{"id":7941,"date":"2020-11-21T02:43:45","date_gmt":"2020-11-21T08:43:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thecorkscrewconcierge.com\/?p=7941"},"modified":"2020-11-25T08:03:16","modified_gmt":"2020-11-25T14:03:16","slug":"golden-bordeaux-cajun-creole-cuisine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thecorkscrewconcierge.com\/2020\/11\/golden-bordeaux-cajun-creole-cuisine\/","title":{"rendered":"Golden Bordeaux Delights in Louisiana\u2019s Cajun and Creole Cuisine – #Winophiles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As luck would have it, I was able to participate in dual sweet Bordeaux tastings in the last couple of weeks. One was part of an interactive Zoom tasting and info session led by the amazing Yannick Benjamin. Shoutout to A Life Well Drunk<\/strong><\/a> for the invite! The other was part of my November French #Winophiles Twitter chat that happens the 3rd<\/sup> Saturday of each month. After really being exposed<\/span><\/strong><\/a> to these wines a couple of years ago from the folks at Snooth Media, I didn\u2019t hesitate at the chance to drink and pair them again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now I know some of the sweet wine haters will instantly try to dismiss me but hear me out. And honestly, given the levels of sugar consumption by folks around the world (really looking at you America!) I\u2019m always baffled when people staunchly insist that they will not drink sweet wines. I\u2019ve hosted tastings as well as wine and food pairing events and have had people just flat out refuse to even try any of the sweet wines. Like seriously?! And I always wonder if these are the same folks that drink an over-extracted, overly fruity red wine with more residual sugar than they even know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OK, so I\u2019m not trying to make folks feel bad about what they like (well, maybe a little). But I do ask folks to be open-minded. Particularly if your reason for not drinking sweet wines is that you think you\u2019ll be perceived as an unsophisticated wine drinker. Give these wines a chance as part of a savory meal, rather than dessert, and you might be pleasantly surprised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Some Background<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What is Sweet Golden Bordeaux?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Sweet Bordeaux, or \u201cGolden Bordeaux\u201d as some like to refer to it, refers to the sweet wines from the appellations south of the city of Bordeaux whose grapes are cultivated along the Garonne river. These wines get their sweetness from a fungus called \u201cnoble rot\u201d or botrytis cinerea. Yes, the French even know how to make great things out of fungus!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The moist conditions along the Garonne river is ideal for the creation of botrytis. Continuous days of morning mist followed by afternoon sunshine creates the favorable humid conditions for the fungus to form. The fungus attacks the grapes which eventually causes them to dry out and shrivel up and become raisined. The resulting juice is rich and complex. And concentrated. It takes an entire vine to create a single glass of wine.  These wines are also quite labor intensive to make. The entire winemaking process is manual and requires producers to make multiple passes through the vineyards and literally harvest cluster by cluster and grape by grape. Golden Bordeaux is very much a labor of love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Grapes<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Golden Bordeaux wines are made with Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscadelle. Semillon, with its thin-skin and tight clusters, which creates a favorable environment for botrytis, is the most critical of the three. Sauvignon Blanc provides the wines with acid backbone and freshness, while Muscadelle (which isn\u2019t as widely used) provides floral aromatics. Typical blends feature around 80% Semillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Botrytis Affected Grapes<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Sweet Bordeaux Designations<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

When we step away from the red wines of the region and think about Bordeaux\u2019s sweet wines, most  instantly think of Sauternes or Barsac. But there is so much more to the region\u2019s sweet wines than these two regions. Outside of Sauternes and Barsac, there are 8 sweet Bordeaux designations that are absolutely worth checking out. The wines from these regions tend to be much more affordable (most come in between $20-40) as well as offer great drinking accessibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Premi\u00e8res C\u00f4tes de Bordeaux<\/strong> \u2013 With clay and limestone soils, the wines from the region are fresh, floral, and fruity and tend to show their best when drunk within the first few years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

C\u00e9rons<\/strong> \u2013 Named after the river tributary, the wine are highly complex and tend to be more full-bodied and structured than some of the other regions. The use of new French oak preferred by many of the winemakers in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cadillac<\/strong> \u2013 The region has a complex soil composition of gravel and chalk which leads to wines that are sharp and angular with high levels of acidity. Additionally these are wines that can age nicely. Some of wines can rival Sauternes, but at a fraction of the price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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