Top 100 white wines of South West - Page 10

Discover the top 100 best white wines of South West as well as the best winemakers in the region. Explore the varietals of the white wines that are popular of South West and the best vintages to taste in this region.

Discovering the wine region of South West

The South-West is a large territorial area of France, comprising the administrative regions of Aquitaine, Limousin and Midi-Pyrénées. However, as far as the French wine area is concerned, the South-West region is a little less clear-cut, as it excludes Bordeaux - a wine region so productive that it is de facto an area in its own right. The wines of the South West have a Long and eventful history. The local rivers play a key role, as they were the main trade routes to bring wines from traditional regions such as Cahors, Bergerac, Buzet and Gaillac to their markets.

The last Trading post before the wines left for the lucrative markets of Britain was the wine town and port of Bordeaux. Britain has been a historic trading partner for the region, which was nominally British for a period following the marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine to Henry II of Britain. However, Bordeaux businessmen saw the wines in transit as competition for their own local products and took strong measures to ensure their financial security. The result is the French wine map we know today, with Bordeaux being promoted and the other wine regions of the South West struggling to gain recognition for the diversity and Character of their wines.

This history also explains why the Bordeaux Grapes Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc are now three of the best-known grape varieties in the world, while traditional South West grapes such as Fer Servadou, Len de l'El and Tannat are relatively unknown.

Discover the grape variety: Cabernet franc

Cabernet Franc is one of the oldest red grape varieties in Bordeaux. The Libourne region is its terroir where it develops best. The terroirs of Saint-Emilion and Fronsac allow it to mature and develop its best range of aromas. It is also the majority in many blends. The very famous Château Cheval Blanc, for example, uses 60% Cabernet Franc. The wines produced with Cabernet Franc are medium in colour with fine tannins and subtle aromas of small red fruits and spices. When blended with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, it brings complexity and a bouquet of aromas to the wine. It produces fruity wines that can be drunk quite quickly, but whose great vintages can be kept for a long time. It is an earlier grape variety than Cabernet Sauvignon, which means that it is planted as far north as the Loire Valley. In Anjou, it is also used to make sweet rosé wines. Cabernet Franc is now used in some twenty countries in Europe and throughout the world.

Food and wine pairing with a white wine of South West

white wines from the region of South West go well with generally quite well with dishes of rich fish (salmon, tuna etc), shellfish or vegetarian such as recipes of potato and tuna gratin, chicken tagine with apricots and almonds or quiche without pastry.

Organoleptic analysis of white wine of South West

On the nose in the region of South West often reveals types of flavors of honey, earth or tree fruit and sometimes also flavors of citrus, citrus fruit or lychee.

News from the vineyard of South West

Croser & Bizot: a family vision in Wrattonbully

A scion of the Bollinger family of Champagne and a farm boy from South Australia’s Clare Valley. They might at first seem strange partners but Xavier Bizot (Terre à Terre) and his father-in-law Brian Croser (Tapanappa) could not be more intertwined. And not only by marriage. Like his late father before him (Christian Bizot, Bollinger’s sixth president), Xavier Bizot established a pioneering vineyard in South Australia’s cooler climes. Scroll down for latest releases and older vintages from Terre ...

California sustainability: latest developments and innovations

In the produce aisle of most US supermarkets, choices are clear: the organic section is to the right, or at the very least, organic items are identified on packaging or shelf-talkers. Shoppers willing to pay a few cents more per pound for broccoli grown without synthetic chemicals know where to reach. In the wine aisle? Not so much. There’s more than a bit of confusion, to date at least, with little-understood labels announcing wines are certified sustainable or made from organic grapes. Scroll ...

Jameson unveils new ‘musical direction’ with Jameson Remastered

The first release in the collection, ‘Jameson Remastered’ represents a significant shift in direction for the well-known blended Irish whiskey brand, by bringing back a single pot still whiskey to the portfolio, celebrating the spirit of classic discontinued recipes from the Jameson archives. The 15 year old single pot still (a whiskey distilled and constructed from only malted and un-malted barley, rather than being additionally blended with grain whiskey, like the flagship Jameson Original) wa ...