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Why is the French Bordeaux wine region so famous?

Bordeaux is definitely not the country with the earliest history of wine making in Europe or France, but it is definitely the most influential wine producing area in France. When talking about French wine, you must talk about wine, and when talking about French wine, you must talk about Bordeaux. This has become the mindset of a wine lover. Today, we take a look at the history of this most famous wine region for wine lovers in our country.

The Moselle region of Germany and the Burgundy region of France both have a much earlier history than the Bordeaux region. In terms of history, Bordeaux is really incomparable to the above two regions in terms of grape growing. , Although Graves and Sauternes, which only account for a small part of the Bordeaux production area, began to make wine as early as the Roman rule, the Médoc production area, which is now famous in the world, was actually a swamp until the 17th century.

It was not until the Dutch began to reclaim the sea in the 17th century, and the swamps gradually revealed gravel soil suitable for grape growing, and the Médoc production area really entered the sequence of wine production areas. From the perspective of this small production area, Bordeaux The history really doesn’t matter.

However, Bordeaux is far more than the Médoc. Although Médoc has the greatest influence, it cannot erase the fact that Bordeaux has gone back further in the history of their wines. Let’s see if they can trace their history back. How far.

In the era of the Roman Empire, there must have been grape cultivation and wine making in Bordeaux, but did it have any influence? Certainly not. Because even during the reign of Charlemagne, the most famous alcoholic in history, the alcoholic’s attention to wine was Burgundy, and Bordeaux was only a battlefield for the neighboring Spain in his eyes.

In terms of wineries, there are reliable historical records that in the 12th century, Clermont Castle, known as the oldest winery in Bordeaux, began grape planting and wine making. Clermont Castle is located in Pessac, Nor in the Médoc.

The real development of Bordeaux wine was at the end of the 12th century, when King Henry II of England married the famous Countess Eleanor who had an important influence on the history of French wine. Bordeaux became the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom as a dowry, and the corresponding tax relief policy in France was reduced. Due to the foreign trade cost of Bordeaux wine, Bordeaux wine has become the exclusive commodity of the British royal family, and it has also become a best-selling product in the field of wine in the United Kingdom.

The UK was almost the most powerful country in the world at that time. The success of the Industrial Revolution and the hegemony of the Age of Navigation made the UK the country with the largest consumption of high-priced commodities in the world. Infrequent consumption of things, just like we are now chasing various collectibles, bracelets, walnuts, Bordeaux wine is at the right moment, and has received rapid development in terms of specific product brands.

Until 1453, the end of British rule over the Bordeaux region, this influence was still not eliminated, even during the Hundred Years War between England and France, the British imposed heavy taxes on French wine, but it still could not change this situation.

In the 17th century, many places in Bordeaux were actually producing wine, especially during the British rule as mentioned above, Graff’s Haubourg winery even opened a store in London, which is awesome. Graff is also not in the Médoc.

The now powerful Médoc appellation was still a swamp at the time. The Dutch were known as sea coachmen at that time, and they pursued the purchase and sale of all the profitable commodities in the world under the conditions of convenient transportation. Bordeaux wine is obviously in this column, and the Médoc stuck between the winery and the ocean is like this bear.

It’s inconvenient, what should I do? The Dutch, who have rich experience in reclamation and land reclamation, have a solution. They hired a hydraulic engineer. Through various methods, the water in the Médoc swamp was drained, and a large area of ​​gravel soil suitable for grape planting emerged from the water. The land, which does not grow long for grain, is the best for growing grapes.

During this period, a group of rich people appeared, that is, a new type of bourgeoisie that grew up with the industrial revolution and the era of great voyages. To put it bluntly, these people did not have aristocratic status, but they were rich, and they needed to find somewhere to spend their money. Human beings do not distinguish between Chinese and foreign nobles, and have always been obsessed with the ownership of land. The extra land in Médoc that does not belong to the royal family has become the target of these people to consume money.

The new local tyrants frantically buy land in the Médoc, what to do with the land, raising cattle and growing crops are slow, and they can’t reflect their own local tyrants. Relatively elegant wine has become the target of spending money again, plus Médoc The newly emerged land is also suitable for growing grapes, so various vineyards and winery castles were built in large numbers during this period, and many businessmen also joined the ranks of buying and selling these emerging winery wine products.

After development, at the end of the 19th century, the Medoc region on the left bank of Bordeaux basically became what we see now, and a large number of top wineries began to call for wind and rain, becoming the target of consumers.

Especially in the 1855 Paris World’s Fair with the appearance of the Grand Crus Médoc, consumers had an official standard by which they could classify wines from high to low. Simply a buying guide for wine.

Although the phylloxera raged not long after 1855, Bordeaux, which finally resisted the pests, ushered in the First World War and the Second World War. A large number of wineries disappeared in the pests and wars, and a large number of wineries disappeared. The winery was built, and the Bordeaux wine region has not been smooth sailing to its current state.