Wines Regions level 3.docx

**[ALSACE]** Focused on aromatic grape white varieties (dry, off-dry and sweet). Some red wines are also made. [Noble varieties:] Riesling, Muscat, Gerwurztraminer and Pinot Gris [Climate:] cool to moderate continental. Lack of clouds, sunny summers and dry autumns make high levels of sugar ripen...

**[ALSACE]** Focused on aromatic grape white varieties (dry, off-dry and sweet). Some red wines are also made. [Noble varieties:] Riesling, Muscat, Gerwurztraminer and Pinot Gris [Climate:] cool to moderate continental. Lack of clouds, sunny summers and dry autumns make high levels of sugar ripeness. Widely variety of soil whiches contribute to variety the styles of wines. Due to the varieties ripen at different times, the harvest may be spread over a long period. [Apellation:] a. Alsace: Vast majority of the región. If a grape features in the label, 100% of the grape is used. b. Alsace Gran Cru: Must be produced from a single noble grape variety. However, otherwise the label must name the vineyard, vintage and grape variety. c. Vendange Tardives (VT): Can only be made from one noble variety and must have a mínimum sugar ripenes. Passerilage: Noble Rot influence. d. Selection de Grains Nobles (SGN): VT whit higher sugar level and not produce every year. [Grapes:] 1. Riesling: Med/full body, dry med alc, high acidity, and display citrus and stone fruit. 2. Gerwurztraminer: Pungent aromatic spicy nose showing lychees, roses and baking spices. Full body with rich texture oily, low/med acidiity and high alc. 3. Pinot Gris: Rich, full body, high alc, med acidity, rich textura, pronounced flavour intensity with fresh and dried fruit and a honey carácter. 4. Muscat (Blanc): Intensity aromatic with flavours of Orange, blossom, rose and grape. Light/med body and low/med acidity 5. Pinot blanc: Widely planted used to sparkling wines 6. Pinot Noir: Only black grape variety allowed. [Winemaking:] Most grapes are aromatic and winemakers are Focused on retain aromas and flavours. Malolactic fermentation mask the pure fruit flavours usually early drinking-wines but capable of further evolution in bottle. There is not oficial labelling to indicate the level of sugar. Since 2021 harvest, producers must now indicated on the label (sec, demi-sec, moelleux and doux). **[GERMANY]** [Climate:] cool continental. Summers can be wet but the rain declines in autumn. The long, cool ripening period, gives the grape time to reach sugar while retaining their acidity. Annual weather condition vary leading siignificant variation in the quality, quantity and style of wine. Location near a river. Location near a river, south facing, head pruned and the canes tied in at the top, can help to protect against frosts. [Laws:] a. Qualtatswein: (dry to med sweet) PDO wine. Must come from one of 13 designated winegrowing áreas b. Pradikatswein: Qualitatswein with higher sugar level. Kabinett, Spatlese, Auslese, Beernauslese, Eiswein and Trockenbeernaulese c. Grosses Gewachs: Single vineyard, dry, with strict regulations d. Verband Deutscher Pradikatsweinguter (VDP): producer asociation with the best vineyards in Germany with grape growing and winemaking regulations [White grapes] - Riesling: Flavours can range from delicate and floral, to a richer peachy fruit. Dry wines range from light and fruity to very concentrated flavours and intense. - Muller-Turgau (Rivaner): Less acidity and flavour intensity within floral and fruity wines. - Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc: Typically dry wines - Silvaner: less acidic and les overtly fruity than Riesling. Can have earthy quality [Black grapes:] - Spatburgunder (Pinot Noir): dry, light and fruity or concentrated aromas including oak aromas - Dornfelder: deeply colour wines. Light body and fruity altough flavoured examples include oak. [Wine styles] (Pradikatswein) - Kabinett: Most delicate. Light body, high acidity, green and citrus balanced with residual sweetness. Alc: 8-9% in sweet and les than 12% in dry. To sweeten this wines it is possible to add unfermented grape juice (sussreserve) or atopping fermentation. Dry to med sweet - Spatlese: more concentrated, riper, more body higher alc and sweet. Citrus and stone flavours. Dry to med sweet - Auslese: Individually extra-ripe bunches. Can be dry or sweet. Noble rot usually add flavours. Dry to sweet - Beernauslese (BA): not every year. Sweet, low alc, flavours of honey, dried fruit, candy peel and flowers - Trockenbeernauslese (TBA): BA with noble rot pressence. Best of the world - Eiswein: The focus is