When we think of classic wine
making country, where do we think of? Despite the changing times, and the
emergence of such regions as California as wine making giants, we don’t think
of them. Most of us would immediately say France. France has gained a
reputation over a course of centuries as ‘the’ wine making power on the world
stage. Even today, nobody quite does it like the French. Their wines are the
most luxurious you can possibly buy and honestly, their reputation is based on
the fact that these wines are made by the foremost wine experts in the world
and the results really do speak for themselves.
France is so indelibly linked
with wine making that there are several regions which are known for the grapes they
grow and the bottles they produce. Most of us would perhaps immediately
highlight Champagne when we are thinking about French wine growing regions. The
titular drink produced in the region has become so iconic that the name is
actually trademarked in the majority of nations in 2013. However, we want to
turn our spotlight to Bordeaux.
Bordeaux wine is produced in the
Bordeaux region which sits in the South West of France, on the Atlantic Coast
of the Bay of Biscay. Centred on the city of Bordeaux and coming to encompass
the whole area of the Gironde Department, with a total vineyard of 120,000
hectares; it is actually the largest wine growing region in France. In
accordance to this, average vintages typically produce over 700 million bottles
of wine from everyday wine to the most expensive vintages you can find on the
planet. The region massively favours the production of red wine, with 89% of
its output being red wine, whilst sweet white wines, dry white wines and in
very small quantities rose wines make up the rest.
Like in Champagne, wine growing
in Bordeaux dates back to the Roman Empire, who planted the very first vines.
Bordeaux wine first started gaining a reputation in the 12th
Century, when it gained a reputation across the English Channel. Since then the
region has grown in popularity, being embraced on an international scale, and
now Bordeaux wine is known as a top product the world over.
Popular wine growing regions in
Bordeaux include Graves and Medoc, which have been in the trade for centuries
and have perfected their processes. Some of the most prolific grapes produced
in the Bordeaux region are Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot.
Bordeaux has the perfect climate needed for growing grapes, and the soil, which
is calcium rich, just makes it even more perfect. As such, the Ideal Wine
Company has many Bordeaux wines on its lists including Chateau Lafite
Rothschild, Chateau Petrus, Chateau Latour, Chateau Margaux and Chateaux
Le Pin, which encompass the best in the Bordeaux wine making tradition.
Bordeaux has an excellent
reputation for wine, and this is well earned, as, especially for its red
blends, it has spent centuries perfecting their method; the result of which is
a strong wine tradition that looks set to flourish for centuries to come.
