THE MEDOC

Are all the wines of Medoc of similar quality? By no means. The district is divided into two areas, the Haut-Medoc and the Medoc. The latter used to be called the low Medoc, but that term somehow sounded derogatory, the vignerons who had holdings there objected strongly, and they succeeded in getting the "low" eliminated. They had a right to feel sensitive, for their wines are good too; yet the best wines of the Medoc are indeed made in the Haut-Medoc section. So. narrowing down still farther, we find ourselves in the Haut-Medoc, which in turn is divided into 28 municipalities called communes. Four of  the best known of the are Margaux, Pauillac, St. Estephe and St. Julien (my personal favorite). Thus a bottle label saying appellation control, and St. Julien, pinpoints the wine as coming from one small commune in Bordeaux where red wines of almost uniformly outstanding quality are produced. There remains only the question of what specific vineyard in St. Julien grew the vine. And for the greatest wines of all, that is all-important. It is traditional in Bordeaux to refer to individual vineyards as Chateau. These Chateau's, incidentally, are not the imposing castles that you will find on the Loire River; they are generally spacious country houses, although some are little more than storage buildings in the vineyards. But whether the building be imposing or modest, the wine that many of the Medoc Chateau's put out is glorious. The owners guard the reputation of their labels jealously-some of them to the point of refusing to put their name on any wine at all if the year should be a bad one; then they sell their whole crop anonymously to a shipper to be blended. This happens rarely. There are a great many Chateaus in Medoc alone, and to settle some the confusion, a committee of Bordeaux wine brokers sat down in 1855 to divide them into five classes. The system is a simple numerical one. The top grade, for example is Premier Cru, which translates literally as "First Growth" but really means "vineyard of the top class."  When someone refers to Chateau Calon-Segur as a third-growth Medoc, which it is, he means that the Chateau produces wines of the third class; they are not quite as superb as those of the first or second growths. Yet even a fifth-growth Medoc is far from a poor wine. On the contrary, it is something special, for out of the hundreds of Chateaus that were rated in 1855, only 62 were deemed worthy of classification. Three were put in the first division: Lafitte-Rothschild, Latour and Margaux; and a fourth Haut-Brion was added, although it is not a Medoc at all but a Graves. So in addition to the warranty of quality supplied by the words appellation control on a Bordeaux bottle, one also has, for the finest wines, the name of the Chateau itself, and such words as mis en bouteilles au chateau (bottled at the chateau), which gives the buyer the assurance that the wine in the bottle was grown in a certain vineyard, by a certain man and bottled right there. The famous Medoc Chateau, along with many others in Bordeaux, owe their fame not only to the excellence of their wines, but also to their large size. Most of the great vineyards of Burgundy, the Rhine and the Moselle are divided among a number of proprietors, some of whom may own only an acre or two in a choice location, and each of whom makes a slightly different wine, following his own counsel. In Bordeaux, properties of 100 and 200 acres in single ownership are not unusual. Chateau Lafitte, for example. contains 150 acres under vine. The wine in all the Lafitte bottles of a given year is identical. This adds immeasurably to the ease with which a Bordeaux lover can pinpoint his favorites.

THE GREAT WINES OF FRANCE

The truth is that there are only a few great wines. That is the miracle and the mystery of wine, that the vine-the Vitis vinifera- has traveled right around the world, and yet in only a few fate-favored places is great wine produced. What do I mean by "great" wine? Simply this: Certain spots in some magical way combine the right soil, the right amount of sun, the right amount of rain, the right angle of slope- all these things for the right kind of grape to produce wines that in their balance, their bouquet, their subtlety of flavor and often their longevity, are unmatched by any others. They are all different from one another, having in common only their nobility, which they express in endless, enthralling ways; and it is a good thing that your palate will prefer this one and mine prefer that one, so that there will be no end to the delightful debates over their respective virtues. But in this select company all are superb, and all unique. Each is a creation that could not be duplicated chemically, or even naturally in another spot- not even by using the same grapes and importing the same soil and the same workmen with the same methods of cultivation and harvest. Move the vine and the wine will be different. There are vineyards in Burgundy where the vines at the top of the hill yield a far finer wine than do  those a few hundred yards farther down. Half a mile away the situation may be reversed; the lower slope may be the favored one. Why on vineyard should produce an ordinary wine and another across the valley should produce an a supreme one, no one knows; but that is the way it is, and we should be grateful that in a standardized, machine-made world there is on article that cannot be turned out to pattern. There are so many great wine regions in France, but, I cannot delay any longer in dealing with the world's greatest wines, the ones ideally suited to accompany the main meat course of any meal: the fabulous French wines of Bordeaux and Burgundy. Both of these regions produce red and white wine- and in each the best is generally conceded to rank with best in the world. Bordeaux comes in tall, slender bottles and has been called the Queen of red wines. It is subtle, inclined to be on the light, dry side, with an aftertaste that is indescribable.Its appeal is discreet and aristocratic. By contrast, Burgundy is the King. Its bottle is stouter in shape, with sloping shoulders, and the wine is stouter too. It is heavier, "chewier"; it hurls its imperial brilliance at you with a shout. Getting to know the Bordeaux and the Burgundies, with their apparent infinity of place names and complicated labels, seems a hopelessly confusing task. Actually it is simpler than it seems, for the French government has established regulations to aid the wine lover. These are the famous Appellation control laws, put into operation in the 1930's. Their aim is not only to prevent such sharp practices as the adulteration of good wines with bad ones and the use of misleading labels, but also to try to force each district to produce the very best wines that it is capable of. To that end, the laws specify the exact boundaries of each district, the kinds of grapes that may be grown in those districts, and even the amount of wine that can be produced per acre in each district. In Medoc district of Bordeaux, for example, the general quality of the wine is very high, and Appellation Control laws are aimed at keeping it that way- the Medoc is subject to stricter standards of quality than the other wine-producing districts in both Bordeaux and Burgundy.

