus and more like Beaujolais-Villages wines.

Côte de Brouilly 

from the mountain above Brouilly, the wines are much more intense and tannic. For either Brouilly or Côte de Brouilly, try Château Thivin.
 

Rhône Rangers

In the 1980s, a small band of Californian producers teamed together to form the Rhône Rangers to promote wines made from varieties, such as Syrah, Grenache, and Viognier, grown in that great French region. Then in 1989, the Perrin family, who own Château de Beaucastel in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, bought property in Paso Robles, together with their US importer Robert Haas. While waiting to establish the Tablas Creek winery, they imported cuttings directly from their property in the southern Rhône, making available for the first time other quality Rhône varieties such as Mourvèdre and Counoise as well as whites like Grenache Blanc.

The popularity of these wines is still small, but production and quality is rising. Paso Robles, with its warm climate and limestone soils, has emerged as the epicentre of Rhône styles of wine. It's not the only region though: Santa Ynez Valley further south makes peppery Syrah; the Sierra Foothills, hotter and higher, have great potential for wines from Mourvèdre; and, beyond California, Washington, with its more continental climate, also makes great wine from Rhône varieties.

At a Rhône Rangers event in San Francisco, I tasted a number of wines, some blends, some from famous varieties, and some from little-known varieties. Here are some of the highlights.

wines and their makers

Tablas Creek Terret Noir 2015 ($35)

There are 18 different varieties allowed in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, some of them rarely used and if so only for blending. As Tablas Creek have access to cuttings of all the Châteauneuf grapes, they have the chance to experiment with them and learn what the wines from the more obscure varieties actually taste like. They have just 0.2ha of Terret Noir, which they plan to use for blending but they've also made a varietal bottling to share the taste of this obscure variety. The grape has big berries and dark skins, yet, conversely, it produces a very pale coloured wine reminsicent of Nebbiolo. The wine is floral, herbal, and spicy, with red fruits and really dry tannins (again not dissimilar to Nebbiolo). It would make a fantastic pairing with a wide range of food (duck, game, meat, roast veg) and I hope Tablas Creek continue to make wine from the variety. ✪✪✪✪✪

On a side note, two people at the tasting described the tannins of the Terret Noir as "tacky." I've never heard this word used to describe tannins and it was equally confusing to Tablas Creek winemaker Neil Collins who said "that doesn't sound very pleasant." A dictionary has the following definition: "(of glue, paint, or other substances) not fully dry and retaining a slightly sticky feel: the paint was still tacky." So I suppose describing the dry tannins of the Terret Noir as tacky was accurate, but, given it usually refers to something that's cheap and low-quality, it's still not a word I'll be using.

Adelaida Vineyards Picpoul Blanc 2015 ($35)

Picpoul is allowed in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, although most white wines from there are blends of other varieties. Further west, Picpoul is the grape variety for Picpoul de Pinet on the Languedoc coast, one of the few French appellations that contains the name of the grape (other areas now technically have to spell it Piquepoul). The wines there are light, fresh, and acidic - Picpoul literally means "lip-stinger." Picpoul wines being made in Paso Robles are quite different, heavier and fuller-bodied, but still with a refreshing acidity - Adelaida's winemaker, Jeremy Weintraub, said the wine had over 9g/L of total acidity, which is remarkable in such a warm wine region. Adelaida's Picpoul Blanc was a great example of a balance between the rich ripeness coming from the warm climate of Paso Robles and the natural acidity of the grape. ✪✪✪✪✪

Qupé Roussanne 2012 ($30)

Under Bob Lindqvist, Qupé were one of the original Rhône Rangers. They're based in Santa Maria, making wines from Syrah, Grenache, Viognier, and, most notably, Roussanne and Marsanne. These are two of the great white grapes of the Rhône, but it's rare to see them elsewhere. Marsanne, which has a waxy, oily texture, is the base of white Hermitage in the northern Rhône, while Roussanne, which has more aromas and acidity, is at the heart of white Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Roussanne is my favourite because of the rich aromatics, acidity, and the easy way it takes to oak ageing. Both these grapes also age wonderfully well in bottle, maintaining their structure while developing mature, complex aromas: this wine was from 2012 and still felt young and fresh. ✪✪✪✪

Mourvèdre geek: where are the accents?

