Muscadet Wine Muscadet Muscadet is produced in 4 wine terroirs around the city of Nantes, in the West of the Loire Valley . The Muscadet Sèvre et Maine is the most important and the best of them. In the Muscadet region, wine makers use to leave the grape juice to rest during winter before putting the wine in bottle. Muscadet is a dry white wine that is a fine companion to shellfish. The quality of Muscadet varies very much from one winery to another. An Overview of French White Wines | Wine Folly An Overview of French White Wines June 5, 2015 Blog » Learn About Wine » An Overview of French White Wines Articles , France , Intermediate French White Wines France is the origin place of many of the world’s most popular white wines including Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier. However, due to the way the French label their wines , it’s often hard to identify what exactly what wine is in the bottle.

In this article we’ll identify the primary white wines of France, how they taste (because they taste different than their American counterparts), and provide you with common ways French white wines are labeled. Section Guide .. Undervalued Whites Chardonnay French Chardonnay Tastes & Styles There are two primary styles of Chardonnay that produce very different tasting wines. One of them was made famous by a region called Chablis (“sha-blee”) in Burgundy and is traditionally unoaked. Expect these French Chardonnays to be very dry, light-bodied, and minerally with flavors of lime, lemon, starfruit, and subtle notes of spring blossoms and chalk. The other style was made famous by the region of Côte de Beaune in Burgundy and is traditionally oaked. Expect these wines to be dry and full-bodied with flavors of yellow apple, lemon curd, vanilla, hazelnut, and subtle notes of mushroom and crème fraîche. Regional Notes Chardonnay originated in the region of Burgundy, where it’s the primary white grape of Bourgogne Blanc and Chablis .

Burgundy is a moderately cool area and is famous for a leaner and lighter style of Chardonnay. Besides Burgundy, Chardonnay also grows plentifully in Champagne (where it is used in their sparkling wines), the Loire valley (where it’s lean like Chablis) and along the French Riviera in Languedoc-Roussillon (where it is fruity and somewhat pineapple-y). TIP: A great place to look for value-driven oaked French Chardonnay is from the Jura Sauvignon Blanc French Sauvignon Blanc Taste & Styles French Sauvignon Blanc is most commonly a bone-dry, lean, and light-bodied white wine with flavors of grass, green pear, honeydew melon, grapefruit, white peach, and subtle notes of slate-like minerals. There is one region in Bordeaux however, called Pessac-Leognan that is known for also producing an oaked style of Sauvignon Blanc–well worth exploring,–that is dry and medium-bodied, with flavors of grapefruit, white peach, sage, fresh bread, and subtle notes of butter.

Finally, Sauvignon Blanc is blended with Sémillon to make a sweet white wine which you can read about in the notes below on Sémillon. Regional Notes Sauvignon Blanc originated around Bordeaux and the Loire Valley of France. The majority of French Sauvignon Blanc wines come from the Loire valley where you will find the wines of Sancerre, Touraine and Pouilly-Fumé (among others). In Bordeaux, Sauvignon Blanc is an important blending grape in Bordeaux Blanc where it is also commonly labeled as Graves, Entre-Deux-Mers and Pessac-Leognan. Finally, the French Riviera in Languedoc-Roussillon grows great value Sauvignon Blanc labeled as “Pays d’Oc.” TIP: White Bordeaux is made with Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, and a rare grape called Muscadelle. Sémillon French Sémillon Taste & Styles French Sémillon grows in Bordeaux, France and is almost always blended with a little Sauvignon Blanc. There are 2 primary styles of Sémillon. The most famous style is a rare sweet dessert white wine made famous by the region of Sauternes in Bordeaux.

