This is What I Wish More People Knew About These 5 Famous French Wine Regions

As a Sommelier who’s sold more than her fair share of them all

Image courtesy of author. Dawn in Beaujolais

The thing about famous wine regions is that it’s easy to think we know things about them. Like Sancerre makes wines from Sauvignon Blanc, or Beaujolais is only good for cheap young wine.

But much like famous people, what we think we know about them isn’t always who they really are.

Nowhere is this more obvious than in France, which has one of the most famous yet complex wine cultures in the world. A place where it’s very tempting to oversimplify.

That makes it a place full of surprises, like these…

Beaujolais isn’t just nouveau

Many people think Beaujolais as synonymous with cheap, young wine called Beaujolais Nouveau.

Beaujolais Nouveau is certainly a thing, where wineries rush to release the first wines of the year on the third Thursday of every November. Fun, yes (Nouveau parties are legendary), but the tradition has done some damage to Beaujolais’ reputation, reducing it in many people’s minds to an unserious wine region.

Yet Beaujolais can make some of the most beguiling, complex and age-worthy red wines in the world. Not only that but it is the birthplace of the Gang of Four — winemakers widely credited as responsible for the resurgence of natural wine.

Their influence has spawned scores of winemakers focused on making energetic, interesting wines that truly reflect the region and the native Gamay grape. There is nothing simple or boring about that.

A practical tip: to find the good stuff means knowing who is making it. My favourite Beaujolais producers include:

• Jean Foillard (Gang of Four)
• Matthieu and Camille Lapierre (kids of the original Gang of Four member, Marcel Lapierre)
• Guy Breton (Gang of Four)
• Jean-Marc Burgaud
• Yann Bertand
• Jean-Louis Dutraive

Saint-Joseph, where bigger isn’t always better

Saint-Joseph in the Northern Rhône was my first foray into next-level wine, thanks to my parents-in-law’s love for it. Barefoot White Zinfandel’s biggest fan — aka 20-year-old me — had her mind blown when they poured a bottle of Saint-Jo.

Saint-Joseph however, has a tricky reputation. Some see it as a little bit fancy, thanks to its proximity to famous Northern Rhône names like Hermitage, Cornas and Côte-Rôtie, all of which also make stunning red wines from the Syrah grape.

But in the 1960s and 1970s, Saint-Joseph underwent a massive expansion project, incorporating lesser quality areas, which had the unfortunate — but inevitable — result of lowering the quality of the region.

Not all Saint-Joseph is the same. Much like Beaujolais, you’ve got to know where the good stuff is made, and by whom.

Village names matter here. The best Saint-Josephs are made in the pre-expansion sites. The big hitter is Mauves, where you’ll find some of the most prestigious Saint-Joseph winemakers. My favourites — in Mauves and outside — include:

• Pierre Gonon (Mauves)
• Jean-Louis Chave (Mauves)
• Lionel Faury
• François Villard
• Jean-Baptiste Souillard

Not a sweet wine in sight in Muscadet

One of the most widely held wine misconceptions is that Muscadet is sweet.

It’s a weird one, honestly, because all Muscadet is bone-dry, intensely mineral and shockingly fresh by law (Muscadet can only include the bare minimum of residual sugar).

The problem is that Muscadet sounds an awful lot like sweet wines Muscat, Moscato and Moscatel. Grape varieties that share no resemblance with Muscadet, which is made from Melon de Bourgogne.

This, amongst other regions, means that Muscsadet is still an incredibly good value wine, especially if you like names like Chablis, Sancerre or Albariño. Whilst there are wishy-washy, boring examples, it’s hard to spend much, even on the best examples.

Examples including wines from:

• Domaine L’Ecu
• Jerome Bretaudeau
• Domaine de la Pepière
• Luneau Papin

Red Sancerre? It exists…

One of the best-selling white wines back in my wine store and bar days, Sancerre in France’s northern Loire Valley is famous for its Sauvignon Blanc.

White Sancerre can be truly wonderful, but I wish more people knew that Sancerre also produces excellent rosés and reds.

Made with Pinot Noir, we’re talking light, fresh, energetic wines that are almost unheard of outside the region. Try:

• Domaine Vacheron (for red)
• Claude Riffault (for red)
• Francois Cotat (for rosé)

The hidden gem of Alsace

To be fair, Alsace only just qualifies as a famous region. It’s not a place with much recognition in the wider world.

In the wine trade however, Alsace is a bit of a hidden gem, with good reason; it’s fascinating.

Not only does it have almost every soil type you can think of (wine geeks love different soil types), it also grows a big selection of some of the world’s most notable grape varieties, including Pinot Noir, Riesling, and Pinot Gris. Even better, this is an ancient region, meaning Alsacians have had plenty of time to figure out exactly which soil type matches each variety.

That means off-the-scale quality.

The whites in particular are super age-worthy, and because this region is not yet fully discovered, prices can be great. Names to look out for include:

• Albert Mann
• Domaine Weinbach
• Trimbach
• Zind-Humbrecht

Now I think about it perhaps I don’t want this region to be found…

[embed]Video courtesy of author