How to make red Bordeaux?

Résumé du document

The region of Bordeaux is situated on the West cost of France, next to the Atlantic Ocean. The name of the wines comes from the main city, the capital of this region which is Bordeaux. However the vine plantations are not in the city, but you can begin to find them a few kilometres out of the city. The region of Bordeaux enlarges upon on about 80 kilometres around the capital, on the biggest estuary of Europe. It is surrounded by three rivers, the Gironde, the Garonne and the Dordogne. So the climate, due to the ocean and the rivers is temperate, with a short and mild winter, a quite warm summer, a long autumn, and a high level of moisture. That makes a favourable environment for the vineyards. This region is the most important one for its wine quality in France, even in the world. Actually it is composed of 7000 castles. About 6 millions of hectolitres of different red wines are produced each year by those castles, which corresponds to 800 million bottles. 1.8 millions of hectolitres are exported, mostly to Germany. First, we will see how wines of Bordeaux are classified. Then we will deal with wine making.

Extraits

[...] This task is really long and difficult because each berry is checked to know which bunches have to be left or no. A trellising is also made. If this step is skipped, the circulation between the rows is impossible for the tiller and also for the tractor. Moreover the exposition of bunches to the sun will not be maximal. The trellising includes two operations. First it consists in putting higher the ramification thanks to iron strings. Then the ends of the ramifications are cut in a shape of needle. [...]

[...] Nowadays it takes two or three weeks. Conclusion The “Château Margaux” is today one of the best red wine made in the area of Bordeaux. The price of a bottle can easily reach several hundred euros. Nowadays the French wines compete with other wines produced all over the world called wine of new world. The more part of those wines are quite standard but have a nice taste and bounded to be consumed young. Actually they are quite strong and do not have enough tannins to be conserved for along time, that is one of the reasons why they tend to be drunk quite young. [...]

[...] But the main type of vine here is the Carbernet Sauvignon. Those wines are not very coloured, they have a lot of tannin when they are young and become more proportionate by ageing. They are usually drunk at 10 years old. The tastes of oak, berries and vanilla can be found in it. The name comes from the composition of the ground. It is made by sand, grit and clay bring by the river. This area is situated just at the border of the city. [...]

[...] About the insects, the problem was solved a few times ago. Actually in the past, people were using too much pesticides and the natural balance was disturbed. Since the 80' those substances are no more used and the balance has been come back. Before the first harvesting the plant will grow during 6 years in this region. But before it a lot of things have to be done to obtain the best quality of bunches as possible. Châteaux Margaux was the first to practise the crop thinning in 1986. [...]

[...] A very huge selection of berries is done as well by pickers. The grape harvest is done as quickly as possible in order to have grapes with a quite similar ripeness. After this step the wine making process can begin. The wine making process This step is divided in several parts. Each of them takes an important place during the wine making process. In fact they must be done carefully and professionally in order to expect a good wine quality. [...]