Expect these sweet white wines to have flavors of apricot, ginger, honey, citrus zest and subtle notes of jasmine and marmalade. The other style of Sémillon blend from Bordeaux is a dry, light-bodied white wine with notes of lemon, grapefruit, gooseberry, honeysuckle flowers and grass. Regional Notes Sémillon is thought to have originated in Bordeaux. The dry style of Sémillon is commonly labeled as Bordeaux Blanc, Entre-Deux-Mers, Graves, Pessac-Leognan and Côtes de Bordeaux. The sweet style of Sémillon is commonly labeled as Sauternes, Barsac, Cérons, Cadillac, Loupiac and Sainte-Croix-du-Mont. Muscadet Muscadet Taste Muscadet is the name of the region in the Loire Valley where a unique-to-France wine grape, Melon de Bourgogne, is grown. Muscadet wines are very light-bodied, dry, lean, and somewhat salty with flavors of lime, quince, green mango, sea shell, brine, and with subtle notes of lager and yeast.

Because of their savory, light character, Muscadet is a striking wine-alternative to an ice-cold beer! Regional Notes Melon de Bourgogne only grows in the Loire Valley and mostly in the Western Loire close to the Atlantic Ocean. There are two primary regions, Muscadet and Muscadet Sevre-et-Maine, and the latter tends to produce the highest quality wines. Chenin Blanc French Chenin Blanc Taste & Styles French Chenin Blanc is available primarily in 3 styles: a dry wine, a sweet wine, and a sparkling wine. The dry style of Chenin Blanc is light-bodied, with aromas of white peach, honeysuckle and lime and flavors of lemon, chamomile, green pear, citrus blossoms and sometimes subtle notes of salted butter. The sweet style of Chenin Blanc is medium- to full-bodied with flavors of peach, apricot, orange blossom, honey, marzipan and ginger. Finally, the sparkling style ranges in sweetness but it typically dry with flavors of citrus blossom, white peach, lemon peel, and subtle notes of cream and yeast. Regional Notes Within the Loire there are several sub-regions that specialize in Chenin Blanc.

The most commonly available regional names are Vouvray, Saumur, Anjou, Savennières, Montlouis-sur-Loire and Coteaux du Layon. Muscat Blanc French Muscat Blanc Taste French Muscat Blanc (the same grape that goes into Italian Moscato) is a medium- to full-bodied, sweet dessert wine with flavors of mandarin orange, pink lady apple, peach, perfume, honeysuckle and subtle notes of nutmeg and vanilla bean. Occasionally, you’ll find Muscat Blanc blended into the white wines of Pays d’Oc, where it adds floral perfume-y aromas. Regional Notes Muscat Blanc grows in the South of France along the Riviera in the Languedoc-Roussillon and within the Rhône Valley. The two wines of Muscat Blanc are Muscat de Rivesaltes in Roussillon and Muscat de Beaumes de Venise in the Rhône valley. Typically, the Rhône version of this wine lighter-bodied than the one from Languedoc-Roussillon Viognier French Viognier Taste French Viognier ranges in taste from dry to off-dry (e.g.

“a little bit sweet”) and has a subtle oiliness with flavors of tangerine, rose water, pineapple, almond and subtle notes of anise, white pepper, and beeswax. Regional Notes Viognier is thought to have originated in the Northern Rhône valley, where it grows alongside Syrah and is often blended in small amounts to Syrah wines to add floral character and smoothness. It is very hard to find in the Rhône, where it is primarily labeled as Condrieu. It also grows in abundance in the Languedoc-Roussillon where it is often blended with other grapes, such as Chardonnay and often labeled with the name of the variety. You can also find it blended with other grapes labeled as Minervois Blanc, and Roussillon Blanc. Alsace Whites There are 3 white wines that grow in the Alsace region of France (next to Germany) that are also good to know about and they are: Riesling In Alsace, Riesling is produced in a dry style with flavors of lime, green apple, citrus zest, pink grapefruit and subtle notes of thai sweet basil and white pepper.

