What’s the difference between Burgundy and Bordeaux?
Burgundy and Bordeaux are both regions in France, and these terms refer to wines made in those regions.
- Bordeaux produces some of France’s-and even the world’s-finest and rarest wines. Best known for its reds, Cabernet Sauvignon- and Merlot-based wines, blended with support from Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec.
- The oceanic climate, moderate and stabilized by the river coupled with a terroir comprised of clay, limestone, gravel and sand results in particularly complex and elegant wines.
Tip: 2009 is said to be an exceptionally good vintage year.
- Burgundy is known equally for its white and red wines – most notably Pinot Noir and is made in eastern France in the valleys and slopes west of the Saône, a tributary of the Rhône.
- These wines you’ve no doubt heard of , are commonly referred to as “Burgundies”.
“Red Burgundies”= are dry red wines made from Pinot Noir grapes.
“White Burgundies” = White wines produced from Chardonnay grapes.
Burgundy wines are classified on four levels, ordered below (lowest to highest):
- Generic “Bourgogne” appellation
- Selected areas of the Burgundy vineyard have their own classifications, such as Côtes de Beaune.
- Within these, there are smaller areas, villages and groups of villages, reputed to produce higher quality wine, such as; Mersault, Pernand Vergelesse or Aloxe Corton.
- Finally, at the top of the pyramid, there are the “grands crus”, such as Clos Vougeot – with its mere 51 hectares of vineyard!
Hack: You are not alone if you’ve found it a daunting task finding ones way around Burgundy wines. The best Burgundy wines are the reds, the best of which can keep for a good 20 to 30 years. However, Burgundy also produces some top quality, though not too distinctive, whites. It is often said that generic burgundies “Bourgogne Rouge” or “Bourgogne Passetoutgrains” white are overpriced and not particularly good value for money.
Tip: 2003 is said to be one of the best vintages for many years.
What is the most expensive bottle of wine ever sold?
Have you ever had to blink twice in seeing the magnificent $1 million price tag of a LOUIS XIII Cognac, when getting off an airplane at Duty Free? It has also been said on more than one occasion that single malt whiskey can cost more than the price of a house. But why is it just the spirits that are allowed to have all the fun?
Check out he most expensive wine in the world. The wine to set the record for most expensive wine ever sold was in Sotheby New York, at auction for an astounding $558,000.
The bottle was a 1945 Romanee-Conti, a red Burgundy from Cote de Nuits, Though Romanee-Conti is a renowned producer to this day, this particular wine is especially coveted because reportedly only 600 bottles were produced in 1945, and the vines were removed and replanted after this vintage. “Rare and wonderful,”
If half-a-million dollars for a bottle of wine seems surprising, you’re not alone. Sotheby’s presale estimate for the vino put the top of the range at $32,000. The wine sold for 17 times that amount. And the run wasn’t over: Later, a second bottle from the same vintage sold for $496,000. Both bottles easily broke the record for the most expensive standard-sized bottle of wine ever sold—a title previously held by a bottle from Chateau Lafite Rothschild sold for $233,000 in 2010 in Hong Kong. Even more amazingly, these two bottles also broke the record for the most expensive bottle of wine sold of any size, which belonged to a three-liter bottle of 1945 Mouton-Rothschild that sold in New York in 2007 for $310,000, according to Newsweek.
Meanwhile, adding to all the excitement, three magnums of 1937 Romanee-Conti also sold for $310,000 apiece, each also rivaling the price for the most expensive bottle of any size. In all, Quartz suggested that this single auction included the five most expensive bottles of wine ever sold all in one place. Sounds like a fun dinner party waiting to happen.
Can you make red wine with wine grapes?
You can make white wine, including Champagne, from red grapes. Real-deal French Champagne relies on three varieties, pinot noir, pinot meunier and chardonnay. … Only the skins of red berries contain the dark pigment. … Only by leaving juice in contact with red skins during fermentation …
make a white wine from red wine grapes. Rather than extracting flavors and colors from the red grape skins, they limit contact with the skins. The juice from red wine grapes can be pretty clear on its own. It is the case than for red wines, the skins are left on. And for white wine making, skins are removed prior to fermentation. You could make a white Syrah (like winemarkers used to in Iran) but it is not the most preffered method and Syrah drinks better with skins on. Sometimes the same grape is used to make a white AND red wine, such in the case on Pinot Noir. There’s another example of a white, in this case bubbly, made from red wine grapes. And sometimes both red and white grapes are used to make a
Yes, it’s possible to make a white wine from red wine grapes. Rather than extracting flavors and colors from the red grape skins, they limit contact with the skins. The juice from red wine grapes can be pretty clear on its own. … That’s another example of a white, in this case bubbly, made from red wine grapes
Naturally then, can you make Wine Wine Made From Red Grapes?
