Ep 043: France

This week we do a 10,000 foot overview of the motherland of winemaking: France. Here are the notes: First we cover a little about the French wine industry and why it’s so important (big $$ here!) After covering major grapes grown in France, we talk about the history of the country and how it got its start as a wine juggernaut. We re-address the concept of terroir and then get into the major regions and what you’ll find in each. The regions we covered are: Alsace on the German border, which mainly makes whites of Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Muscat, and Silvaner. Then we hop to Champagne — we all know what’s there! We take a jog over to the Loire, covering the Sauvignon Blanc in Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume, the Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc in Touraine and Anjou-Saumur, and then talk about Muscadet, the strange name that’s neither a region nor a grape (more on that in this post). Next, we head to Burgundy and talk about three gr [...]