Gewürztraminer French Gewürztraminer has a more sweet taste with subtle oiliness and flavors of lychee, rose, tangerine, potpourri, cinnamon and subtle notes of tarragon and incense smoke. Pinot Gris Alsatian Pinot Gris is more towards the sweet side with notes of peach, apricot, honey, baked apple, ruby-red grapefruit and subtle notes of orange zest and smoke. Undervalued Whites The white wines listed above are popular and thus, often command a higher price. There are however many other white wines of France to explore that are under-the-radar, delicious, and often available for less than $10 a bottle. Sound interesting? Here are a few worth knowing: Ugni Blanc (aka Trebbiano) This grape is the most important wine grape of Cognac and Armagnac brandy but also makes fabulous, dry, lean white wines with a citrus zest quality. Colombard This grape grows primarily in the under-valued region of South West France (often labeled as Côtes de Gascogne) and is used primarily for Armagnac brandy. It tastes very similar to Sauvignon Blanc often with more touches of passion fruit.

Picpoul de Pinet (aka Folle Blanche) This wine is found in the Languedoc-Roussillon region and produces very lean, minerally white wines similar to Muscadet that are known as “lip stingers.” Grenache Blanc The white version of Grenache (aka Garnacha) that grows mostly in the South of France from the Rhône to Roussillon (next to Spain). Grenache Blanc is often blended with other grapes and is loved for it’s dry, lemony flavors and beeswax-like texture. Gros Manseng This wine is found mostly in South West France and produces both dry and sweet wines (labeled as Jurancon and Jurancon Sec) that taste of tropical fruit with lime zest. They are amazing. Aligote The “other white” of Bourgogne that’s rarely talked about because it’s very unlike Chardonnay! Aligote is dry and lean with notes of minerals, saline and a spicy finish. Learn About Wine Check out the Wine 101 section of this site for a great overview and introduction into wine.

Wine Facts Online: Kinds of Wine: Wine By Region: Europe: France: Loire: Muscadet Loire Muscadet The wines of the Loire are distinct from their competitors in other parts of the world, to be sure. But none nearly as much as Muscadet, the unmistakable salty-sweet creation from the western Loire. It is one of few white wines that is actually almost white in color, more of a pale grey to off-white than the yellow or gold of most white wines. At 32,000 acres, the massive appellation for its production takes up almost all of the western Loire. Overproduction has brought down Muscadet's reputation; actually, more wine is made here than in any other appellation of the Loire. The name has to do with the musk-like aroma of the wines, leading to confusion with popular white wine grape Muscat . But Muscat has nothing to do with Muscadet, since the latter is made from the grape Mélon de Bourgogne. Due to a bizarre production process, these wines have avoided having any competition and as a result have attained cult status; they fuse elements so unusual that the wine can be replicated nowhere else.

A number of factors contribute to the charm of Muscadet; read about them below. History The story of how Muscadet came to be the most produced wine in the Loire is certainly interesting; it started many centuries ago. At some point before the Middle Ages, papal figures had the vineyards planted, but whether they used Mélon de Bourgogne or not is still unclear, and of course they did not use the current method of producing Muscadet. At some point during the 1700s, when French wine began to boom, the Mélon de Bourgogne grape (which originated in Burgundy, hence its name) was transferred to the Muscadet region and producers began to discover the capabilities of the grape. Muscadet became an AOC in 1937, one of the first AOCs in the Loire. Improvements in winemaking techniques, advancements in technology, and innovation by producers, caused Muscadet to continue increasing in popularity, and at this point the appellation is quite well-known. Climate and Viticulture The climate of the Muscadet region is the most maritime of the entire Loire, since it lies close to the Atlantic Ocean.

