I’ll bet at some point in your life a French wine stole your heart. It seems to often steel hearts worldwide including mine. In fact, I do love French wine.
Not to say I’m less fond of wines from other countries. Reds, whites, and bubbles from all over the world lasso me. But this month, a month of love and valentines, romance and foods that go with all of the above I’m choosing France.
February’s French Winophiles segment is about wines with a name or concept reminiscent of l’amour. Some members received wine samples speaking to this theme. And other members jumped in to join with their finds. In time for Valentine’s Day, we share our love of French wine, food and cooking, pairings, tips- the list goes on. If you’d like more information about the group see my invitation article.
Love You Say?!?
How many of you shared with someone that you’re going to France and the response was “Oh I’d love to go there, how romantic!” Or “I love French wine!” While the country has its share of challenges, it oozes with history and love; the four wines explored this month do too.
Four for Celebration
I can’t wait to taste these wines when back in Bordeaux later this month. In the meantime, here’s information to tempt you and links to other #winophiles articles. Be sure to scroll to the links below for producer information, recipes, and pairing tips to tempt your Valentine plans!
Maison Vidal-Fleury, Brune et Blonde 2013, 95% Syrah 5% Viognier, $72 SRP
Established in 1781, Maison Vidal-Fleury is one the oldest continuously operating wineries in the Rhone Valley with a home base in Côte Rôtie. Among their vineyards are two famous hillsides in the Northern Rhone: the Côte Blonde and Côte Brune.
The Côte Blonde faces south-east with sand, slate and limestone soils. It produces tender wines that are fruitier, and sumptuous, more so than those of the Côte Brune, which faces south and southwest. Côte Brune soils are clay and iron oxide often resulting in serious, finely strucutured and tannic wines. Locally these vineyards are referred to as women of different temperaments. When the exquisite Blonde and the bold Brune unite, you’ve got an elegant wine commanding your attention.
Both very steep, terraced vineyards, the Côte Blonde is on the left, Côte Brune to the right. Credit: Lynn Gowdy
US Distribution: Fredrick Wildman & Sons
Famille Bougrier, Pure Loire Rosé d’Anjou 2016, 50% Gamay 50% Groulleau, $13.99 SRP
The 6th generation of Famille Bougrier is leading this Loire Valley winery established in the mid 1800s. They’ve grown and modernized aspects of the business including the most recent square bottle for this particular wine. Reading reviews from fellow #winophiles I describe it as a frolicky fruity wine possessing fabulous acidic structure that balances a small amount of residual sugar.
US Distribution: Total Wine
Vignerons de Bel Air, Saint Amour 2016, Beaujolais Cru, 100% Gamay, $18.99 SRP
The Chai (winery) of Vignerons de Bel Air. Lavender grows beautifully in Beaujolais too! Credit: Cave de Bel Air
This group of Vignerons was launched in 1929, the result of men coming together during difficult times. You can read more about them in Beaujolais Beyond Nouveau.
Saint Amour is one of the ten Cru of Beaujolais generally with a lighter, fruity, playful style. Bel Air produces their version from hand-picked grapes and using the semi-carbonic maceration process common in Beaujolais. The story behind the name is historical having nothing to do with love. But how can you not be tempted to give a wine named love to a sweetie!
Martin of the ENOFYLZ blog shares this wine paired with Paella in Instagram http://enofylzwineblog.com/
Domaine Jean Perrier & Fils, Apremont Gastronomie Fleur de Jacquère 2017, 100% Jacquère, SRP $13
Domaine Perrier et Fils produces their Cuvee Gastronomie from the lovely Jacquère grape. Credit: Lauren Walsh https://theswirlingdervish.com/
Located in the Savoie region just south of the Swiss border, this is a floral, fruity and crisp alpine wine from another family going way back: the 7th generation is now at the helm!
Apremont is one of 16 cru within the Vin de Savoie AOP primarily growing Jacquère which is thought to be of French origin. And this is one of several indigenous varieties that grow in Savoie. Being a gal who likes off-the-beaten-path things, I love that the Domaine is dedicated to native grape preservation!
Such a pretty label, how could you not resist grabbing this wine for a romantic meal?!?