Seven Oxen Mourvèdre 2014 ($42)

In contrast to Qupé, Seven Oxen is a new project and I tasted three of their wines from the 2014 vintage, just their second. Their winemaker is Bastien Leduc from south-west France, so he's used to working in the warm climate of Paso Robles. Because of the climate, late-ripening Mourvèdre works perfectly in Paso, the hot summer and warm autumn getting the grape gradually ripe. There were plenty of good examples at the Rhône Rangers tasting; Seven Oxen's Mourvèdre stood out with rich, ripe black fruit, warm mouthfeel, and dry (not tacky) tannins. ✪✪✪✪✪

Wrath Ex Anima Syrah ($25)

Oak abounds in California, so it's always refreshing to taste wines that have seen no new oak. There were quite a few wineries emphasising the lack of oak in the wines, so maybe the tide is turning. Wrath are based in Monterey, an area that has history with Rhône varieties (mainly because of Bonny Doon, another of the original Rhône Rangers). This Syrah is only aged in old oak, so the purity of the fruit really shines through. It also makes it easier to drink young, but there are plenty of complex black fruit and spice aromas. Even better, the lack of oak cuts down on the price. ✪✪✪✪

A lot of these Rhône Rangers are beginning to produce single-varietal wines (which is what I've focused on here) as a means of attracting consumer interest. Don't forget the blends, because that's what the Rhône itself excels in, but if these single-varietal wines can get people drinking wines from the wonderful range of varieties it can only be a good thing. And the love for these styles of wines is definitely spreading: I got to taste for the first time wines from Arizona! Grown at 1,700m altitude just an hour from the Mexican border, the Viognier and two Grenache wines I tasted were pretty good. If there's a future in Arizona for winemaking, maybe it will come from the Rhône...

Rune wines from Arizona, with labels by a local graphic artist

Chicago Beer

Chicago is a long way from San Francisco, a four-hour flight in fact. It's not just the distance but the culture that made a trip to Chicago seem like visiting a different country. This is a city built on Irish, Polish, and German immigrants, surrounded by the cold, continental extremities of states like Wisconsin and Minnesota. Food is hearty and substantial. This is certainly not wine country; although grapes are grown on the other side of the lake in Michigan, the climate is not suited at all to vine growing. Nor is wine central to drinking culture. I remember serving customers here in Napa and asking them if they drank much wine at home. "We're from Wisconsin," was their direct, pointed answer.

Beer is the drink of choice, much of it inexpensive lager. Back in the nineteenth century, Frederick Miller and Pabst and Emil Schandein, all German immigrants, established breweries in the Chicago area; the companies now make the ubiquitous and much drunk Miller Lite and Pabst Blue Ribbon (although the latter is now made in LA). Beers like these are found in bars all around the city, and there is an unquestioning attitude to food and drink that's different from the Bay Area in California.

It's seventeen years since I visited Chicago, the first time I'd been to a US city. My welcoming experience then was a bowling alley where I was served Budweiser in a bottle the shape of a bowling pin. How was I going to last in this country? I asked myself. But I quickly and thankfully learnt that the city and surrounding states are home to a fantastic craft beer scene, which goes from strength to strength, based around great bars and vibrant, young drinkers. I finally revisited Chicago over Memorial Day weekend, where I got to taste several beers from a number of breweries. 

Pipeworks

Although I didn't get to visit the brewery itself, the beers from Pipeworks were the stand-out of my trip. As with many craft breweries in the States, their labels are bright, vivid cartoons which require powerful beers to match. Ninja vs Unicorn is a famous local beer, even though Pipeworks only opened in 2012. It's a Double IPA which I drank from a pint-sized can (quite common in Chicago) at a great pool-hall/games room/bar called Emporium. The beer was wonderful: pungent, fruity, hoppy, and intense, yet very drinkable. Even better though was their Emerald Grouper, the label of which features a grumpy looking fish. This is an Imperial IPA, coming in at 9.5% ABV, and which has been brewed with honey. I'm always suspicious of beer made with honey, as it can be too rich and sweet. Despite this - and despite the alcohol - this was an incredibly balanced, hoppy, textured beer which I drank and enjoyed greatly with tomato soup at a Polish restaurant called Podhalanka which can only be described as very Polish.