Interestingly, attempts to produce "normal" wines here have not gone well, perhaps because the appellation is so cool and wet due to the ocean winds. The Mélon de Bourgogne grape, however, which has fallen out of favor everywhere else, can make remarkable wines under these weather conditions. The soils of the Muscadet region are quite diverse, varying from clay to sand. Uniformly, the soil is highly drainable and rich with minerals such as magnesium and potassium. The best vineyards of the appellation often have schist soils. The secret of Muscadet production, however, lies neither in the climate nor the soil. The important part is aging the wines on their lees. In French this process is known as sur lie aging; it purposely omits the traditional removal of the dead yeast, or lees, that is a byproduct of fermentation. The lees move to the bottom of the barrel, and infect the wine with a distinctive yeasty, salty taste. Most producers consider this undesirable, but in Muscadet it combines with the other flavors of the wine to make a very interesting drink. Grape Varieties Mélon de Bourgogne: Mélon de Bourgogne. Ever heard of it?

Its literal name is Melon of Burgundy, and it is a white grape that originated in the land of the wine of kings. But it fell out of popularity a long time ago, and the region is now dominated by Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Almost the only remaining usage is in Muscadet, yet in this region the grape is the only one used! It makes a distinctively salty, unusual-tasting wine that is considered bland by some and unforgettably distinctive by others. Judge for yourself. Major Producers Although the wines of Muscadet have long been considered homogeneous, some producers really go above and beyond the call of duty. We give a half-dozen producers here that follow this criterion. Chereau-Carre: Good Muscadets for around $8-$12; these prices can hardly be beaten. There are a few different styles; the sur lie versions are clearly the best. Most of the wines combine green citrus flavors with zesty minerality. Domaine de l'Ecu: Ecu makes pretty much the best wines in Muscadet, particularly the brilliant Expression de Orthogneiss.

At about $20, this one offers remarkable flavors of zesty green and yellow citrus fruit, with chewy, even rich texture, and bitter minerality. Expression de Granite is more stony, with more conventional yellow fruit flavors, and also is a bit sweeter. Muscadet-Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie is another top-notch cuvée. Domaine Pierre de la Grange/Pierre Luneau-Papin: All these wines are made from the Sèvre et Maine part of Muscadet. The Vieilles Vignes is rich and powerful, more serious and more full-bodied than most other white wines in Muscadet. Le L d'Or is intense but more citrussy, with a spicy zest and mineral core that suggests ageability. Clos des Allées is the best, though, with intense floral aromas and fleshy, vibrant fruit notes. These offerings differ from typical Muscadet and are deep and complex enough to be among the area's best wines.

Domaine la Haute Fevrie: The Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie styles are the best here, with bright but bitter pear fruit flavors throughout and spicy, zesty herb notes close to the finish, which is strongly mineral. Less intense, and closer to the $10 range, the non-sur lie style is more light and refreshing. Ragotière: For about $11, one can get the Muscadet-Sèvre et Maine, which has impressive citrus and herb flavors, but for only a few dollars more, the Sur Lie Selection Vieilles Vignes is more spicy, intense, and vibrant. These wines show a lot of flavor. Sauvion: Impressively solid wines, particularly the Savion de Cleray, which is full of zesty but intense green fruit notes. This is a classically made Muscadet with the typical salty taste rendered in a particularly powerful, unusual style. Subregions The better Muscadets tend to be labeled under one of the three designated subappellations. Muscadet-Coteaux de la Loire: Strange regulations govern this appellation, and as a result few producers like to use it.

Muscadet-Côtes de Grandlieu: These wines are inexpensive but often good. Muscadet-Sère et Maine: Around 75% of the wines produced in Muscadet fall under this subappellation, mainly because it is a notoriously large region that encompasses around 60% of Muscadet's acreage! Still, it does distinguish many of the top-quality wines. Practically all of the wines in the above list come from this appellation, as well as many more that we have not mentioned. Another thing to note is that some wines label themselves sur lie and some don't. Due to strange, outdated rules in the region, sur lie only includes wines aged for at most 12 months on their lees. This excludes many of the best wines, which are aged for well over a year. So sur lie labels don't necessarily confer top quality on a wine. Copyright 2009.

