The White Wine You've Ignored For Far Too Long

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People often ask me to point them in the direction of a great Bordeaux wine, but when they hear this particular answer, they are often perplexed. "Bordeaux doesn't produce white wine, only red!" they typically exclaim. However, this statement couldn't be further from the truth. For, breathing deep beneath the soils of Bordeaux, is a history and tradition that has lived for centuries, its heart still beating within the vines.

Yes, Bordeaux is home to some of the best reds in the world, but, it is also home to some of the planet's finest dry white wines too - and it's about time you discovered them.

It all started in the 17th century when white wines were produced in Bordeaux and sent over to Holland where they would be turned into spirits. We all know Sauvignon Blanc as being the most popular and most planted white grape variety in the world, but did you know its origins are said to have come from Bordeaux? Well, you do now. It might also interest you to know that Sauvignon Blanc is in fact older than Cabernet Sauvignon, too.

As production methods continued to improve over the centuries, less of this juice was being used for bulk exports to make other products and, by the 1860's, prior to the phylloxera crisis (you know, that virus that pretty much wiped out the vast majority of Europe's vineyards), it was incredibly common for most wineries to be producing multiple varieties of white grapes.

In fact, a lot of them were "field blends", which basically means they had no idea which grapes were which, but they tasted good and that's all that matters.

Like most of the continent, their wine empire was re-born after the phylloxera plague, bouncing back with, not only a vaster variety of grapes, but stronger, more resistant vines.

By Aidy Smith February 14, 2020 Source and complete article: Independent.co.uk