A = Bordeaux B = Burgundy
C = Champagne Which region(s)...
A Bordeaux: An area in
southwestern France considered by most wine enthusiasts as the world’s greatest
W. ine-producing region because of the large quantity (ranging from 700 million
to 900 million bottles annually) and the high quality of the wines. This large
region has about 280,000 vineyard acres and essentially covers the same
territory as the department of Gironde. At its center lies the seaport city of
Bordeaux, which sits on the Garonne River upstream from the Gironde estuary,
which empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The Bordeaux region’s fame dates back
some 2,000 years when Romans first sang the praises of its wines. The wide
popularity of Bordeaux wines in the United Kingdom (where they’re called
clarets) can be traced back to the period from 1152 to 1453, when the English
owned this region, which was acquired through a royal marriage and then lost in
the 100 Years’ War. Bordeaux gains most of its fame from its red wines, which
generally make up over 75 percent of the production. Nevertheless, the region’s
rich, sweet white wines from Sauternes are world renowned, and its DRY white
wines from Graves have a serious following. Bordeaux’s primary appellations,
which cover the entire region, are Bordeaux AC--for red, white, and rose
wines--and Bordeaux Superieur AC--a designation for red and rose wines that
requires lower grape yields and slightly higher alcohol levels than basic
Bordeaux. There are over fifty individual appellations in Bordeaux, and,
generally, the smallest ACs produce the highest-quality wines. There are also
thousands of individual chateaux-some are quite impressive, while others are
simply tiny farmhouses. B
Burgundy: One of the world’s most famous winegrowing areas, located in
eastern France, southeast of Paris. Bourgogne, as it’s called in France, has
about 110,000 vineyard acres, which is about 40 percent of what exists in
Bordeaux. Burgundy consists of five basic regions. Burgundy and its wines have a
long history going back at least to the time when the Romans ruled this region.
In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the Grand Duchy of Burgundy
flourished, controlling an area that included what are now parts of Belgium, the
Netherlands, Luxembourg, and a large portion of northern France. It was a rich
and powerful empire, and the great Dukes of Burgundy savored the region’s
marvelous wines as part of their opulent lifestyle. The Burgundy region has
established a reputation over the centuries not only for its fine wines but also
for its marvelous food. The wines vary considerably from region to region
throughout Burgundy, but the focus is on three grape varieties--Pinot Noir and
Gamay for red wines and Chardonnay for whites. Though other varieties are grown,
they’re being replaced in many areas by the three most prominent grapes. Gamay
is the dominant red grape in Beaujolais, while Pinot Noir prevails in the other
regions. The very best red wines come from the Grands Crus in the Cote d’Or.
Chardonnay is grown throughout the region and reaches its zenith in the C6te de
Beaune. Although the wines made of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay get most of the
attention, more wines are produced in Beaujolais (where they make Gamay-based
wines) than in the rest of Burgundy. In some ways, the Burgundian system for
identifying quality wines is much more straightforward than that of Bordeaux. In
addition to the Appellation d’Origine Controlee (AC) Bordeaux uses a complex and
inconsistent chateau classification system. Burgundy uses only the AC system to
classify regions, villages, and individual vineyards into appellations, the
theory being that the smaller and more precise the appellation, the higher the
general quality of the ’ wine. C Champagne: This most celebrated sparkling wine
always seems to signal "special occasion". Though bubbling wines under various
appellations abound throughout the world, true Champagne comes only from the
Champagne region in northeast France. Most countries bow to this tradition by
calling their sparkling wines by other names such as spumante in Italy, Sekt in
Germany and vin mousseux in other regions of France. Only in America do some
wineries refer to their bubbling wine as "champagne". Dom Perignon, 17th-century
cellarmaster of the Abbey of Hautvillers, is celebrated for developing the art
of blending wines to create Champagnes with superior flavor. He’s also credited
for his work in preventing Champagne bottles and corks from exploding by using
thicker bottles and tying the corks down with string. Even then, it’s said that
the venerable Dom Perignon lost half his Champagne through the bottles bursting.
French Champagne is usually made from a blend of chardonnay and pinot noir or
pinot blanc grapes. California "champagnes" generally use the same varieties,
while those from New York more often are from the pressings of catawba and
delaware grapes. Good Champagne is expensive not only because it’s made with
premium grapes, but because it’s made by the methode champenoise. This
traditional method requires a second fermentation in the bottle as well as some
100 manual operations (some of which are mechanized today). Champagnes can range
in color from pale gold to apricot blush. Their flavors can range from toasty to
yeasty and from dry (no sugar added) to sweet. ·has a fame dating back to
Roman times
71. ______ ·is known for its fine wines as well as its
wonderful food
72. ______ ·produces a wine which is called by
different names in other countries
73. ______ ·have a long history going back to Roman times
74. ______
75.
______ ·produces a wine created by a cellarmaster blending different wines
76. ______ ·was
once owned by the English in history
77. ______ ·produces a wine that requires a
second fermentation in the bottle
78. ______ ·is best known for its red wines
79. ______ ·uses a more straightforward system to
classify its regions, villages and vineyards 80. ______