Half Acre

Established in 2008, Half Acre have a brewpub decorated with some amazing, quirky artwork and which serves good food. The menu is based around burritos, but in true wino style we chose a couple of small plates featuring burrata cheese and salmon rillette. Their most famous beer is Daisy Cutter, a light, dry, biscuity Pale Ale. I also tried Tuna, an Extra Pale Ale; I've no idea why the beer is called that, but it was fuller and more tropical than Daisy Cutter. Both, it must be said, went extremely well with the cheese and the salmon.

Revolution

Rather like Rogue in Oregon, Revolution's labels have an interwar Soviet constructivist aesthetic which feeds into beers called Anti-Hero and Fist City. They have a brewery as well as a pub, busy with eager drinkers on a Saturday afternoon. Revolution make perhaps the easiest drinking beers of the breweries I visited: Anti-Hero is a citrusy IPA, Galaxy Hero is a seasonal, more hoppy Double IPA, and there's also a refreshing approachable hibiscus-infused beer called Rosa that works well in the summertime.

Three Floyds

Based in neighbouring Indiana since the mid-1990s, Three Floyds are one of the founding fathers of the local - and for that matter national - trend for small, sought-after breweries. Unable to visit, I was excited to find some of their bottles in a small shop near Humboldt Park. They too make intense IPAs complete with eye-catching labels and high alcohol but Deesko stood out as a little different: a white beer that had tart citrus aromas and a smoky intensity.

It's the nature of the craft beer scene that much of the best beer is only available locally. So if you're in the Chicago area check out these breweries, they certainly are a welcome alternative to Miller Lite.

Portugal's Many Indigenous Varieties

Portugal is a small country with an incredible amount of native grape varieties. With over 250 of them, Portugal has more indigenous varieties planted per square kilometre than any other country in the world. In trying to market the wines abroad, this sheer number of grape varieties presents different problems for Portuguese producers: consumers don't know anything about the varieties because nowhere else grows them; the names are not only unfamiliar but they're difficult to pronounce; the same variety goes by different names in different parts of the country; and Portuguese wines are often blends of these many varieties, with an understandable focus on regionality rather than the individual characteristics of a grape.

Portugal is old-fashioned and traditional, reluctant to embrace international trends. This means a welcome lack of over-familiar international grape varieties, but it can also hold Portuguese wine back as growers cling on to small holdings of field blends. The wine scene is slowly changing though, with a focus on single-varietal wines from indigenous varieties. Educating the public about all these varieties will take some time, which is why I found myself at an art gallery in San Francisco tasting single-varietal wines from Portugal's highest-quality varieties as well as some I had never heard of. Here are some of the stand-out wines from varieties worth looking out for.

Alvarinho

This is the most famous white Portuguese grape, the same as Albariño across the border in Spain's Rías Baixas. It's grown in the Vinho Verde region, around the villages of Monção and Melgaço. This is the coolest and wettest of Portugal's wine regions, and the wines in general have low alcohol and high acidity. Traditionally, those wines have always been blends but now Alvarinho is allowed to be labelled as a single-varietal wine as long as the grapes were grown in the Monção and Melgaço sub-regions.

The best producer is Soalheiro (literally "sunny place"), who were one of the first to take advantage of the liberalised wine laws in Portugal after the fall of the dictator Salazar in 1974. The wine we tasted was "Primeiras Vinhas," referring to the family's first plantings of the variety in 1974 from which the wine is made (under Salazar producers couldn't own their own vineyards). Alvarinho on its own is different from Vinho Verde, as it has higher alcohol (this wine is 13%) and doesn't have the slight spritz. It's a grassy, mineral, creamy wine with citrus and stone fruit aromas ($22; ✪✪✪✪✪).