not the varietal purity. Balanced between acidity and sweetness. Winemakers can use selected yeast to maintain varietal flavours. Handling the juice and avoiding processes that could mask the flavours of the grape, such as malolactic fermentation or new oak. [Regions:] - Mosel: dominate by Riesling (Only oermitted for GG wines). The most known villages are Piesport, Bernkastel and Wehlen. The wines are lighter in body, lower in alc and higher in acidity. Floral and green fruit predominates. In the cooler vintages, the grape does not ripen fully and are used in sparklin wine. - Nahe: Riesling is the most widely variety that made styles between Mosel and the Fuller body from Pfalz, Rheingau and Rheinhessen. Pronounced acidity but riper fruit due warmer Climate. Schlossbockelheim village - Rheingau: Johannisberg and Rudesheim villages. Riesling have med/full body and a distinct ripe peachcharacter. GG wines can be Rieslin or Pinot Noir. - Rheinhessen: Rivaner and Riesling most planted varieties. Steeply sloping vineyards (Nierstein) produce the fullest bodied Riesling in Germany. GG can be Riesling or Spatburgunder. - Pfalz: Driest región. Forst and Deidesheim most quality vineyards. - Baden: Warmest and southerly región producing fullest-bodied with highest alcohol. Best vineyard are south-facing slope of a extinct volcano. High quality spatburgunder. - Franken: Silvaner it is considered the most prestigious grape due to the early flowering and ripening is susceptible to frost damage and it is planted in the warmest sites. They are bottled in flask-shape bottle. **[BURGUNDY]** Home of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. [Climate:] cool continental in the north, moderate continental in the south. Basic vineyard are located on flat sites. Premier/Gran Cru are found mid-slope facing south-east. The soil change significally over small áreas. On the hillsides tend to be shallower with better drainage, on the flat land is deeper and more fertile. [Grapes:] - Pinot Noir: most important in cote D'Or. Red fruit in youth that evolve in earth, game and mushrooms. High acidity with low/med tannins. - Chardonnay: Barrel, Malolactic and Lees are used. The best wines can mature. a. Chablis: lean, steely with high acidity b. Cote D'Or: more complex c. Macon: full body with riper fruit flavours - Other varieties: a. Aligoté: white grape make neutral wines with high acidity b. Gamay: early-drinking wines with ripe berry fruits and low tannins [Hierarchy]: 1. Regional Apellation: (Bourgogne Rouge/Blanc) can come anywhere in Burgundy 2. Commune Apellation: Chablis or Gevrey-Chambertin 3. Single vineyard (Premier/Grand Cru): More than 600 Premier, 32 Grand on Cote D'Or and 1 in Chablis. If comes of a single vineyard, also appear on the label. [Apellations]: - Chablis: Chardonnay 100%. The Cru vineyards are south-facing hillsides. Green fruit and high acidity. The best examples display riper fruit flavours, more concentrated and body with well balanced high acidity. - Cote D'Or: 1. Nuits: Fuller in body, longest lived Pinot Noir. Grand Cru: Gevrey-Chambertin, Vougeot, Vosne-Romaneé and Nuit-Saint-Georges. "Village": can be red or white from vineyards that lies on the Cote de Nuit 2. Beaune: famous for Chardonnay. Pinot Noir is frutier in style. Grand Cru (white and red): Aloxe-Corton, Beaune, Mersault, Puligny-Montrachet and Chasagne Montrachet. Grand Cru (Only red): Pommard and Volnay. "Village": Only red wines can come from any one or combination. - The Cote Chalonnais: lighter wines and tend to mature earlier. There is no Gran Cru in this 4 main villages: a. Rully: more white than red and important for sparkling wines b. Mercurey: High reputation red wines c. Givry: admired red wines d. Montagny: Only white wines - Maconnais: Chardonnay is the most widely grape and red wines tend to be made of Gamay, However, Pinot Noir still grown. **[BEAUJOLAIS]** Red, rosé and white wines are made. Gamay is the dominated grape and the styles range from light and fruity or develop complexity with bottle age. [Climate and soil:] similar to Maconnais. The best wines are made from grapes grown in granite soils with low level of nutrients concentrating flavours. Gamay gives fragant wines with raspberry and cherry aromas. Rarely have more than med tannins and body. [Apellation:] - Beaujolais and Nouveau: Mainly by carbonic maceration. Cannot be released to the consumer until the third Thursday in November and cannot be sold by growers after the following 31 August. The ten Crus cannot be sold in this way. - Beaujolais village: 