Going on a last minute trip to the La Rochelle area (of France, that is) tomorrow for a couple of days. Any recs for Vin de Pays (or other, but I think that's all that there is there) not to be missed? Quick trip with Adele and the kids, so long detours (e.g. Bordeaux or Nantes) are not on.
TIA
-E
Emery, don't forget that is Cognac count(r)y, so most wines from that area are specifically produced to be distilled afterwards. So don't expect to come across great local wines, but if you are into spirits, there should be some interesting smaller Cognac houses to explore...
Regards
Yves
Yes, cognac is made almost entirely from Trebbiano grapes picked early (for some reason, distilling requires wine with high acidity, anyone know why?).
Mike
Mike Tommasi, Six Fours, France email link
Fascinating question, Mike. I would hazard a guess that its another facet of the observation that more highly acidic wines tend to age better (within limits, of course). I suspect that the high acidity helps protect the wine from extreme maderization during the distillation process by partially suppressing oxidation. (Acids slow the oxidation of the phenolics in wine by keeping the phenols protonated).
Just my (somewhat educated) guess, Mark Lipton
Makes sense Mark. Avoids having to add lemon juice ;-)))
Mike
Mike Tommasi, Six Fours, France email link
] Emery, ] don't forget that is Cognac count(r)y, so most wines from that area are ] specifically produced to be distilled afterwards. So don't expect to come ] across great local wines, but if you are into spirits, there should be some ] interesting smaller Cognac houses to explore... ] ] Regards ] ] Yves ] []
Thanks Yves. I did know, but figured, why not ask? Anyway, just back, had some pretty bad local plonk, but a nice Menetou-Salon on the very lovely Ile de Re. And some nice beach time, to boot.
cheers,
-E
Mike, according to my sources (Gert von Paczensky: Cognac) the dominating grape is Ugni blanc, followed by Colombard and Folle blanche. The wine made from Ugni is extremely dry (less than 1 gr of residual sugar), with 8-10 % alc. Still this does not answer your question about the acidity required to produce cognac...
REgards
Yves
Hi Yves
Mark answered the acidity question, it prevents oxidation.
About Colombard and Folle Blanche, they are less than 4% of the grapes used in Cognac
Mike
Mike Tommasi, Six Fours, France email link
Ugni blanc is Trebbiano, btw.
M.
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