Salut!: Bienvenue to France for 2020 Vancouver International Wine Festival
Credit to Author: agismondi| Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2020 19:00:26 +0000
When: Feb 22 to March 1
Tickets and info:vanwinefest.ca
The French are back to headline the 42nd Vancouver International Wine Festival.
They no longer dominate the import market as they did in the 1980s and 90s, but rising tariffs and taxes in the United States and even more uncertainty in China suggest they may be happy to pay more attention to the Canadian market after years of neglect. If ever there was a chance for distributors and buyers to strike for French wines that have disappeared from the mainstream market, now is the time.
Current turmoil and the ever-persistent increase in competition globally aside, there is no denying French wine has the cachet and the selection to continue to attract consumer attention, not to mention owning some of the most notable addresses in the wine business.
Names like Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, the Rhone, Loire and Languedoc have withstood the test of time, and many have been adopted for better or worse by the rest of the wine world to describe their wines. Terms like Burgundian style, Bordeaux blend, and even Champagne-style instead of merely sparkling wine have subliminally kept the French in the game even in places where they have little market presence.
What you will discover this week about France versus the rest of the world is that the only difference these days is one of style.
While it may be a bit too simplistic to say, New World wines are richer, riper and typically more alcoholic on the palate; it is no less accurate (or naive) to claim that French wines tend to be leaner in structure, bear more acid, firmer tannins and in most cases, are often crafted to accompany food.
In that spirit, we explore the New World versus Old World challenge as it pertains to four principal grape varieties you will find inside the International Tasting Room, adding some tasting room picks you can check out yourself.
In the end, wine’s biggest ally is the curiosity of consumers. That should make it a lot easier for Old World producers like France to re-establish itself in British Columbia this week, because it seems everyone here remains curious about wine.
Vineyard in Chinon, Loire Valley, France.
Sauvignon Blanc tasted outside of France is repeatedly described as being Sancerre or Pouilly Fume-like.
The challenge is many consumers are simply unaware that the fresh, mineral, crisp flavours of Sancerre, Pouilly Fume, Touraine are linked to Sauvignon Blanc because under French appellation law producers emphasize the origin (Sancerre or Loire) and not grape variety.
In the New World, the best examples mimic the Loire-style offering smoky, mineral, pear and green apple flavours, leaner structure and higher acidity. Some of the best examples are coming out of Casablanca, Leyda and Limari in Chile; Marlborough in New Zealand; Constantia/Coastal Region of South Africa; and British Columbia’s Similkameen Valley.
Food brings both styles closer together. Clams, green lip mussels, goat’s cheese, pasta and chicken salads rule the New World, while chèvre, any fish in sorrel sauce, onion tarts and mussels would be the French equivalent.
New World: Clos du Soleil Winery 2018 Fume Blanc, Similkameen Valley, $19
Old World:Joseph Mellot 2018 Sancerre La Chatellenie, Loire Valley, France, $40
Vineyards, near Corton in Côte de Beaune, France.
Chardonnay is the perfect vehicle for New World-Old World grape detective work.
The past decade has witnessed an enormous shift in New World Chardonnay production as the best Chardonnay vines have been pushed to the coolest, most marginal (in terms of weather) vineyard sites where acidity and fruit are intensified long before the grape gets to the winery. The result is more intensely flavoured fruit and more vibrant, mouth-watering acidity.
Sonoma Coast, Monterey and Santa Barbara lead the California transformation, while parts of New Zealand (Nelson, Central Otago and Hawke’s Bay); and Australia, (Victoria, Tasmania and Adelaide Hills) are equally as impressive.
As for the unknown but soon to be front and centre, it is Chardonnay from Canada’s Niagara Peninsula, Prince Edward County, and the Okanagan Valley.
The best of France is labelled Corton-Charlemagne, Puligny Montrachet, Chassagne Montrachet, Chablis, Macon, Côte Chalonnaise, and lately Limoux and the Jura.
The French style is evolving as well with less sulphur and a cleaner style if not necessarily fruitier. Less overt oak, more lees and bread dough characters give them a complexity edge and it makes for excellent food wines. Lobster, tuna, oysters and Caesar salad are more New World dishes, while the French prefer their Chardonnay with wild salmon, turbot, sole, oysters, white bean purée, and onion tarts.
New World:Bodega Catena Zapata 2017 Catena Alta Chardonnay, Mendoza, Argentina, $44
Old World:Maison Louis Latour 2017 Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru, Cote de Beaune, France, $255.99
Vineyards in the autumn, Burgundy, France.
Does anyone do it better than the French and, more specifically, the vignerons of Burgundy? When the French get it right, their Pinot can be mind-altering.
The challenge for consumers is a blizzard of producers that share a small number of appellations. But if Burgundy is the temple of Pinot Noir production, the rush is on globally to pull even. Central Otago, Martinborough, Canterbury, Nelson and Marlborough lead the New Zealand challenge, while Russian River, Monterey and Santa Barbara County in California and most of Oregon’s Willamette Valley lead the United States.
Look to Tasmania and Yarra Valley in Australia and Leyda and Casablanca in Chile as well as the Okanagan Valley and Cowichan Valley in British Columbia and Niagara and Prince Edward County in Ontario.
In France, Pinot Noir food matches include rabbit, Maigret de canard, pheasant and coq au vin. Closer to home, match Pinot with quail, duck, turkey, sausages and wild mushrooms.
New World:Haywire 2017 Ranch Pinot Noir, Garnet Valley, British Columbia, $35
Old World:Louis Jadot 2016 Clos des Ursules 1er Cru, Burgundy, France, $116
A vineyard in Bordeaux, France.
Cabernet Sauvignon gained its fame in the Bordeaux region of France, primarily in and about the Médoc, where it reigns supreme.
The best Cabernet has abundant but soft tannins with concentration and flavour complexity. Winemakers strive to achieve blackberry, cassis, black cherry and jam fruit flavours with black pepper and earthy spice characters.
The lighter and more modern style of Cabernet, such as those from Chile, Argentina and Australia, place more of an emphasis on fruit flavours and softer tannins. It makes them more drinkable at a young age than traditional Bordeaux or the more serious wines of California, Tuscany, Washington and lately, southern British Columbia.
The French serve it with entrecôte à la Bordelaise, woodcock in red wine sauce, or even pigeon with vegetables; while in the New World it is a T-bone or rib-eye steak, lamb or venison with a blueberry sauce.
New World:Hope Family Wines 2017 Austin Hope 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon, Paso Robles, California, $70
Old World:Chateau Lions De Batailley 2016, Pauillac, Bordeaux, France, $63
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