Wine on the Radio - January 27, 2005

Appellations

We asked Patrick Fegan of the Chicago Wine School to talk Appellations.

"Many Wine producing countries have evolved methods to identify growing areas.

They have carefully defined pieces of geography and rules for grape growing.

You can use knowledge of the appellation system for a country to get a handle on wine quality.  

Here's how France does it.

Think of a funnel.

The top is wide like the broadest geographic growing area of the region. This portion represents   wines simply labeled, for instance,   Bordeaux.

Further down the funnel are the districts and you'll see names like Haut-Médoc or Médoc.

We narrow in to the specific village or commune and it's prominently named on the label like "Pauillac" or "Margaux".

In Burgundy, they go even further and use the names of individual vineyards like "Montrachet" or "Chambertin".

As you move through the funnel you find tighter controls, more limited production, more complexity - and pricier - wine."

Pop the cork.

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