Wines of France - Part 2

So last week we completed the lecture portion on Wines of France - with a look into Alsace and the Loire and Rhone Valleys. Alsace, which borders Germany, is where you can find a mix of both French and German culture and winemaking techniques. The only red grape variety grown in Alsace is Pinot noir. White grapes include Pinot blanc, Pinot gris, Riesling and Gewurztraminer - I never knew that the latter used to actually be two words, Gewurz (which means spice) and Traminer! One grape though. The Loire Valley is known as the "garden" of France, and its most notable contribution (most of their reds and whites lack the weight and substance of other French wines) is that the Loire River has allowed shipping access to other parts of Europe. The Rhone Valley is second only to Bordeaux in producing AOC wines, and 95% of Rhone wine is red. The southern Rhone region is unique in all of France in that irrigation is allowed during drought - irrigation is outlawed otherwise because of the abundance of natural precipitation there. The most expensive Viognier wine in the world is produced in the northern Rhone, where vineyards cover steep river slopes and are always subject to erosion. Next week we will be in Italy (figuratively speaking only, unfortunately!), examining their regions, climates, varietals, and the different styles of wine they produce. I should probably drink a glass of Chianti before class...