By Preston Wilson, Special to Southpoint Access
Whilst we have been focusing on the Loire Valley (and there is still so much to discuss), it is but a taste of what is available from France. Let’s take a bit of time to look at some aspects of the wine culture of France that I have made in passing, but deserve much more diligence. Perhaps I did this out of order, but the Loire provides such an easy introduction (and price point) to understanding the unique nature of French wine.
I have mentioned there are many, many laws regarding wine production in France, and that can be daunting to novice oenophiles; however, let’s make it relevant. You want to know what’s going to taste good and whether there’s anything I can deduce from a bottle sitting on a shelf. Good news! There is, and that is the Appelation d’Origine Protégée (AOP).
It all starts back in the days of phylloxera – I promise. The devastating problem of the vine louse made losers of winemakers and vine growers in the mid-1860s. This resulted in a nearly three-quarter drop in wine production within France over the next 30 years. Despite this, wine consumption did not diminish. I sense opportunity (rubs hands in villain).
Cunning (crooked) merchants were determined to keep wine availability at levels before the phylloxera outbreak. It starts with just a bit of dilution, then import some wine from Spain. Or, you know what? Algeria is France, so no need for a fuss. What if we call water, sugar, and a bit of grape juice wine? Color not, right? Add a bit of plaster or sulfuric acid. At this point, no one knew what they were drinking. Something had to be done.
Initial legislation started in 1905 to formalize what is “French wine,” but was not fully realized until 1935. No, you can’t blame the lawyers for the glacial pace (the Four Horsemen, perhaps, but not the lawyers). These laws represent some of the first consumer protections in modern history. Now you could say with authority that this is from Burgundy, and that it is wine. This attempted to correct the rampant economic and agricultural fraud of the era.
What became the AOP set forth the guidelines of specificity in how makers and merchants could label and sell wine. In loose terms, the area of production was delineated, the grape varieties named, many agricultural standards introduced, and the stylistic verve of the wine made published and known. This is foundational to how we can talk about wine in these broad terms.
With these definitions in place, we can solidly understand the characteristics of wines of a place. Remember the big regions of France (Burgundy, Bordeaux, Loire, Alsace, Champagne, and the South)? Of course, you do! Each of these regions has specific guidelines, thus you know what the rules are for them. That’s why there is typically no grape variety mentioned on the label of the wine. The AOP is on the bottle, so that means, by definition, it must be x. Do I expect you to know all 366? Nope, but that bottle with all those foreign words, just got a little easier to decipher.
For an added bonus, a tier system to delineate the quality was codified, but on a regional level and then approved on a national level, but it doesn’t totally make sense, but that’s okay because you’re smart and that won’t stand in your way. Biases notwithstanding, this system provides the consumer with an expectation of what the wine will/should be.
At the tippy top is Grand Cru wine, which only consists of about 1% of all wine produced in France. As you might expect, it commands the highest price. Next on the list is Premier Cru or 1er Cru which is about 10% of all wine, followed by “Village” (usually) the top 23ish% and Region (think Alsace, Loire, Champagne, et c.) at about 33%. This doesn’t represent the whole of wine produced, but rather a regional quality check based on past performance, and just a bit of insider politics played in Paris. The other wines are most likely not going to be sold in the United States, so let’s not dwell on ‘oo killed ‘oo, or why some wines don’t make the trip across the Atlantic.
Knowing that this system is in place should give you those warm fuzzies. Broadly speaking, the AOP became the standard for how to methodically approach wine. So much so that Germany and Italy produced near duplicate systems of their own. This is yet another reason why France is the standard for wine, and why it is important to understand this paragon.
Now to succinctly summarize a dizzying amount of information. If you look at a bottle of French wine, and it is labeled with AOP or AOC (this is the old phrasing), you can determine what is in the bottle. Also, if it provides a “Cru” status then, you will be advised of what quality you could expect. Now you are on your way to being a more thoughtful, informed consumer, and thus drink better wine.
Let’s take this wine as an example:
This is where you find all the information that matters (mostly). On the back label is where you will get the pertinent information regarding your wine. On this label, in bold lettering, is Mâcon-Villages. This tells us three things immediately. One, it is from Burgundy, that’s where you find Mâcon. Two, it is a Village level wine. And lastly, because it is from Mâcon, it is Chardonnay derived. Two words; a treasure trove of information. Of course, this is just a step into the wider world, but now you are armed with dangerous knowledge. Shock your friends! Sound erudite! Accept compliments graciously! And it’s all due to knowing AOP.
On our next voyage on the high seas of wine, we look into the future to see the past. Or the other way round. ‘Tis tumultuous seas we sail. À votre santé!
Wine for Thought
Jean-Christophe Perraud “Mâcon-Villages” 2023. 100% Chardonnay. La Roche-Vineuse, Mâcon, Burgundy, France.
- Sight: Pale yellow with secondary green tinge; medium-slow tearing.
- Aroma: Medium ripe, tart green apple with notes of stone and composte.
- Palate: Tart, ripe green apple with delicate white flower and wet stone complements.
- Notes: A very pleasant village-level Burgundy with a nice, well-rounded appeal that would complement mixed vegetable dishes such as spanakopita or ratatouille nicely as the summer vegetable harvest begins to come in.
- Source: Hope Valley Bottle Shop, $19.
Preston Wilson is a metric system enthusiast and professionally trained chef and sommelier.