39 villages. The wines tend to be made from blending wines from different villages. - Beaujolais Crus: a. Moulin-a-Vent and Morgon: structured wines with fruit concentration and a level of tannins what means that this wines can improve with bottle ageing b. Brouilly and Fleurie: light and perfumed wines **[BORDEAUX]** Largest Apellation región in France. Usually blends. Further depends for vintages [Climate and grape growing:] Moderate/maritime climate that benefits from the effect of the Gulf Stream extending the growing season. The Atlantic brings high level of rainfall and humidity trrough the year and can disrupt flowering and fruit set, promote noble rot and dilute the flavours in the grapes at harvest. The vineyards are protected from the storms by the Landes forest and the coastal sand dunes. [Black grapes varieties:] - Cabernet Sauvignon: Predominate in Haut-Medoc and very important in Graves with drain and warm soils. Late ripening grape - Cabernet Franc: In Saint Emilion and les extent in the Medoc and Graves. Less body and tannins than Cabernet Sauvignon. Herbaceous flavours when unripe, but when ripe can be vibrant fruit and floral notes. Drain and warm soils too. - Merlot: most Widely planted planted variety in Bordeaux and particullary important in Pomerol and Saint-Emilion due to cooler clay soils. Early ripening grape. It´s softness means it is usually predominant in high volumen. - Petit Verdot: ripen fully when it is very hot year. Giving a very Deep colour, tannic wine that age slowly [White grapes varieties:] - Sémillon: Thin skin and affinity to noble rot make this grape very important for sweet wines. In dry wines of Pessac-Léognan and Graves is blended with Sauvignon Blanc to add body - Sauvignon Blanc: Citrus and green aromas. One exception for varietal wines. In blends provides high acidity - Muscadelle: Grapey, floral flavours. Important, but small percentage, role in blends of sweet and dry wines. Less fragant than Muscat [Classification:] - Medoc: The Chateaux are divided into 5 ranks: Lafite Rothschild, Latour, Margaux and Mouton rothschild - Sauternes: There are 3 ranks, the top is Chateau d´Yquem - Graves: No ranking, simply cal themselves "cru classé". (Pessac-Leognan) - Saint Emilion Grand Cru: From the lower to the top is, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classé, Premier Grand Cru Classé A (best), and Premier Grand Cru Classé B. Reclassification every ten years. [Red of Medoc and Graves (Only red wines):] - Medoc: The soil is clay and outcrops of gravel. The Merlot is higher proportion in Bas-Medoc. In Haut-Medoc the Cabernet Sauvignon has higher proportion with notes of blackcurrant, cedar and potential ageing. The highest chateau reputation are Saint-Estephe, Pauillac, Saint-Julien and Margaux - Graves: The highly rated área is Pessac-Leognan where the soils, like Haut-Medoc, are gravelly and well-suited to Cabernet Sauvignon but here the wines are lighter in body and more fragant. In the rest of Graves, Merlot has higher proportion. [Saint-Emilion and Pomerol] Dominated by Merlot and, les extend, Cabernet Franc - Saint-Emilion: 3 distinct group of vineyards on differing soils: a. Warm, well-drained gravel and limestone soils encourage the inclusión of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon b. Clay, limestone soils produce the most prestigious wines with medium to high tannins, soft and rich textura with complex red fruit and plum aromas developing tobacco and cedar. c. Sandy soils produce lighter body and les prestigious wines - Pomerol: wines with richer, spicier and black fruit carácter [Cotes de Bordeaux:] Blaye, Cadillac, Castillon and Franc. Tend to be Merlot based and meant for early drinking wines. [Premium dry white wines] The wine made in Entre-deux-Mers (always white whites) and Graves, tend to be from Sauvignon Blanc in unoaked style. Pessac-Leognan has to be eligible for "Cru Classe" status and tend to be blends of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon usually fermented or matured in new oak. [Sweet wines] Banks of Garonne river create misty autumns, ideal to develop noble rot. Passerilage is needed to help concentrate sugar in years when There is little noble rot. In Sauternes (best sweet wines)and in Barsac (lies to Sauternes) Semillon dominates for the thin skin and is susceptible to botrytis. Sauvignon Blanc in blend supplies acidity and fruity aromas and Muscadelle adds exotic perfume. The best wines tend to be high in alcohol, high in acidity, and display apricot, citrus aromas, toast and vanille