Louriero

Another Vinho Verde grape usually found in blends but now being made on its own, Louriero literally means "laurel-scented." It may be the power of suggestion, but the wines can smell of laurel leaves. The wine we tasted, Estreia Grande Escolha Loureiro 2016, was astonishing value at $10, with aromas of ripe peach and passion fruit, low alcohol (11.5%), and a fresh, gripping acidity. It's made by a co-op, Viniverde, proof that co-ops can make good wine. (✪✪✪✪)

Castelão

Described as "Portugal's answer to Grenache," Castelão used to be the most planted variety in Portugal but has now slipped to third. It's grown all over hot southern Portugal, but is at its best around Lisbon under the influence of the Atlantic. The wine we tasted, Quinta de Chocapalha Castelão 2015, certainly had a resemblance to Grenache with red fruits but with a bit more acidity and the dry, dusty tannins so typical of Portuguese reds, as well as game aromas associated with the Castelão grape. Again, good value at $12. (✪✪✪✪)

Touriga Nacional

Portugal's great black grape, providing the heady perfume for the best ports and now increasingly being made as a dry table wine. Yields are low, and it's a grape that growers have often avoided. With a renewed focus on quality, plantings of Touriga Nacional are increasing - which is a good thing because Touriga Nacional produces some of the greatest wines in the world. I personally prefer it as the major component of a blend, but on its own the wines are still fascinating. It produces wines with floral, red and black fruit aromas, with high tannins and acidity, wines that manage to be both delicate and powerful at the same time.

The two wines we tried showed just how varied the wines Touriga Nacional produces can be. Julia Kemper's 2011 ($25; ✪✪✪✪✪) is from the Dão, a region protected from the winds of Spain and the rains of the Atlantic by a series of mountain ranges. There's a wonderful, deceptive delicacy to this wine, with pretty, perfumed, floral, and herbal aromas belied by a big tannic structure on the palate. The Quinta do Passadouro 2014 ($40; ✪✪✪✪✪) is from the Douro, the classic, dry, hot region for port. This was a much darker, smokier, chunkier wine, with ripe, weighty fruits, and dusty tannins. This was one of a few wines we tried that had been foot-trodden, the traditional method of crushing the grapes to extract as much colour and tannins. Both wines were excellent, but so different.

Baga

Government interference in Portugese wine production has rarely had a positive influence. Baga was banned outright in the 1750s by Marquês do Pombal who, coming from the Douro, didn't want any other region to rival the production of port. Baga also happens to be a very difficult grape variety, producing highly tannic wines that take years to open up. The best comparison to make is with Nebbiolo, and the best wines have the same tannic concentration, red fruit and floral aromas, with tar and leather as they age. It's much lower in alcohol, however: one of the two Bagas we tried, Niepoort's Poeirinho 2014 ($39; ✪✪✪✪✪), was an astonishing 11%. Despite the low alcohol, the comparison to Nebbiolo was clear, with high acidity and dry tannins alongside floral, red fruit, and tar aromas. We also tried a Baga from 2000, Quinta do Moinho, by producer Luis Pato, one of the first modern producers to take the grape seriously. This showed just how well this variety ages. The tannins were still dry and very much present, together with mature earth, mushroom, and dried fruit aromas. ($65; ✪✪✪✪✪✪)

Alicante Bouschet

A much maligned grape and not one that's actually indigenous to Portugal, but one that's taken seriously albeit usually part of a blend. It's at its best in Alentejo, a hot, sparsely populated inland area traditionally associated with simple, fruity wines, but which is now producing wines of increasingly impressive quality. On its own, Alicante Bouschet tastes very much like Petite Sirah (with which it is planted in field blends in California): dark, black fruits, bitter chocolate, and very tannic. Adega de Borba's Grande Reserva 2011, an "iconic" wine of Alentejo only made in the best years, is a blend of Alicante Bouschet and Trincadeira, another black grape suited to Alentejo's hot climate producing deep-coloured, spicy wines. From another co-op, the wine was tannic but floral and elegant at the same time; even from 2011, this is still a young wine with great potential for ageing. ($32; ✪✪✪✪✪)

Expensive Wine: Is It Worth It?