- Sangiovese. Cantina LaSelva Sangiovese Bianco (Toscano) What It’s Like: The crystalline color belies the spectrum of flavors that erupt on the palate. …
- Pinotage. Mellasat ∑ White Pinotage (Paarl) …
- Tempranillo. Pradorey El Cuentista (Castilla y León)
All wine grapes actually look the same (picture featured below).
Price of wine explained
Is expensive wine better?
The verdict’s in and absolutely not true that the higher priced wine is better.
When buying and enjoying wine you can count on this advise instead.
Three truisms:
1. The most important part of wine is that it is drank in good company.
Ever wonder why wine bottles are 375ml? Wine is better when shared with family and friends.
2. Drink most what you love.
It is wonderful to be adventurous and discover new wines. You could spend a lifetime drinking wine and still now know all there is to learn, as there are new wine regions, innovations and growing styles popping up all the time. Everyone has their favourite grapes and styles – so stay true to the ones you like most.
3. Correlation not always causation.
Sometimes the price of wine reflects the grit, investment and effort that went into making it. And the price is usually a fair representation to what the winemaker feels is fair; reflective of its market value – or close enough. Although understand that sometimes price also reflects the constraints of supply and demand. For this reason wines are priced differently all around the world and there is no regulatory body mandating what producers must charge.
Let’s explain with an example…
At some point in our life, we’ve been offered a glass of Moët & Chandon champagne. Whether it was celebrating a 21st birthday, anniversaries’, engagements’, you name it – we’ve all been there.
Moët & Chandon, or more commonly known at “Moët” is a French fine winery that is co-owned by luxury goods company LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE; and is one of the world’s largest champagne producers and prominent champagne house. Here we’ll compare the opportunity cost of producing a bottle of Moët & Chandon, compared to producing a bottle of XXX Chardonay that is produced by xxxx , by comparing the marginal cost (that is the representative cost of producing an additional bottle (or unit), and explain a little about the economics of opportunity costs – trade off
Retail cost of one bottle of champagne.
Moët & Chandon: $50 and $65.
Didyou know that Moët et Chandon, established in 1743 by Claude Moët, and today owns 1,190 hectares (2,900 acres) of vineyards, and annually produces approximately 28,000,000 bottles of champagne.
while marginal cost represents the cost of producing an additional unit.
Compare this to a bottle of Moët that is produced in
Opportunity cost expresses the relationship between scarcity and choice. Winemakers have many options of what to grow and are perplexed when deciding what to grow, and how much time and effort to invest in the growing season.
Dom is made out of premier and grand cru grapes from Champagne. … More expensive grapes + labor-intensive winemaking = higher base price. Dom is not a particularly rare wine (it will vary from year to year, but production numbers generally number in the low hundreds of thousands of cases every declared vintage
What’s more special?
Well the value is in the eye of the beholder
Supply and demand
Some of the most expensive wines are expensive:
- hardly any produced. Sometimes the wine makes only makes 500 bottles ppl (small vineyard etc with two people doing the mixing, bottling, marketing etc.
- Going to cost more more bottle to mix and bottle it than. Of you’re making 5000 of the same stuff. More people, machinery etc
- Might have storage facilities
- Kept for a long time… less of it
- Cost to cellar it!
Are men better wine tasters’ than women ?
If you were to walk into an upscale restaurant 15 years ago and asked to speak to the sommelier, the individual arriving at your table would have likely conformed to a familiar stereotype – an older gentleman with a big knotted tie, a pin on his lapel and a tastevin around his neck, pontificating about which pricey Margaux vintage to pair with your filet.
Now, enter that same restaurant today, and chances are the person bearing the wine list will be in his 20s or 30s. Rather than wearing a suit, he might be dressed in black jeans and a cotton shirt – and your sommelier is also far less likely to be a “he” at all.
The hospitality industry has changed in the decade, with the advent of ‘casual’ dining and fashionable cultural dining styles such as ‘share plates’ and restaurants opting for turning tables compared to a longer, and more expensive service; however it is still the case that there are more male Master Sommeliers in the world, than women.
Which naturally leads to the question – do men and women taste wine differently?
In recent years, women have succeeded in breaking down the entry barriers to this traditionally male-dominated industry, shattering its old boys’ club image and infusing the ranks with trailblazing female sommeliers. There have also been numerous studies which seek to address the controversial question – Are women better at tasting wine than men? And while there is some studies that support this. The more extensive evidence suggests – there is no different between men and women’s taste.
What is true.
What does have more conclusive evidence in its claims, is that individual wine palate, and taste buds – are dependent on an individuals’ past experience.
Generally, the more you drink of say Chardonnay, you will taste Chardonnay differently to someone who’s only experienced drinking that grape for say, the fifth time. If you love Chardonnay like us, you probably have a clear understanding of new world va old world; can taste the oak in the first sip and may be able to tell what kind of flavours are distinctly coming through, such as lemon and honeydew melon, compared to someone who might take longer or protest they taste like and papaya.
So when comparing palates between different individuals, try and think. What does this person drink a lot of?
The world would be boring if we were all the same.
It’s okay to be different.