Guide to Tasting and Pairing Muscadet | Wine Folly Guide to Tasting and Pairing Muscadet October 21, 2015 Blog » Learn About Wine » Guide to Tasting and Pairing Muscadet Articles , Infographic , Intermediate , Light-Bodied White Wine , Melon de Bourgogne , Muscadet , Wine Products Muscadet (“muss-kuh-day”) is a bone-dry, light-bodied white wine from the Loire Valley of France that is made with Melon de Bourgogne grapes. Muscadet is loved as an excellent food pairing wine due to its minerally, citrus-like taste and high acidity. The appellation, Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, is the largest and most important region for high quality Muscadet. Muscadet ≠ Muscat Muscadet is a dry white wine and is not related to Muscat, Moscatel or Moscato. Guide to Tasting and Pairing Muscadet Wine See more information on Muscadet on page 60 of Wine Folly: The Essential Guide to Wine Muscadet (Melon) is a wine for those who love anything-but-fruity wines.

They are lean, green, and have a fascinating almost saline-like quality to the taste. In fact, the Muscadet vineyards closer to the sea receive more of this salty note due to salty sea breezes! It is common to see these wines aged on the lees ( labeled “sur lie” ) which is a process of aging wines on suspended dead yeast particles (called lees). Lees-aged Muscadet attain an almost lager-like taste with a creamy texture and yeasty flavor. The longer on lees, the richer the texture; many producers will age their best wines 2–3 years in this fashion. You will find a touch of fruit in these wines in the form of almost pithy citrus flavors and subtle unripe apple or pear notes. Expect to Spend $14–$16 for a decent basic Muscadet Sèvre et Maine with green apple, citrus and mineral notes $20–$25 for a serious Muscadet Sèvre et Maine with extended lees aging (2–3 years) with aromas of fresh bread and preserved lemon.

If you like Muscadet (Melon) you’ll find it tastes similar to Pinot Blanc, Aligoté, Auxerrois, Piquepoul, Sylvaner and even unoaked cool-climate Chardonnay such as Chablis. Food Pairing with Muscadet Wine Moules Frites (Mussels and French fries) are a perfect pairing with Muscadet wine. by TheFoodPlace Light-bodied white wines like Muscadet are perfect palate cleanser wines due to their natural high acidity. They will happily stand up to zesty vinaigrettes and other high-acidity dressings. However, Muscadet’s true calling is matched with seafood, particularly if you’re a fan of bivalves (mussels, oysters, and the like). In Nantes, a favorite regional dish, called Moules Frites, is made by flash cooking mussels in a splash of Muscadet wine and tossing them with shallots and green herbs and French fries (literally “French!”).

Examples Meat Mussels, Oysters, Whelks (sea snail), Scallops, Bay Shrimp (Crevettes Roses), Jumbo Shrimp, Pike, North Atlantic Salmon, Perch, Sander (very light flaky fish of the Loire river), Pan-roasted Chicken, Fried Tofu, Tempeh, Seitan Cheese PUNCH | France's Most Underrated White Wine Steps Out Hi, I thought you might like this article - [url]. Enjoy! Send French cities, especially secondary French cities, often do best when they’re looking backwards. In the case of Nantes, long a sleepy spot in the western Loire, it would be easy to assume that it peaked many years ago—perhaps during the Industrial Revolution, when its docks were full of grain and spices (and, disturbingly, slaves). That’s why I was completely unprepared for what I found when I rolled in on a warm fall day: a bustling, growing tech hub, one of Europe’s greenest cities, functional in all the ways that most French cities aren’t. The tram system is fleet. There’s little of the brutalist midcentury architecture that weighs on France like a curse.

