This week, we started our very first deep dive into a wine region – FRANCE! I consider France is the O.G. in this wine game – for it is home to many beloved grape varietals that have found their way around the world. Months before shelter in place was a part of our common life, I had the opportunity to visit Bordeaux for the first time on a press
trip and explore both wines of the Left and Right Banks. As a fan of Cabernet Sauvignon, I knew that this experience was going to be a dream come true – but I was pleasantly surprised when I had my first taste of Saint-Emilion and Pomerol. Typically, I’m not the biggest fan of Merlot, but the striking difference between the Left Bank and Right Bank, and how both Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are blended together to create balance was magical. I did have a chance to taste Bordeaux’s beloved white wines, but that’s for next week’s blog post.
I could go on and on, but of course, there’s more to France than just Bordeaux! In this session, we also touched on red wines in The Loire Valley, Burgundy and Libourne & Cote de Bordeaux. With each region within such a big country like France, it has been fascinating to learn about various winemaking options, climates, and of course, AC structures. In a virtual study session with my classmate Ella, I learned that WSET as a game you can download on your smartphone that tests your map knowledge – which has been so fun to play! It’s called WSET Wine Game, and in addition to drawing out mays on tracing paper with colored pencils, this is going to be my newest obsession.
