“A bunch of grapes is beautiful, still and pure, but it is just a fruit; once it is pressed, it becomes an animal, because when it becomes wine, there is an animal. "
——William Young
Charming colors, mysterious emotions, soft and mellow red wine are full of fresh life juice and contain profound history. connotation.
Once upon a time, red wine created a new drinking culture in China. Traces of red wine can be seen everywhere in the market. However, most people do not know much about red wine, and they often drink red wine dry. "La" method, and this method makes people who are interested in learning to taste confused choices.
Before drinking red wine, you might as well understand the elegant red wine culture and history of red wine, and you will understand the nobility of red wine subconsciously.
In fact, grapes are grown all over the world, so wine is also produced in various countries around the world. Mild climate areas with an average annual temperature of 10-20 degrees Celsius are most suitable for growing grapes. Areas with abundant rainfall and heavy humidity hinder the growth of grapevines. Therefore, good soil drainage is also one of the conditions for planting. Among all the red wines, the reason why I prefer "French red wine" is that France is not only the country that produces the largest variety of wines in the world, but also produces countless world-famous high-end wines.
"Burgundy Region": There are about 1,800 wineries in this region. This region can be divided into six production areas from south to north:
Chablis, Cote de Nuits, Cote de Beaune, Cote de Chalonnaise, Maconnais, Beaujolais---- -The most elite of the six districts in Burgundy is the "Golden Slope" (Cote d'Or) consisting of Night Slope and Bonbonne Slope. The former is famous for its red wine, while the latter is famous for its white wine. The “La Romanee Conti” produced by the Domaine de La Romanee Conti (DRC) in the Vosne-Romanee wine village in this region is the first. Ranked first in red wine.
『Bordeaux Region』: In the Bordeaux region of France alone, there are more than 9,000 wineries (castles). The five major wine-producing areas in the region are: Medoc, Pomerol, St. Emilion, Graves, and Sauternes.
Medoc is arguably the most important region, producing only red wine. Medoc can be subdivided into four small wine regions, from north to south: St-Estephe, Pauillac, and St. Julien. With Margaux. Among them, the three famous wines in Pauillac, Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Chateau Lafite-Rothschild and Chateau Latour, are like three diamonds. Pauillac has simply become the representative of the Bordeaux region.
The production area of ??Pomerol only accounts for about 3% of Bordeaux. It is true that "things are rare but valuable". If the "Red Wine Diamond" is Romanee-Conti, the one that grabs the second throne should be the representative work "Chateau Petrus" in the Pomerol region of Bordeaux, France.
St. Emilion is also a production area with many famous vineyards. Before the middle of the last century, the quality of wine in this area was generally poor, and there was even a "Coachman's Wine" ridicule! There are only two A-level hotels: Chateau Ausone and Chateau Cheval-Blanc.
Graves: Chateau Haut Brion and Chateau Latour, Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, Chateau Margaux in this area Castle), Chateau Mouton Rothschild, and Chateau Haut Brion enjoy the first-class top wine officially rated by Bordeaux and are also among the top five wineries in the Bordeaux region. .
"Cotes du Rhone (Cotes du Rhone)": Together with Burgundy and Bordeaux, it is known as the three major wine-producing regions in France. The most precious red wine in the entire Rh?ne region is La Turque from the Tyrone region.
『Aberration』
Because red wine is said to be a vital liquid, it is because red wine contains tannic acid (Tannic Acid), which is formed when the tannic acid comes into contact with the air. The changes produced are very rich. The best way to distinguish the changes in a bottle of wine is to pour 2 cups for the first time after opening the bottle. Drink one cup first and leave the other cup until the end. You can feel it clearly. The change time of each bottle of wine is different, maybe 10 minutes, maybe half an hour, maybe two hours later. How to discover the vitality of wine depends on your own feelings and experience.
『Decenting』
The method of decenting is to pour the wine into a decanter (Decenting), which is called decenting, but what is the purpose of decenting? ?