The mild, often wet climate is maritime Gaul at its best. France’s Seattle, I thought admiringly. The distinct pride emanating from Nantes these days seems to come from being unburdened by the past. The Nantais love their reclaimed stature as Brittany’s major city, and they beam with locavore Loire pride, too, embracing the proximity to the river’s bounty. Little gastropubs and wine bars offer up immaculate produce, plump Brittany oysters and, of course, local wine, which in Nantes essentially means Muscadet, grown throughout the surrounding countryside. Last November, I headed south from the city and pulled off the expressway into the town of La Haye-Fouassière, one of the major Muscadet towns. Usually, French roundabouts are decorated with flowers or a basket press, but here, just down the street from the Mondelez factory, with its scent of fresh-baked Lu biscuits, sits a full-scale model of a flying saucer, complete with cosmonauts. Why a UFO? I asked a local winemaker. “We’re looking toward the future.” While Nantes so clearly reflects this notion, that wasn’t my initial impression of Muscadet.

On a first glance, it seems to be a place of stasis: old vineyards withering, old farmers retiring. The global reputation of its wines—cheap, industrial, old-fashioned—more or less remains their reputation in France, too. But on closer inspection I discovered a place geared up for radical change. Its best wines have always been a world apart from the meager, thin versions made by many local négociants; bottles like Luneau-Papin ’s luxe, smoky Excelsior, aged for two years, or the fleshy, quince-flavored Château-Thébaud from Les Bêtes Curieuses , a project dedicated to single-cru bottlings from winemakers Jérémie Huchet and Jérémie Mourat, have for years been nipping at the heels of white Burgundy. What’s happening in Muscadet today, though, is more profound, to the point that even the French avant-garde hasn’t really caught on. Many regions aspire to more than what the old French appellations permitted them.

But Muscadet, having reached the terminus of its old ways, has decided—like the city that has always nourished it—to decisively step into the future. Rather than pray for the return of the easy money of the past, its best producers bet that they can achieve something greater. The most basic changes here can be found many other places in France: better farming, lower yields, improved winemaking. But Muscadet has a different burden than other regions. Its wines were rarely exalted, and it never really shaped a distinct identity. As François Midavaine stated in a 1994 book on the topic, “It’s a bit tricky to talk about Muscadet as a wine region.” More than 20 years later, that Nantais push toward the future is shared by an emerging generation of vignerons—many of them following in the footsteps of their parents—who believe it’s their destiny to completely refashion Muscadet as a significant place making significant wine. They have much in their favor: a loyal devotion to one grape—melon de Bourgogne—and a fantastic diversity of soils hosting the northernmost vines on France’s west coast.

“Muscadet,” says Jo Landron of Domaine de la Louvetrie , one of the region’s most vocal lobbyists for change, “is coming into its place among the great wines.” Read On → This is a bold assertion, but there’s good evidence for it, namely the arrival of crus communaux, nine sub-zones—not all yet official—based on specific soil types and yielding distinct styles of wine. The first three debuted in 2011: Gorges (clay and quartz atop gabbro), Le Pallet (gabbro, gneiss and orthogneiss) and Clisson (coarse soils, with two-mica granite). Four others—Monnières-Saint Fiacre, Château-Thébaud, Goulaine, Mouzillon-Tillières—will appear on labels this year and two more—La Haye-Fouassière, Vallet—will follow later.

These designations, based on extensive soil studies, are Muscadet’s moonshot: the result of nearly two decades of work by determined vignerons like Landron and the Luneau family of Luneau-Papin, all of whom envisioned a greater future for Muscadet. For years, they bottled special long-aged cuvées, like the Excelsior, or labeled wines by soil type (Orthogneiss from Guy Bossard’s Domaine de l’Ecu ) or parcel name (Marc Ollivier’s Clos des Briords), seeking to elevate their wines above the sea of insipid bottles that came to represent the region. Finally, their diligence is paying off, not only with these new crus, but with ever more single-parcel bottlings like Luneau-Papin’s monopole, Clos des Allées, meant to reinforce an essential message: Place matters here. Admittedly, the crus can be confusing at first. The names come from local villages, but boundaries were drawn based on underlying geology rather than a road map. Hence, Clisson, for instance, comprises parts of seven different communes.

