Back to class today. It's already the second week! We started the day with a quiz-37 questions, all written, no fill in the blank, no multiple choice. Hope I passed!
After the quiz, Debbie covered pest and vine diseases. There is Phylloxera Vastratix-the Devastator. This is what devastated European vineyards in the late 19th century. Next is Downy Mildew (aka Peronospera). When this is a problem, at least the harvest and vines can be saved. Next is Powdery Mildew (aka Oidium). This can be a problem in both dry and humid climates and does affect fruit set and yields. Next-Black Rot (aka Guignardia Bidwelli). This is a fungus that spreads in mild, wet weather. It cases crop losses up to 80%. Last but not least-Pierce's Disease (aka Xylella Fastidiosa). Besides grapes it also attacks fruit and nut trees. It is a bacterial disease spread by the "glassy-winged sharpshooter". This apparently could be a problem in California in the near future.
Then on to France! France is the largest wine producer in the world and first in total consumption of wine. France has 14 wine regions, although we will not be covering them all. The biggest difference between French and American wine labels(besides the fact that one is in English and one is in French, lol) is that France labels their wine by the region it comes from-Burgundy, Bordeaux, Champagne, Rhone. American labels use the varietal or grape in their labels-chardonnay, merlot, cabernet sauvignon. The French are all about quality and terrior. They have four levels of classifications. Think of a pyramid. At the bottom of the pyramid is table wine or Vin de Table (VdT). The next level up is Country Wine or Vin de Pays (VdP). Next up the pyramid is Delimited Wine of Superior Quality (VDQS). A the very top is AoC or Appelation d'Origine Controllee, the stricted classification you can have. We studied French wine labels-NOT the same as American wine labels although they do have the producer, place name, quality statement, bottling statement and vintage.
The first wine region we covered was Alsace (pronounced all - sauce)(I love phonetics, lol). Over the centuries they have been part of Germany and part of France. Alsace is one of France's smallest wine-producing regions and is in the northeast corner of France. They are the only region that does not blend their grapes. There are two beliefs in Alsace-(1) wine is an expression of the grape itself and (2) wine is an expression of the ground they are grown in. 95% of Alsace wines are white! All the grapes save one (Muscat) are only grown in Alsace-Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Muscat and Sylvaner. We tasted four of the Alsace wines. All of them were tastey and wines you could drink all day-very refreshing!
Next we learned about Champagne. Yeah! Only sparking wine from the Champagne region of France is allowed to be called Champagne. In Germany, sparkling wines are called Sekt; in Italy-Prosecco and in Spain-Cava. California, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa also make sparkling wines. Champagne is made from three grapes: 1 white (Chardonnay) and 2 reds (Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier). There are four sparkling wine methods: the traditional Methode Champenoise; the Transfer Method, Charmat Bulk Process and Carbonation (Andre fits into this last category-make wine, add carbination just like soda and viola!) The steps taken are amazingly time consuming! The levels of sweetness in champagne range from Doux (over 5% sugar) all the way to Brut, the most dry (less than 1.5% sugar). Of course we finished the day off by drinking champagne! Very nice!!
"Champagne! In victory one deserves it; in defeat one needs it." -Napoleon Bonaparte
I was feeling stressed at the end of this day so came back to the B&B and baked! Blueberry Banana Muffins and French Yogurt Cake. Both were a hit!
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