Actually, there are two reasons. One is to remove the sediment that has been aged for many years. Although there is nothing wrong with drinking this sediment, it does damage the flavor of the wine and must be removed.
The other is to awaken the original flavor of wines with less vintages from their slumber. Because the wine will have the opportunity to come into contact with the air due to the passing action, the sleeping wine will immediately overflow with aroma and the taste will become mellow.
『Wine Label』
How to choose a bottle of delicious red wine? The first requirement is that the taste should be smooth. What kind of taste is more smooth? It depends on personal preference. When tasting red wine, it is A profound knowledge, learning to taste wine requires long-term research and layers of training, but learning to recognize wine is a relatively simple matter.
How to recognize wine? Let’s learn to read the label on the wine bottle first. The wine label is also called "etiquette" (French, meaning license), just like people's resumes. Just as there is a saying among people who know wine well that "you can tell the taste just by looking at the label," the label does indeed reveal information about the taste (characteristics) of the wine. "There are many kinds of designs on the labels. What are they written on?" I really want to know..." Generally, the label will usually indicate: the year of grape harvest, the name of the wine (named after the place of origin or the name of the winery (Chateau)), the country or place of production, the name of the manor, and the producer. (Brew maker) name, capacity, alcohol concentration...etc. Labels come in various styles depending on the designer's design, so the location where the data is written is also different.
Harvest year → The weather of the year will affect the quality of the grape harvest. Production area → The quality of a bottle of wine is determined by the geological conditions of the place of production. A.O.C → Designated excellent production area A.O.C. legal name, castle interior Wine → Mis En Boteille Au Chateau, signed by the winemaker → a higher level of guarantee for the quality of the wine
"French wine is divided into the following categories according to the wine law and its quality"
A.O.C. Wine is a general name for wines named as wines from designated excellent production areas. This type of wine has very detailed restrictions on the place of origin (region, village, vineyard, etc.). Most of the wines imported from Japan are this type of wine. The marking method is such as APPELLATION ROMANEE CONTI CONTROLEE, and the ROMANEE CONTI between APPELLATION and CONTROLEE is the name of the winery.
Vin De Pays (regional table wine) is wine that is limited to grape origins. It has fewer restrictions than those stipulated by A.O.C., and the price is more reasonable. If you look around, you may be able to find wine of quite good quality. !
Vin De Table (daily table wine) is a wine that is not subject to regulations and can be blended with grapes from any production area. The characteristic of this wine is that it is low-cost through blending and brewing. Whether it is delicious or not depends entirely on the skill of the producer, and there is no hierarchy.
『Red wine brewing method』
A. Stemming: The so-called stemming refers to removing the stems from the fruit in order to avoid excess bitterness in the wine.
B. Crushing: Rub the peel and lightly crush it, which is called crushing.
C. Fermentation: Add yeast to the crushed grapes (together with the skins and seeds). Because the color of red wine comes from the peel, and the astringency is the flavor released by the seeds.
D. Juicing: Use a juicer to squeeze out fermented wine.
E. Fermentation: Separate the pressed wine from the skins and seeds, and then only ferment the wine. This stage is the key to determining the taste of the wine. A wine that is completely fermented and mature is a wine that does not taste sweet.
F. Removal of residue: After fermentation, the dissolved residual substances will automatically precipitate and can be removed smoothly. This process is called residue removal.
G. Maturation: Then put it into wine barrels to allow it to mature fully. The maturation period is about two years (but there are also cases where the wine is matured for less than two years).
H. Bottling: After maturation, it can be bottled.
『How to preserve wine』
The most taboo thing about preserving wine is strong changes in temperature. If it is at room temperature when you buy it in the store, you only need to store it at room temperature at home. Just below. If you want to drink chilled wine, just freeze it before drinking. If you store wine in the refrigerator, it is only suitable to store it in a vegetable room where the temperature changes are small. The most ideal and long-term storage environment is to maintain a constant temperature between 12 and 14 degrees Celsius, a humidity between 65% and 80%, and keep it dark. Generally, wine is placed in the basement. Keep it clean to prevent other odors from seeping into the wine.