When you taste the wines, though, you conclude they did quite a good job. I could instantly discern, say, the character of wines from Gorges, with their herbal side and aggressive, almost smoky minerality, from the riper, fruitier wines grown in Clisson. (Some thanks also goes to Muscadet’s unusually transparent, no-frills winemaking: most wines age in large, glass-lined underground tanks with almost no intervention, although concrete eggs—natch—are showing up today, too.) To some, this might sound like a familiar rags-to-riches tale, namely, a mirror of Beaujolais and its 10 crus, which helped to push that region into a new quality-minded era. And in a way, it is. If Beaujolais was the old populist red, Muscadet was the old populist white.

(In fact, melon is a sibling of Beaujolais’ gamay noir; and like gamay, it was repeatedly banished from Burgundy.) Furthermore, if Beaujolais today is taking the place of red Burgundy as the wines of the Côte d’Or become too expensive, I’d argue that Muscadet is poised to become a new stand-in for Chablis, to which it has long been compared. Yet there’s one big gap in the Beaujolais comparison: Beaujolais’ fashionability has been growing, quietly, for a long time. While Muscadet may finally be progressing along that path from peasant to princess—first one big appellation, then village-sized sub-regions and finally individual lieux-dits—it is still very early in the process. Moreover, the Nantais never enjoyed the same happy-go-lucky enthusiasm as Beaujolais. Going back to when the Dutch encouraged plantings of the melon grape around 1639, seeking a thin white wine for distillation, it has been expected to make cheap, forgettable wine.

Hence it bears the usual scars of agricultural neglect: high yields in the vineyard and wine sold on the cheap; the usual pesticides and chemical farming; thin and acidic results. Even past efforts to fancy it up have largely fizzled, as with the implementation in 1977 of a sur lie designation, which was meant to reward wines that got more of the lees aging for which the region is known. Quickly enough, sur lie was abused by less scrupulous winemakers, and the region’s most serious practitioners were never convinced that it alone could change Muscadet’s fortunes. They picked at much lower yields, aged their wines for far longer than rules allowed and were seen as outliers who disregarded appellation rules. In other words, while Muscadet is aware of its potential, it has rarely gotten credit for showing what it can do. That dissonance particularly strikes me as Rémi Branger takes me inside one of the area’s shabby village cuveries, this one in Maisdon-sur-Sèvre, and pours me a taste of the 2013 Monnières-Saint Fiacre from Marc Ollivier’s Domaine de la Pépière , where he works.

The wine, from 45-year-old vines grown on decomposed gneiss, previously went into Pépière’s exceptional Gras Moutons. Now, thanks to the new crus, it will be bottled on its own. But sitting in that tank for two years, it has become a spicy wonder, heady with the smell of rye seeds and remarkably powerful—with a chewiness you typically find in epic chardonnay (but achieved here without a lick of oak). Branger, from an old Muscadet family, began to take over the domaine in 2007 after Ollivier, one of Muscadet’s modern masters, bought some of the Branger family’s property. Today, along with another young vigneronne, Gwénaëlle Croix, they have converted most of Pépière’s 38 hectares to biodynamic farming. This changing of the guard is essential to Muscadet escaping its own obsolescence.

But what stands in the way, aside from decades of neglect in the vineyards, is that most old farms are simply too big to take over: 25 or 30 hectares, far more than a newcomer could manage, even if land prices are absurdly low. “It’s not that they couldn’t have the land,” Branger tells me. Rather, it’s that it’s hard to see a payoff. When young vignerons arrive in the Loire, they more likely gravitate to regions like the Anjou, where they can grow a wider variety of grapes and sell their wines for more money. Landron’s son Emmanuel, or Manu, learned this lesson when he split from his family to farm his own eight hectares with his partner, Marion Pescheux. When they set up their tiny cellar in the hamlet of Le Pallet, Manu recalls, they were the first new arrival in a quarter-century. And, despite his family’s prominence, he found himself struggling to convince the bank that he could make a living off such a small property specializing in single-parcel wines. The French bureaucracy, too, seems determined to scuttle Muscadet’s efforts to improve.

