Let's start off with the basics.
An appellation is simply a legally defined area of land where grapes are grown for making wine.
It may also be referred to as a classification system.
Appellations are used all over the world for wine production from France as AOC's to the AVA's of the United States.
Some appellations date back from millennia with a number of biblical references to wines from specific areas.
But the first legally defined appellation was actually Chianti in Italy defined in the early 18th century.
Although France has some of the most famous appellations in the world,
they were only legally defined in the 1900s in order to control the booming counterfeit trade in French fine wines,
a new division of the French Ministry of Agriculture was created in 1935.
This formally established and regulated all of the appellations and winemaking practices within the country.
These laws controlled everything from grape to glass even down to the type of cork used for bottling the wine to guarantee authenticity.
These appellation laws are still fundamental to wine production in France today.
So we sent Diego to meet Sophie Kutten the international brand ambassador for Charles Heidsieck to find out more about the appellation of champagne.
Champagne region represent only 10% of the total sparkling in the world.
We have 35,000 hectares for the appellation Champagne,
and 325 Cru's, villages. So it makes the champagne appellation very precious
Champagne is one of the most famous and fiercely protected appellations in the world
Lots of rules govern how a champagne can be made such as only certain grapes can be used to produce it.
The main three being: Pinot Noir
Chardonnay
And Pinot Meunier
In Champagne all grapes must be hand-picked, an 18th century tradition that's become a legal requirement for Champagne production.
The charismatic and legendary winemaker Phillippe Brun explained how these rules to govern his winemaking.
Basically you have grapes,
3 variety of grapes, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Chardonnay
We press very slowly to extract white juice from black grapes. And after we make fermenting by provoking a second fermentation.
Inside are the bubbles; carbon dioxide can't escape and wine becomes fizzy.
Simple
Easy
Not so easy. There are some other tricks.
And while champagne may just have one appellation,
Burgundy has a staggering 84.
As Cheba discovered when he spoke to Pierre Rovani, the president of renowned Burgundy negociant, Remoissenet.
Burgundy is divided
Into a hierarchy the French love hierarchies, and to understand the hierarchy of Burgundy
you kind of have to imagine a pyramid.
The bottom 80% of the pyramid is what they call the regional wines.
Then you have 12% which are considered to be village wines.
Then you have the Permier Cru's, the first growths, and that makes up 7%.
And at the very very top of the pyramid, you have 1% and you have the tiny tip of the pyramid and those are the Grand Cru.
Although there are numerous appellations in Burgundy. Some of the rules are relatively simple
Only a handful of grape varieties are permitted predominantly Chardonnay for whites and Pinot Noir for reds;
which makes it even more important to know the differences between appellations such as how the soil, climate and topography
collectively known as terroir affects the grapes and ultimately the taste of the wine.
In Chablis, we have a large diversity with facing with slope and
Each part of Chablis can give a different wine.
Stephanie on the other hand discovered that in Bordeaux
there are only a handful of important appellations to remember from the
57 in the region which are all grouped into either the right bank or left bank.
These banks refer to the appellations either side of the river Garonne which runs through the heart of Bordeaux city.
With the two different banks known for producing different styles of wine.
Stephanie met with Stanislas Boissarie, director of Bordeaux negociant, Horeau-Beylot, to understand a bit about the
classifications used for Bordeaux right bank.
Tell me a little bit about that the classifications. How how did they work?
How should I navigate? It seemed quite complicated.
Yes on the right bank, we have two appellations, Saint-Emilion and Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, you know,
And with Saint-Emilion Grand Cru we have Classe A and Grand Cru Classe B.
In Grand Cru Classe A, we have Angelus, Pavie, Cheval Blanc, Ausone.
And Grand Cru Classe B, we have 14 different chateaux.
Okay, so the classification is important, but it isn't everything? Yes.
So the most important is to try the wine and to know the wine every year.
The individual appellation systems of Champaign, Burgundy, and Bordeaux may seem confusing at first,
but we will go into much more depth on these in later videos to clearly explain how they work and how they
Influence the wine that is produced.
The key thing to remember is that appellations laws are the foundation for many wine producing countries around the world and
legally protecting these areas and the wine making processes of reputation of each and every bottle is
critical to maintaining the quality of the wine that is produced.
Appellations can be an excellent way to discover new wines
Although no one can be expected to remember the thousands of different appellations around the world.
Whenever you find a wine that you like, make a note of the appellation as this will give you a great starting point for finding similar wines that you'll love.