214 THE ADVOCATE
VOL. 80 PART 2 MARCH 2022
It is the same with winemaking. Centuries ago, grape-growers and winemakers
in different regions of Europe experimented with different varieties
of grapes and styles of wines before settling on those that worked for those
regions. Then custom, followed by regulation, took over, dictating the grapes
and styles of the wines of those regions. Principle became precedent.
Classic are the examples found in France. Most famous is red Bordeaux,
which by tradition and later by law requires a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon,
Merlot, Cabernet Franc and sometimes Malbec and Petit Verdot. The proportions
and to a small degree the grapes used are up to the winemaker, but
on the Left Bank in Médoc, it must be primarily Cabernet Sauvignon, and
on the Right Bank in areas like St. Émilion and Pomerol, it must be mostly
Merlot. A white Bordeaux must be a blend of Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc
and often Muscadelle (a type of Muscat).
Rhône wines, such as Côtes du Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Hermitage
and Gigondas, all largely depend on Syrah, usually blended with Grenache,
Mourvèdre, Cinsault and sometimes a bit of Viognier. Selection is limited to
the approved grape varieties.
Burgundy, the Loire and Alsace do produce single varietals, but often
without telling you. A red Burgundy is Pinot Noir. A white Burgundy is
Chardonnay. A red Beaujolais is Gamay Noir. Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé
are Sauvignon Blanc, while Vouvray and Anjou are Chenin Blanc, and Chinon
is Cabernet Franc. To the French, the grape is not a secret; it is just an
ingredient, one of the means to the end—the wine—and the end gets the
name.
All these regions have grown these same grapes for centuries, and usually
the name of the region is reserved for the appropriate grape or blend of
grapes. You will find no Merlot in a Burgundy and no Syrah in a Champagne.
Some things are just not done, even by the French.
Similar doctrinal attitudes developed in Italy, Spain and Germany, again
reinforced in time by regulatory law. Germany produces its Rieslings under
stringent controls, based largely on residual sugar content, which are byzantine
in their complexity. To quote literary lion and wine lover Sir Kingsley
Amis, “A German wine label is one of the things life’s too short for, a daunting
testimony to that peculiar nation’s love of detail and organization”.
In Italy, Chianti must come from Tuscany, Amarone from the Valpolicella
region of Veneto, and Barolo and Barbaresco from Piedmont, and the
grape varieties for each are fixed by law—mostly Sangiovese for Chianti and
mostly Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella for Amarone; solely Nebbiolo
for Barolo and Barbaresco. They follow long-established production rules,
most notably the Appassimento method for Amarone.1