One of the most legendary wineries in the world is Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, or DRC for short. That it's known through a TLA (three-letter abbreviation, yes I hate them too) shows just how iconic the winery is. They're the sole owner of La Romanée, one of Burgundy's most prestigious vineyards, and also make wines from other Grands Crus such as La Tâche, Richebourg, and Echézeaux. I had never tasted any of their wines before, which gives an idea of how hard they are to get hold of. They're only available on allocation or through auction to rich, passionate wine collectors, and the cheapest wine has an opening price of $600 a bottle. I've always wanted to taste some DRC in order to answer the simple question: is it worth it?

Dante and Carlo Mondavi

I went to a tasting showcasing a Sonoma winery, Raen. This winery is run by two brothers, Carlo and Dante, who just happen to be the grandsons of Robert Mondavi, the scion of Napa wine. Mondavi helped transform Napa wine (and fall out with his family at the same time) after visiting Bordeaux and Burgundy and being convinced of the importance of terroir - that the best wine must reflect where it comes from. In 2002, he took his family, including Carlo and Dante, back to Bordeaux and Burgundy, where the two of them fell in love with Pinot Noir after a day tasting Domaine Leflaive, DRC, and Domaine Dujac. I sometimes wish I had been born into that kind of family.

At the tasting, they generously poured a bottle of DRC and the perhaps less famous but equally prestigious Domaine Dujac. This wasn't just generous of them, but it was brave to pour two renowned Burgundy producers alongside their own wines. They poured one wine from their first vintage in 2013, as well as three wines from the more challenging dry, warm 2015 harvest. The Raen wines were of course very different from the Burgundy counterparts, riper, fuller, and softer - as they should be, because California has a warmer and more consistent climate than Burgundy. The severe frost currently ravaging much of France is never going to be an issue in California. These wines cost $60-80; expensive but par for the course for high-quality Sonoma Pinot Noir.

All of the wines had been made with a fair amount of whole cluster fermentation, a method of making wine which adds spice, body, and tannin. For this reason, there was a green stalkiness to some of the wines, and this was particularly evident in the DRC from the Echézeaux vineyard. The wine was quite tannic, almost aggressive, with a firm stucture and a fruitiness which certainly suggests the wine will age well for years to come. Was it worth $900? Of course not, but there are enough people, including the Mondavis, who are willing to pay that price.

DRC front left, Dujac front right, all the others Raen

As for the Domaine Dujac from Morey-St-Denis, that was simply one of the best wines I've tasted. Morey-St-Denis is my favourite village in the Côte de Nuits; less famous than its neighbours, it combines the power of Gevrey-Chambertin with the elegance of Chambolle-Musigny. This wine was wonderful: fine and lightly grainy tannins, rich fruits, spices, and a long, long finish which just wouldn't go away. The cost of this wine: around $100. This was a village wine and Dujac's Premier and Grand Cru wines go for much more. I can only imagine how good they must be, because I can't afford to buy them.

The co-owner of DRC, Aubert de Villaine, has been known to complain that the expense of his wines makes them unaffordable for all but the wealthiest collector. It might seem a strange complaint to make - why charge so much for them? - but the market sets the price of the wine much higher than he would like. And it is a shame because I would like to be able to drink these wines more often and share them with friends. I can't do that, but luckily there's plenty of wine out there just as good for a tenth of the price.

Washington v. The Rest of the World

I've blogged about the excellent wines being made in Washington a few times now, so it was refreshing to attend a tasting that approached the region in a different way. The tasting was located at Sunset Magazine's new headquarters in Oakland, led by a panel of leading Washington winemakers, Bob Betz of Betz Family Wines, David Rosenthal of Chateau Sainte Michelle, and Greg Harrington of Gramercy Cellars. They spoke passionately and enthusiastically about Washington's wines, and the geographical, topographical, and climatic characteristics of the state which make it different from other regions.

What made this tasting particularly enlightening was the way it was structured, with three flights of wines each featuring one of Washington's major grape varieties. In each flight, the first of the four wines was a named wine from Washington acting as a template for the other wines. The other three were tasted blind, examples of the same grape variety to act as a comparison without prejudice. This was a great way of focusing on the characteristics of Washington wine, learning about other regions, while really making us think about why each wine tastes like it does.

