Salon des Vins

I’m not sure why my wine education hasn’t merited a post before. Maybe it needed to age, but the time has come to uncork these experiences. Enough with the wine metaphors, let’s talk about my new wine tutor. A Midwestern raised, Oxford educated, American poet living in Paris, Susan makes spare cash educating wine novices like me in private or on champagne cruises. She is a complex person offering insight, knowledge, poise, and juicy gossip. Her intelligence and elegance suit Paris, but her stories of past loves and current struggles are very American. She is like a French Burgundy that has been “jammed” up a bit to appeal to U.S. markets. Susan has taught me the many regions of French wine while being a good friend to me while in Paris.

Both Italy and France categorize their wine by region and have government monitored grading systems. If a vineyard is within a certain area, practices certain winemaking techniques, and uses the correct varietals in the correct proportions, it is rewarded with a special designation, DOCG in Italy and AOC in France. For instance, a DOCG Chianti must come from around Sienna and use 85% Sangiovese grapes. In France, Burgundy is region that has over 300 appellations (the A in AOC) primarily growing Pinot Noir grapes. Each DOCG or AOC may or may not be a blend and that may or may not be noted on the label. In fact most wines, even in the US are blended. Cabernet Sauvignon wine is blended to cut the tannic nature of the grape and lower production costs. In both French and Italian wines, the terroir (climate, soil) is most important. The varietals (or grapes) are planted for their ability to grow in local climate. In contrast, American producers lead with the varietal and the location is secondary. There are many vineyards that are better suited to a zinfandel but plant cabernet sauvignon to accommodate current tastes in the American market.

French and Italian wines have very different profiles from their American counterparts. Self professed wine geeks speak of Old World wines and New World wines. For the most part, Old World wines are meant to accompany food. They are sharper and more complex, but less full bodied than New World wines. Most New World wines are created for mass market appeal and their flavors are developed for flexibility and drinkability. Old World wines are less laid back in the palate and reflect centuries of tradition. They force you to notice them, where New World wines are perfectly happy to chill out, in a delicious way. New World wines are like Meg Ryan (before Russell Crowe and plastic surgery), easy to like, while Old World wines are like Angelina Jolie, complex and difficult but worth the effort. Of course, these are generalities in both wine and actresses and I love both Old and New World wines.

While in Europe, I have expanded my palate and found some beautiful wines. The Italian education, like all things Italian, was haphazard and disjointed, which was both charming and frustrating. The French system is rigid and exact, like all things French. Susan, an American, gives an interesting perspective to the world of French wine, and I’m thoroughly enjoying my education.

Recently, we were able to attend a trade show of over 1000 independent wine producers from all the French wine regions. Housed in a convention facility with booths and color coded identification flags for each producer, the Salon de Vins was pretty unbelievable. First, it was free and you could taste as much as you wanted. As an American I can’t begin to describe the glory of a free all you can drink wine tasting. It was like 5 cent pitcher night at Biddy Mulligan’s, except with gorgeous wine rather than watered down Busch Lite. Each booth had a trash can for spitting. With this much wine, you can’t actually swallow without behaving like an idiot by the end of the day. The French have no tolerance for this so I spit, unless the wine was really good. We travelled through Bordeaux first tasting the difference between the Left and Right banks, and then went to Burgundy to experience the vast differences within each appellation, vineyard and year. We also strolled through the Loire and the Rhone, finishing with a few amazing wines from the Alsace. Susan provided information about the soil, varietals, and the typical experience of an appellation. It was an amazing experience and I had a tremendous time.

I must put in a disclaimer here. I am just starting to learn about wine, and some of the things I have said may be wildly incorrect and are definitely oversimplified. If anyone finds an error, glaring or otherwise, please let me know.