And without further ado, Loire Valley. Ok, no lie, we were holding off on writing about the Loire for as long as possible. What direction should we go? How should we present the information? What is the best way to simplify such diversity? This is not an easy…
Understanding AOC: Loire Valley
Understanding AOC: Provence
Provence AOC (or Provençal wine) comes to us from the southeastern area of France along the Mediterranean Sea – an area with a winegrowing history dating back to the Greeks some 2,600 years ago. While the region is known the world over for Rosé wines, whites and reds…
Understanding AOC: Alsace
The Alsace AOC of France makes it easy to figure out what is in the bottle (for the most part…more on that later in the post). As we mentioned a few times earlier in this series, the Alsace AOC is the only region that labels varietal wines. As…
Understanding AOC: Côtes du Rhône
Cotes du Rhone, France. Now that the big 3 of France are out of the way, it is time to begin exploring the other fine regions of the wine capital of the world. In this post we will be looking at getting a better understanding of what is…
Understanding AOC: Burgundy
Ok, it’s officially the theme for this series. You’ve heard of Burgundy, so we will skip over that part. But as with all facets of the Understanding AOC writings, what is in the bottle!? If it is a red wine, it is Pinot Noir. If it is a…
Understanding AOC: Champagne
We feel like there might be a theme building here with the Understanding AOC series, but we will skip over the introductions to Champagne as the most widely recognized sparkling wine in the world. At one point in time the wine was in danger of losing its signature…
Happy Maryland Wine Month!
The state of Maryland has documented winemaking beginning as far back as 1648, but sadly it wasn’t until almost 300 years later in 1945 when the state had its first winery open. The state of Maryland has 3 recognized AVAs & 4 distinct growing regions: Linganore AVA –…
Understanding AOC: Bordeaux
We’re going to go out on a limb here and assume you have heard of Bordeaux before and skip the whole “one of the most recognizable wine regions in the world” speil and get down to the real reason we are talking about it – what is in…
Understanding AOC: The AOC
When you buy a bottle of Champagne, Bordeaux, Burgundy, or any other French wine, there is a governing body that oversees the labeling and production standards to guarantee the finest provenance for the labeled product. That body is the Appellation d’origine contrôlée, or more simply, the AOC. The…