BORDEAUX: Let us take up Bordeaux first. With no exception, without even a rival, this all-important area stands supreme for the extent, quality and variety of its wines. Every type of unfortified wine is made there: delicate and full-bodied reds, dry and sweet white wines, even a little Rose. The wines of Bordeaux run the full gamut of quality and price, from obscure local pressings that sell for a few cents a bottle and are drunk on the spot (they are not worth shipping), to the great Chateau names like Lafite and Haut-Brion, which ring like bells in the imagination of the wine lover, and which, for a good vintage, command upwards of $100 a bottle-when they are available. The boundaries of the Bordeaux region are defined by the Appellation Control laws. Any wine grown there, so long as it conforms to other provisions of the laws, may be labeled Bordeaux- Bordeaux red, Bordeaux white. Primarily, that designation guarantees the place of origin. It says nothing about the quality. To find a somewhat better grade of wine, one does not buy a mere Bordeaux; one should select a bottle from a certain part of Bordeaux region, which is divided, again by the laws, into two dozen separate districts. Many of these produce rather undistinguished wines, but five of them produce some of the greatest wines in the world, and the quality within those five districts is so superior that there is an obvious advantage for the grower in any one of the five in labeling his wine as coming from there. The five are: Medoc, Graves, St.Emilion and Pomerol, renowned for their reds, and Sauternes, for its supreme dessert wines, which are white.

THE SPANISH KITCHEN AND WINE

Please understand that Spanish cuisine and Mexican cuisine have almost nothing in common. The cultures share a few dishes due to Spanish influence in Mexico, but that was hundreds of years ago and the cuisine of beans and tortillas is not known in Spain. It never was. The Spanish view the evening meal as a very important time of the day. Dinner is eaten very late in the evening after chatting with friends over a glass of sherry and Tapas. The dinner goes late into the night. They do not see the meal as a "before event" such as we do before the theater or before the evening gets along. The meal is the event. The evening is spent dining with your friends and family. Americans find it hard to believe that Spaniards begin dinner about 10p.m. But please remember, the have several meals during the day, not the ordinary three that we celebrate. So by the time the last meal of the day arrives it is time to sit back, relax and enjoy the presence of those that you love. The American dinner is eaten in a hurry, and very early in terms of Mediterranean standards, so that we "can get on with the evening." At this point the Spanish find us very strange and difficult to understand. Why do we want to hurry anything? I think because we feel guilty eating when we feel we should be doing something puritanical and work like. I'm with the Spanish. The wines of Spain are world famous, and they should be. The great Rioja region produces first-class reds and whites and remember the Spanish invented Sherry, a wine left in barrels to "burn" in the sun until it is nutty and rich in flavor. All of these wines are used in cooking the wonderful cuisine of the Spaniards.

A JUG OF WINE

"Jug" wine has probably done more to promote the idea of wine as an everyday drink for the table than anything else in this country. We are indeed blessed in having an enormous wine-producing area in the hot valleys of California that can deliver to us a cornucopia of grapes for making into inexpensive table wines. And in fact, the quality level of this American "Vin ordinaire" is generally superior to that of most European countries. On the  other hand, much of the "Chablis," "Burgundy" and "Rhine" wine sold is pretty dull stuff. Not awful, just dull. A good jug wine should be fresh and fruity, "cleanly" made, with no peculiar or chemical odors. It should be balanced in sweetness and tartness. It should not be too heavy or harsh but should not taste like water either. It should be able to accompany food and is should be pleasant enough that you can drink more than one glass. Sadly, there are a number of California jug wines that do not meet these criteria. Some are possessed of a ghastly sweetness that will cloy the least discriminating of palates. Some are so earthy and vegetal that you wonder who put the cabbage and dill in them. Some taste unripe, some like cleanser. It's sad, especially because for some people this is their only experience of wine and having tried one of these they decide that wine is not for them. But there are some decent jugs out there, put out by California's enormous wineries. "Chablis" usually designates a fairly (though not totally) dry white wine-some nice examples are: Gallo Chablis Blanc (a reliable old timer). "Rhine" wine is almost always sweeter, sometimes quite sweet, with varying degrees of fruit. Almaden Mountain and Carlo Rossi are decent examples for those who like that style. "Burgundy" is red wine that can be in any of a wide variety of styles, from sweet and dull to dry and herbal. Almaden Mountain Burgundy and Gallo Hearty Burgundy are a good example in the sweeter, softer style. One would think that varietal jugs, named after single grape types, would be superior wines, but that isn't necessarily the case.The blends are often superior and less expensive. There are also some "premium" jug wines-in the same large-bottle format, but selling for a dollar or two more. Often these wines, made by wineries that also produce premium varietal wines, and are considerably better than the standard jugs. Robert Mondavi, Parducci and Fetzer are some good names to look for. There is a definite role for jug wine. We don't always want, nor can we afford to open a nice bottle of wine for every meal. Often just a simple glass of wine to relax with is just what we need. So, sure, keep a bottle of red and white on hand if you like-it's always useful for pouring into the pot, in any case.

