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Malbec
Top countries producing this wine: |
Côt, Pressac, Auxerrois — Malbec wears numerous hats throughout the wine regions of France. At one time it was grown in more than 30 French wine areas and had as many as 400 synonyms. Malbec is one of the five permitted red grapes of Bordeaux, where it is grown in small quantities and used sparingly to add structure and color to the blend. In Southwest France, Malbec is the most widely planted grape of the Cahors region. There, it garnered the reputation with the English as the “black wine” of Cahors because of its powerful tannins and inky color. While there are some plantings of Malbec in California, it is of little significance commercially; tiny percentages of Malbec can be found in some Bordeaux-styled Meritage wines. Australia, South Africa and a handful of wine regions throughout the world have dabbled with this slightly fussy grape, which is sensitive to frost and mildew, but it is in the high altitude vineyards and dry climate of Argentina that Malbec outclasses most of these other variants, including those from France. The grape thrives just about anywhere in that arid, sunny land, producing wines that are as approachable as a juicy Merlot, though they may also be as structured and long-lived as a Cabernet Sauvignon. Full-bodied and packed with blackberry, dark cherry, olive, mulberry and plum, and sometimes laced with a dash of mocha, vanilla or tobacco, Malbec is anything but a skimpy red. |
Sparkling Wine
Top producing countries: |
While most associate sparkling wine with Champagne, the French region that made it famous, effervescence in wine has been observed since the beginnings of winemaking. Greek and Roman writers made note of bubbles in their wine, and over the years the cause of the bubbles was attributed to any number of things, including the phases of the moon. The tendency for wines in Champagne to contain bubbles was originally scorned because it often caused bottles in storage to explode, sometimes leading to a chain reaction of blasts that could devastate a wine cellar. It wasn't until the 1600s, when glassblowers in England started producing stronger bottles and the use of cork stoppers was introduced, that Champagne’s sparkling characteristics became desirable. Once winemakers realized that adding sugar to wine before bottling would create a sparkling wine, their production began to spread to other countries and locations (though the name “Champagne” continues to define this class of wine in everyday parlance). Many sparkling wines and most Champagnes indicate their sweetness level on the label, ranging from the almost completely dry Brut Natural to the dessert-like Doux. The vast majority are either Brut or Extra Dry, with Extra Dry actually being less dry than Brut. Champagne is made from only three grapes — Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier — and sometimes from only one (Blanc de Blancs is all Chardonnay, Blanc de Noirs is made with all red grapes, usually just Pinot Noir). While producers in California and many regions outside of Champagne usually stick with this selection, sparklers can be made from a variety of grapes, including Moscato (used in Italy’s Asti), Chenin Blanc (included in sparklers from the Loire), and even Shiraz (in the occasional red sparkling wine from Australia), and lesser-known native grapes are used in Prosecco, Italy’s drier sparkling wine, and the Cavas of Spain. |
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