Archive for the 'Bordeaux' Category

In the 1880′s when the Phylloxera epidemic hit vineyards in Bordeaux, hundreds of French families moved South to Rioja to continue their wine-making trade. They used the local grape varieties (primarily Tempranillo) but they brought the Bordeaux techniques of long skin maceration and oak-barrel aging. The quality of Rioja improved dramatically and today it still represents one of the great wine values in the world.

The Bordeaux region is divided by the Gironde river into two major areas. On the left bank you find the Medoc and various sub-regions while on the right bank you find St. Emilion and Pomerol and various sub-regions. Cabernet Sauvignon is the primary grape variety on the left bank and Merlot dominates on the right. Often the right bank wines are softer than the left due to the prominence of Merlot rather than Cabernet Sauvignon. Because the right bank region is larger there is more Merlot planted than any other grape in Bordeaux.