EIGHT PRINCIPLES OF MATCHING FOOD AND WINE!

1. Drink the wines you enjoy with the foods you enjoy. If you have a thirst for Riesling and a hunger for steak, So be it. You will note be zapped by lightning for putting the two together. And in truth the flavors that your palate prefers will probably go together just fine.

2. Experiment. You might make some ghastly choices. But you will stimulate your own thinking about food flavors, as different wines accent different flavors in a dish. And you may, perhaps by dumb luck, hit upon some wonderful marriage of food and wine that will win you acclaim in your kitchen.

3. Do you want to show off  the food, or the wine? This is especially an issue when you're entertaining. If you are preparing a tricky and special dish that you hope your guests will ooh and aah over, don't distract them with an expensive 20yr old wine. Hungry people eating and drinking can concentrate on only so much at a time. Serve a good wine that will complement the meal but will not be too assertive.
Likewise, if you are dusting off a fine old bottle or have invested a small fortune in the hottest new wine, make sure you get the hoped for reaction by preparing simple food that will provide a tasty background for the wine.

4. The 4th involves a choice: you can match for similarity or for contrast. For example, if you are serving fish with a rich, buttery sauce, you might want to pick a Chardonnay or white Burgundy that has very buttery characteristics, as many do. In other words, you find food and wine with similar flavors (not always an easy task). But sometimes you may use wine as a counterbalance, to cut through or set off aggressive flavors in a dish. A good example here are oily types of fish, which often do best with tart, crisp white wines like a Pouilly Fume or Italian Chardonnay, both of which refresh the palate. This principle also gives you a wonderful out when, in your experimenting, you make a real blooper. As your guests grimaces over a nasty battle between food and wine you can observe to them that you hope that the contrast between food and wine flavors has worked out to their satisfaction.

5. Match strength to strength. If you're serving a delicate cod dish, don't attack it with a full-flavored California Chardonnay. If you're serving a rich, spicy, tomatoey pasta dish, don't let it overwhelm a pale red Burgundy. Light flavors deserve light wine; heavy flavors or spicy ones, need heavy wine.

6. The next principle will slightly complicate your task- the secret is the sauce. In many cases you want to match a wine not to the main ingredient in a dish but to the sauce. Why do you use a sauce? Because it changes the flavors of the food you're preparing. Salmon with creamy dill sauce is rather different from Salmon with lobster sauce- a wine that is good with one might not complement the other. So consider the balance of sweetness and tartness, the creaminess, the herbs in the sauce when thinking of a wine.

7. The next principle is one of my favorite. It involves the one bit of chemistry that makes wine and food significant. It is the acid in wine that makes it tastes tart (or sour), but acid is the backbone of any wine, and the best food wines are nearly always those with healthy acid levels. The hazard of trying to evaluate a wine without food is that a wine tastes overly tart by itself, but will be delightfully refreshing and stimulating with a meal. Likewise, a wine low in acid (often called "soft") that tastes lush and flavorful by itself may simply have its flavors disappear when served with food. All the other flavors in wine "hang" on the acid-so consider the acid of a wine when matching with food. Just because a wine is sweet doesn't mean it is low in acid. German Rieslings are usually slightly sweet, but they have good balancing acid-more in fact, than many other white wines. This makes them, despite what you've heard, actually rather good food wines, particularly with rich foods.

8. Let the last principle be... tradition. American food and wine lovers have devoted a decade or so to the serious business of matching food and wine, and in typically American fashion, have come up with a variety of technically sophisticated and well-organized approaches. Meanwhile, Europeans have for the better part of two millennium been happily sating their appetites with local wines made to suit the local cuisine-and have so mastered this art that they needn't think about it. So the marvelous sweet beef of Burgundy matches beautifully with Pinot Noir, while the fat fowls, freshwater crayfish and delicate cheeses of the region make one crave, Chardonnay. The rich, spicy dishes of Germany suit Riesling just fine, thank you very much, while Italian Chianti does very nicely with the Prosciutto, minestrone and grilled meats and game of the Tuscan hills. The easiest way to deal with the vexing question of matching wine to food is simply to follow the lead of our forebears. It's difficult to go wrong serving a lovely Italian wine with an Italian dinner. (And yes there is such a thing as Spaghetti wine). When serving seafood, look for wines made by those close enough to the sea to smell it.