Riesling

The best wines from Riesling are made with little interference in the winery, and it's all about the variety and the vineyard or region the grapes come from. I'm still not as excited about Washington's Riesling as some local winemakers are, so it was interesting to taste a couple of wines in comparison to Australia and Germany. The template was Eroica ($22; ✪✪✪✪), a collaboration made since 1999 between Chateau Sainte Michelle, by far the state's largest producer, and Ernst Loosen, one of the iconic winemakers of Germany. It's a pleasant, good-value, medium-dry wine with citrus and stone fruit aromas, but one that seems aimed more at local rather than international tastes.

The three wines tasted blind alongside it were around the same price. The wine from Australia, Yalumba's Pewsey Vale ($20; ✪✪✪✪), is a classic representation of Eden Valley, one often used in educational tastings to demonstrate the intense lime and dry mineral characteristics of Australia's world-class Riesling. The German Riesling was from Mosel, a Kabinett whose sweetness and weight made it feel more like a Spätlese: there's a combination of elegance and richness to the best German wines that no other Riesling-producing region can match. Drink Christoffel's Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Kabinett ($27; ✪✪✪✪✪) with spicy food, and have a tongue-twisting competition saying the name.

The other Riesling was an outlier: again from Washington, made by the dramatically named EFESTĒ ($20; ✪✪✪✪✪) and again from Evergreen Vineyard in Ancient Lakes AVA where the Eroica mainly comes from. It was off-dry with an intense texture, which made most people in the room mistake it for Alsace. The wine made me reassess Washington Riesling - that it can compete with, and be mistaken for, Rieslings from around the world, and at a very good price.

Syrah

Greg Harrington, an MS turned winemaker, described Syrah as a wine for Pinot Noir lovers with sophisticated palates. This brought out a chuckle, but he was making a serious point. He continued that there are Syrah producers who make the wines to be like Cabernet Sauvignon, and there are others who make it like Pinot Noir. He firmly places himself in the latter category - not least because the northern Rhône, geographically and in terms of climate, is so close to Burgundy.

One of the wines we tasted underlined his point, albeit in a roundabout way. Wind Gap are an eclectic producer from California; their Nellessen Vineyard Syrah ($42; ✪✪✪✪), which we tasted blind, was from a cooler area of Sonoma. Fermented in whole clusters it smelt very carbonic, that's to say bubblegum and strawberries. If I hadn't known it was Syrah, I would have guessed the wine to have been from Beaujolais, a region which has the same granite soils as the northern Rhône and a similar climate - and I've read old nineteenth-century textbooks that group Beaujolais and the northern Rhône together. It may be that we should be thinking about the connections between Syrah and Gamay, or the northern Rhône and Beaujolais, much more - even if it takes US producers to point out those connections.

The Rocks District

The template wine was called Lagniappe and made by Gramercy ($55; ✪✪✪✪) from Red Willow, one of Washington's first and still leading vineyards. Another of the blind wines, The Psycheledic by Sleight of Hand ($60; ✪✪✪✪), was also from Washington, from the recently-established AVA, The Rocks District of Milton-Freeman, one of the many Washington regions which excels in Syrah. The two wines highlighted the differences that come from a winemaker's philosophy as well as Washington's terroir: Gramercy's wine was noticeably restrained in comparison to the smoky, meaty qualities of the other wine.

The final wine was the 2014 Côte-Rôtie by Saint-Cosme ($65; ✪✪✪✪✪), a tannic, dry, subdued wine which reminded me of just how French French wine is, showing how expressively Syrah reflects where it comes from.

Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon, Red Willow Vineyard

I often find it hard to write anything interesting about Cabernet Sauvignon, but this was a refreshing line-up. The template was the 2013 Père de Famille from Betz Family Estate ($75; ✪✪✪✪✪), which showed just how well Cabernet works in Washington. The wine has the tannic structure expected of Cabernet, with the ripe black fruits that come in a fairly warm New World climate - a combination which summarises Washington red wine. Another of the blind wines was again from Washington (that was the one predictable aspect of the tasting). The 2014 Cabernet from Abeja, an established producer, tasted like it was from Coonawarra in Australia, minty and herbal ($52; ✪✪✪✪). Napa was featured as a comparison too, the 2012 from Forman was dusty and massively tannic ($115; ✪✪✪✪) - Washington wines are much more approachable when young. Finally, there was a wine from Margaux. It's not often I get to taste expensive Bordeaux, and I certainly wasn't expecting to do so at a Washington tasting. The best Bordeaux needs to be tasted with some age, and the 2009 from Château Rauzan-Ségla ($155; ✪✪✪✪✪✪) was evolving wonderfully, with mature leather aromas, but with fresh acidity and black fruits.

Can the best of Washington age as well as the best of Bordeaux and other established regions? Maybe that could be the subject for another tasting. 

The Wars and Myths of Burgundy's Climats

Over the weekend, I finally read Wine and War, published way back in 2001 and a history of French wine during the Second World War recounting the uneasy relationship French winemakers had with the Germans, involving collaboration, resistance, subterfuge, fraud, and unlikely friendships. The book is well worth reading, demonstrating just how integral wine is to French culture (as well as how much Germans love French wine).

I was reminded to read the book after attending a tasting in San Francisco centred around the climats and lieux-dits of Burgundy. A climat is a vineyard that has over many centuries distinguished itself for its particular style and unique identity. The very best climats in the Côte d'Or were designated Grand Cru in 1937 when the appellation system was introduced in France. The Premier Cru designation was created in the early 1940s as a way of warding the Germans off the wines, as they weren't allowed to confiscate the "first growths." The ways in which the French resisted the German occupation were cunning, mischievous, and risky.

Although the vineyards awarded Premier Cru status during the war were deserving of the recognition, it shows that official acclaim is often a result of chance as much as merit. For the first few years of the Second World War, France was split between Occupied France and Unoccupied France, which was governed by an increasingly fascist French regime from Vichy but nominally free from German control. Burgundy was split: the Côte d'Or and the northern part of the Côte Chalonnaise occupied by the Germans; the southern part of the Chalonnaise and all of Mâconnais was part of the zone libre. As a result, all the Premier Cru vineyards were in the Côte d'Or and in northern/central Chalonnaise villages such as Mercurey and Givry.

Such wartime necessities have led to distinctions which still determine a wine's reputation. Pouilly-Fuissé, the furthest south of Burgundy's winemaking regions, is held in less regard than it should be, in part because its wines are sometimes fuller-bodied and richer than the Chardonnay made in the Côte d'Or but also because there are no Premier Cru vineyards. If the Germans had occupied as far south as this distinctive part of Burgundy, the appellation structure would be completely different.

Not all climats have names, but those that do are called lieux-dits ("named places" - sometimes there are several lieux-dit in one climat). These names can express a lot about the nature of the vineyard, as long as you speak French: the names come from the soil (Les Perrières refers to its pebbles), from local geographical conditions (Les Bois Gautiers refers to the trees surrounding the vineyard), or from past owners (La Romanée-Conti).

vineyards are divided by small stone walls

The origins of other names are lost in time or immersed in myth. The most famous vineyard for Chardonnay is Montrachet. At the tasting, a Burgundy winemaker explained the origins of Montrachet's name and of its surrounding vineyards. Montrachet, the story goes, was a nobleman who rode off to the crusades back in the twelfth century. He left behind his virgin daughter (pucelle), whose protection he entrusted to a knight (chevalier). They, of course, had an affair which resulted in an illegitimate child (bâtard). The nobleman returned, discovered the affair, but eventually welcomed (bienvenue) the child into his family. Hence the names of the famous series of vineyards that produce some of the world's greatest Chardonnay: Montrachet, Chevalier-Montrachet, Bâtard-Montrachet, and Bienvenue-Bâtard-Montrachet, as well as the Premier Cru Les Pucelles. There are variants of this story, but it most likely isn't true: Bâtard-Montrachet probably comes from the fact growers used the vineyard for young, experimental vines. Still, there's nothing like drinking some expensive, bastard Montrachet.