Here’s a compilation of French #Winophiles articles that’ll go live over the next few days:
Camillia at Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares “L’Amour dans une Bouteille ou Quatre”
Susannah Gold from Avvinare tells us about “Love in the Rhone Valley”
L.M. Archer at binNotes shares “The Hedonistic Taster | № 36 | #Winophiles + Love: L’Amour du Patrimoine”
Jeff at Food, Wine, Click! gives us “French Wines for ‘His’ and ‘Hers’ Valentines”
Jill from L’Occasion takes us on a sensory route “Tasting Romance: French Wine and the Senses”
Michelle of Rocking Red Blog helps us “Celebrate La Saint-Valentin with French Wine”
David of Cooking Chat dishes up “French Wine Picks and Pairings for Valentine’s Day” and “Beef Stew with Root Vegetables and Côte-Rôtie Wine”
Lauren from The Swirling Dervish shares “How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Wines”
Liz from What’s in that Bottle pairs “Celebrate Galentine’s Day with French Wines & Fondue”
Gwen at Wine Predator shares “Sweethearts: French Wines and Pizza”
Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm shows us how to “Spice up your Love Life with Shrimp Etouffee”
Nicole from Somm’s Table shares “Cooking to the Wine: Domaine Chardigny Saint-Amour with Roasted Salmon and a little Romance”
Martin from ENOFYLZ Wine Blog tells us about “Celebrating L’Amour Du Vin With French Wine At The Table”
Rupal of Journeys of a Syrah Queen swirls up “Valentine’s Day Romance with French Wines”
Jane at Always Ravenous asks “Why Does French Food and Wine Taste So Good? Love!”
And here at Savor the Harvest, I share “L’Amour du vin”
JOIN US ON TWITTER THIS SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17TH (8AM PACIFIC / 17h IN FRANCE) FOR A LIVE CHAT! BE SURE TO USE THE HASHTAG #Winophiles TO FIND US (and be sure to use it in your comments and/or questions).
Photo Credit: Jane Niemeyer https://alwaysravenous.com/
I can relate to actually being the one who says “I’d love to go to France, it seems so romantic”, etc. Ha, ha! Perhaps I’ll go someday but in the meantime, I’ll enjoy reading about these wines good for a Valentine’s, or any celebration with a, or loved ones. Thanks for a fun primer 😉
I hope you get to visit France Martha, thank you for stopping by!
A fun tidbit about the Côte Blonde and Côte Brune vineyards in the northern Rhone. I’ll put that in my back pocket to share with friends. I haven’t had Jacquère before but the description, and reading through a few of the other posts you linked to at the bottom of your post, I know I need to try it ASAP! I live in California, do you know where I can get it? The others have some great recipes, especially like the poke bowl at Rocking Red Blog.
Yes, that will be a fun item to whip out at wine gatherings John! And the Jacquère- I haven’t tasted it yet but like you, I can’t wait to do so. The distributor in California is Grape Expectations, here is their link: http://grapex.com/state/CA
And please stop back, I’d love to hear how you like the wine!
You have quite a treat waiting for you inside these four bottles in Bordeaux. I found each wine unique and outstanding. Thank you so much Lynn. I am unaware who sent them to us but I am very thankful.
Guy Sarton du Jonchay, Manager and winemaker of the Maison Vidal-Fleury was happy to send the famous Côte-Rôtie Brune & BLONDE,
Gilles Perrier from Domaine Perrier in the impressive Savoie landscapes sent FLEUR de Jacquère
Philippe Marx from Cave de Bel Air in the charming Beaujolais sent the Cru Saint-AMOUR
… and Nicolas Bougrier from the famous Loire Valley sent Rosé d’Anjou nicely named PURE Loire in a square bottle !
To me these names Blonde, Fleur, Amour and Pure all have a link with Saint Valentin…
Michèle
Wonderful. Thank you so much. Each of the wines are really lovely. I enjoyed them very much.
An eclectic variety, it was a fun month. Glad you were able to join this month Michelle!
What a great bunch of wines! All very different from each other, all decidedly delicious. Thanks again, Lynn, for arranging the samples for the group. It was such fun to play with the pairings, taste, and compare. Cheers!
Great feedback Lauren, I know the wineries will be pleased!
I agree about France and French wine being so closely associated with love! Great photos here, from your travels? I like the description of the Blonde et Brune too, explains why that wine is so good!
Some of the photos are from trips, the Côte Blonde and Côte Brune vineyards is from one. Thanks for your comment David!
Thank you Lynn for coordinating the samples for our L’amour wine theme. We had a beautiful dinner celebrating my mother’s 85th Valentine Birthday and sharing the wines with family and friends!
Ouuu, I love to share wines with family and friends! Glad you go to do so spending time with your mom ;-D
Lynn, thanks for connecting us to such a great group of wineries! And lucky for me, even the side trip through customs and FDA didn’t delay the wines from arriving!
Living in Bordeaux now, I understand how customs is an interesting animal to deal with… glad the wines made it to you Jeff!
Such a fun and unique group of wines. Enjoyable year round. Thank you for a wonderful month of exploring Love and French Wine. Greatly appreciate your efforts and coordination.
This is a such a fun trip around France in 4 bottles. I definitely find myself saying “Oh I’d love to go there, how romantic!” Would love to go back!
Each wine is a lovely surprise! Two new grapes for me too! Thank you for organizing!
And thanks for stopping by Gwen. I read about your savory and sweet pizza pairings!