Wine Culture

In Part I of this series, Wines of Burgundy's Beaujolais Wine Region: Quality You Might Not Expect , I discussed the history of Beaujolais and Beaujolais Nouveau wines. In Part II, I will continue that discussion, but more importantly, review the individual terroir and the producers of some very fine age worthy wines.

This is Part One of a Two Part Series on Beaujolais Beaujolais is one of the most misunderstood wines in all of France. Most people know Beaujolais Nouveau as the “grape drink” masquerading as wine that is released every November to much fanfare. There is another side as well. Beaujolais can be a complex wine capable of improving in a cellar and even the best producers can be purchased for reasonable pricing. Beaujolais is a wine that every wine lover should get to know.

The Margaret River area is one of Australia's best-known wine regions. Although Margaret River produces only about three percent of Australia's wines, the region's wine producers make about 20 percent of Australia's "premium market" wines, according to the Margaret River Wine Association.

If Canada doesn’t scream wine to anyone, that idea might be forgiven. But if the Okanagan Valley isn’t on your list of wine places to visit, you’re sorely missing the proverbial boat. When one thinks of world-class wine the short list is easy: Names like Napa, Bordeaux, Piedmont, Rioja, Mosel, among others. Canada it seems, is better left to hockey and maple syrup. You might be embarrassed how wrong you can be.

Valencia's association with wine and the wine trade dates back to Neolithic times. Excavations of ancient gravesites have helped archaeologists document this tradition of grape cultivation. Certainly Valencia's long history as a prominent port city has bolstered its connections to winemaking and wine exports. Today, Valencia is Spain's third-largest city and biggest wine export center; its exporters send products from the Valencia DO to markets around the world.

The Azores, Portugal's Atlantic archipelago, are remote, to say the least. This group of islands is located about 950 miles west of Lisbon, Portugal's capital, smack in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The Azores were uninhabited when Portuguese explorers began to settle them in 1439. Today, the Azores still belong to Portugal, and the archipelago makes up one of the country's two autonomous regions.

Ribatejo is named for the banks of the Tejo (Tagus) River, which divides this wine region from northeast to southwest. This part of Portugal is known not only for wine but also for Lusitano horses and for Mertolengo cattle, both raised for use in Portuguese-style bullfighting. Ribatejo is Portugal's second-largest wine region, but the DO as a whole is still struggling to forge an identity.

Ribera del Guadiana is one of Spain's newest wine regions. The Extremadura area, which borders Portugal, Andalucía, Castilla-La Mancha and Castilla y León, has a long history of winemaking. The area's only DO, Ribera del Guadiana, was not established until 1997, when Extremadura's six Vino de la Tierra regions were combined. Ribera del Guadiana's diverse terroirs and large list of approved grape varieties have given the region's winemakers a lot to work with. The resulting wines vary greatly in style and quality, but Ribera del Guadiana's winemakers have established a significant goal, to make high-quality wines in the modern style that reflect the uniqueness of Extremadura.

When one thinks of wine producing regions, seldom is Lebanon at the top of the list. Yet, few places in the world have a longer tradition of winemaking. Wine has been made in Lebanon for at least 5,000 years since the Phoenicians domesticated grapes. Lebanon was, of course, part of the biblical land of Canaan. Jesus changed water into wine there at the wedding of Cana.