We tasted six wines to demonstrate the different styles found in Burgundy.

Domaine Auvigue Pouilly-Fuissé Les Chailloux 2015 ($40)

Pouilly-Fuissé still has no Premiers Crus, although it is likely to be awarded some soon. This is the warmest part of Burgundy, so the wines are richer and fuller-bodied with stone and tropical fruit aromas. The wine we tasted was a very good example of Pouilly-Fuissé, expressive and inviting. This is the one area of Burgundy that could be confused for the New World, but the high, refreshing acidity was noticeable. The name of the climat is Les Chailloux, which comes from the French word chaille for flint. ✪✪✪✪✪

Domaine Pinson Montmains Chablis Premier Cru 2013 ($40)

The most northern and coolest part of Burgundy, Chablis is the opposite of Pouilly-Fuissé. Aspect is key in the cool climate, and the best vineyards are on slopes which soak up the sun to give the grapes an extra ripeness. The name of the climat, Montmains, refers to its location on a small hill between two larger ones. I wasn't a huge fan of this wine, finding it a little too acidic and tart. Nevertheless, a white wine in its fourth year shows how Chablis retains its acidity and structure. ✪✪✪✪

Domaine Latour-Giraud Les Genevrières Meursault Premier Cru 2014 ($120)

Some of the richest Chardonnay comes from Meursault in the heart of the Côte de Beaune. Oak and malolactic fermentation add even more richness, and this wine almost had a tannic structure. Les Genevrières refers to the juniper trees grown around the vineyard and it's particularly known for its rich wines. This wine was wonderful: very concentrated and powerful, with a refreshing acidity. ✪✪✪✪✪✪

Domaine Michel Sarrazin & Fils Les Bois Gautiers Givry Premier Cru 2014 ($45)

Givry is in the Côte Chalonnaise region, just south of the more famous Côte d'Or. Here the land is more arable and there are fewer vineyards but those are planted on limestone soils similar to the Côte d'Or. Les Bois Gautiers refers to the woods that surround the vineyard, cooling and sheltering it from the wind. Despite that cooling effect, the red and black fruit aromas were quite ripe, although held together with a gripping tannic structure. ✪✪✪✪

Maison Chanzy Les Gravières Santenay Premier Cru 2014 (€35)

The more I learn about Burgundy, the more convinced I am that Santenay is my favourite village. It's the furthest south in the Côte d'Or, so there's a warmth, richness, and a certain meatiness to the wines. At the same time, they're not as full-on, dark, and intense as the more famous wines further north in the Côte de Nuits. I have also learnt that the best climat in Santenay is Les Gravières, whose name refers to its gravelly soils. ✪✪✪✪✪✪

Domaine des Beaumont Aux Combottes Gevry-Chambertin Premier Cru 2015 (c.$125)

Not only did I learn quite a few new French words at the tasting, I learnt a new English word too. Aux Combottes refers to the combe in which the vineyard sits - a combe being a hollow in a valley, or, in geological terms which apply to the Côte d'Or, "a dry valley in a limestone or chalk escarpment." Aux Combottes, which has a deep, pebbly soil, is a Premier Cru vineyard, though in essence it is considered Grand Cru: the initial rules created in 1937 stated that a vineyard within the village of Gevry-Chambertin could only be Grand Cru if it touched either Chambertin or Clos de Bèze, both of which Aux Combottes is close to but not touching. Such distinctions do nothing to aid the accessibility of Burgundy's wines. Aged in 60% new oak barrels, this was a deep, rich wine, with ripe black fruits, liquorice, and vanilla, and quite tannic. The power and tannic structure of Burgundy's Pinot Noirs, especially from the Côte de Nuits, can often be overlooked. ✪✪✪✪✪

Does it matter if a wine is a climat, a Premier Cru, or a Grand Cru? A Grand Cru may not be better than a Premier Cru which may not be better than a named climat. The designation certainly changes the price of a wine, but more importantly the name on the label can tell you a lot about the style of a wine, the village it comes from, and where in that village the grapes were grown. And, what's such an integral part of Burgundy's appeal, the name expresses the history (and the myths) of a vineyard.