The Wine University was a BIG Success! 

Honestly...what a blast! 

It was so much fun to get some local wine lovers together...discuss regions, varietals, history, winemakers & flavors while drinking some new and delicious wines! 

Burgundy & Bordeaux:

*Two major red grapes in Burgundy: Pinot Noir & Gamay.

*Under AOC laws...all Red Burgundy is made from  Pinot Noir...except in Beaujolais, which is made from the Gamay grape.

*Pinot Noir has a very thin skin and is known as the "heartbreak grape".

*Chardonnay is the white grape of Burgundy...tho there are many styles. Chablis & Maconnais for the most part are fermented and aged in stainless steel.

*In the Cote de Beaune a good percentage of the wines are feremented and aged in oak barrels...for complexity, depth, body, flavor & longevity.

*The primary difference between the Village wine & Grand Cru is not in the type of wood or how long it is aged...it is in the location of the vineyard...the soil and the slope of the land.

*The Cote d'Or is only 30 miles long and only 1/2 mile wide.

*Bordeaux produces 3xs as much wine as Burgundy.

*The English word “claret” refers to the dry red wines from Bordeaux.

*Bordeaux is much larger in acreage than Burgundy.

*Of all the AOC wines of France, 27% come from the Bordeaux region.

*The United States is the second largest importer of Bordeaux wines.

*The majority of wine produced in this region is RED…but not until after 1970.

*Four main areas:  Medoc, Pomerol, Graves/Pessac-Leognan, St-Emilion.

*2 Main white Grapes of Bordeaux: Sauvignon Blanc & Semillon (and sometimes Muscadelle).

*Whites generally have some oak on them.

*Beautiful sweet wines of Sauternes: always sweet…not all the grape sugars are allowed to be turned into alcohol during fermentation.

*Botrytis Cinerea = Noble Rot.

*The 5 red grapes allowed: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot...and sometimes Carmenere.

*In Bordeaux the wines are almost always blends.

*The 1855 Classification (rating of the Bordeaux Chateaux):

*There are five  1^st Growths…Premier Crus in the Medoc (revised in 1973):

1.       Chateau Lafite Rothschild (Pauillac)

2.       Chateau Latour (Pauillac)

3.       Chateau Margaux (Margaux)

4.       Chateau Haut Brion (Pessac-Leognan)

5.       Chateau Mouton-Rothschild (Pauillac)

*The vineyard, Chateau Petrus (one of the most expensive wines in Bordeaux), is located in Pomerol.  It is 95% Merlot.

*St-Emilion Classification 1955 (revised in 1996:

*15 1^st Growths (Premiers Grands Crus Classes)

*Grape Varieties planted:  70%: Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon

*Great Vintages in Bordeaux:  2000, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2010.