『Wine Tasting Steps』
1. Observe its color-Pour the wine in a goblet, hold the stem of the cup and observe its color.
2. Smell the aroma - shake the glass gently to release the aroma and smell the aroma.
3. Taste - take a small sip, let the wine melt on the tip of your tongue, and feel its taste, sourness and sweetness.
Red wine in Bordeaux
Among the many red wines, French red wine is the most popular. The reason is: France is not only the country that produces the largest variety of wines in the world, but also produces countless world-famous high-end wines. The country of wine is known as the "Kingdom of Grape" because its tastes are extremely varied. France has six major production areas of red wine: Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne and Argentine. Among them, Bordeaux producing areas with a mild climate and iron-rich soil are the most representative, including Alsace, Loire Valley and Cotes du Phone.
There are several production areas outside the French city of Bordeaux, all located in the Estuaire de la Gironde River Basin. They not only have a large output but also produce many high-quality red wines, and are known as "the world's wine treasure house" ”, among which the five most famous wineries must be known. There are about 9,000 wineries in these wineries, and among them the five most famous wineries are world-famous.
Five major wine-producing regions in France
Producing region introduction (based on the 1855 fine Bordeaux wine grading system)
Médoc 32,110 acres (only Producing red wine)
Pomerol 1,803 acres (producing only red wine)
St-émilion 12,676 acres (producing only red wine)
Graves 5,992 acres (produces red wine and non-sweet white wine)
Sauternes 3,499 acres (produces only sweet white wine)
Five famous wineries in France
Chateau Margaux (located in the Murdoch region)
Chateau Latour (located in the Murdoch region)
Chateau Mouton-Rothschild (located in the Murdoch region)
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Chateau Lafite-Rothschild (located in the Médoc region)
Chateau Haut-Brion (located in the Graves region)
Médoc
Médoc is the representative production area of ??Bordeaux red wine, producing the world's highest-end wines. Haut-Médoc is a red wine producing area in the south of Médoc; it includes several very famous commune production areas such as St. St-Estéphe, Pauillac, Margaux, etc. Many world-famous wineries are located in these villages, especially Pauillac and Margaux. The price of wine has been as high as Thousands of dollars, there are about 70 villages in this area, and the more famous villages are St-Julien and Saint-Estéphe. There are six grand wineries in this area. Eleven, four of which are ranked among the top five wineries.
Note: The five most representative production areas in the Bordeaux region and the six important sub-production areas in Haut-Medoc, from north to south are:
St. -Estéphe) 2,875 acres
Pauillac 2,667 acres
St-Julien (St-Julien) 2,084 acres
Listrac 1,531 acres
Moulis 1,185 acres
Margaux 3,067 acres
Pomerol
This area is the smallest of the top red wine producing areas in Bordeaux. Its wine production is only 15% of St-Emilion's production, making the wine rare and expensive. Although there is no formal grading system, there are about ten grand cru wineries in this area. There are three wineries, but there has never been a complete legal classification system to list it. Among them, Chateau Pétrus has always been regarded as the first Grand Cru winery.
St-Emilion
The wine production in this region is approximately equal to two-thirds of the entire Murdoch region. It is also one of the most beautiful villages in France. The grading system was a century later than Murdoch. It was not classified until 1954 and was revised in 1986. Among them, the Ausone-grade Cheval-Blanc wine enjoys a special status in the Premiers Grand Crus collection. The following *** There are a number of top first growths comparable to those of Merdoux and about seventy top quality chateaux.
Graves
Since 1987, the better production area in the north has been divided into another legal production area, called Pessac Leognan. The most famous winery is Chateau Haut-Brion (seen in the 1855 classification system). In the 1959 classification, there were about twelve other wineries producing high-quality Graves red wine.