Case in point: Many of the best bottlings, including Luneau-Papin’s Excelsior Clos des Noëlles and Domaine de la Pépière’s Trois and Quatre (indicating the number of years the wine spends on the lees) can’t receive the region’s sur lie designation because they’ve been aged too long. Meanwhile, in an almost comical twist, the region’s official grape, melon de Bourgogne, can no longer be called that, lest anyone take that other region’s name in vain. The new official name is the silly “melon B.” (When I ask Marie Cartier-Luneau of Luneau-Papin about it, she shrugs. “That’s the magic of France.”) Despite all the hurdles, the endgame is undeniably near for Old Muscadet. I don’t mean to imply that the cheap stuff is going away. But I keep thinking about something Jo Landron said: “It’s not the same sort of market,” by which he meant that the world today has too many insubstantial wines that fulfill Muscadet’s previous role. Today, we can drink New Zealand sauvignon blanc or California pinot grigio.

Muscadet has no choice but to find a different way to exist. The region’s new generation seems keenly aware of this, and not just in their embrace of the crus. In the region today, you can find all the trappings of the French new wave: naturalists like Marc Pesnot, or Alain Couillaud of Domaine du Haut-Planty , who makes an unsulfured Muskadig Breizh (i.e. “Breton Muscadet”—an affirmation of regional pride, as he explains to me over oysters). There’s not just pét-nat, but also Champagne-style brut made from melon, as well as Muscadet Primeur, a white counterbalance to Beaujolais Nouveau. And just a bit northeast, in the Coteaux d’Ancenis region, Muscadet has its own little experimental sandbox. Traditionally, it was planted with a grab bag: gamay, malvasia, chenin blanc. Now it’s home to the Nantais fringe movement. There is even skin-fermented Muscadet, including one made by Vincent Caillé as part of an aptly named project called Vine Revival .

When I visited his cellar on a brisk morning several months back, he pulled some from an amphora and dribbled it into my glass. This was a side of Muscadet I never thought I’d encounter. The wine was deep orange-colored, dense, tactile; the mineral punch still evident but matched by an intense, tannic bite. As I tasted it, I realized that we have all, in fact, been misled about the melon grape. It is in no way neutral and meager; rather, it’s thick-skinned and sturdy and full of character—so long as you do the work to extract it. And so, after a week in the region, I’m inclined to believe Jérémie Huchet of Les Bêtes Curieuses, who told me, as we stood amidst a parcel of 1914 vines, “For a young guy who wants to make wines of minerality, Muscadet has the greatest potential.” I’ve heard similar sentiments in many corners of France. But the obsession with moving forward is unusually keen here, and the future feels a lot more real than that flying saucer might imply.

Muscadet, at last, seems ready to become a more meaningful place than anyone ever imagined. Related Loire » French Wine Region » CellarTours Wine & Spirits Profile of Loire, French Wine Region The Loire is undoubtedly the most diverse and extensive of all France’s classic wine regions. As we might expect, there is a vast difference in styles from Nantes on the Atlantic coast where the Loire River starts its journey to Sancerre which marks the end of the region. This is an extremely beautiful wine region with elegant Châteaux dotted around the banks of the Loire; you are unlikely to find any corporate winemaking here. Generations of families continue to make light, elegant reds and whites, perfect for summer drinking. Much of the region is steeped in tradition but, at the same time plenty of new quality conscious producers are emerging in all the appellations. Many of them are committed to organic farming; something easier said that done is this particularly wet climate! Our journey down the Loire begins with the Pays Nantais, southwest of the city of Nantes (well worth a visit in its own right).

Muscadet is the major wine produced here, an extremely dry and steely wine perfect for shellfish. The most important appellation is arguably Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine with the best wines bottled sur lie. This means the wine spends a period of time on the yeasty sediment left over after fermentation for added richness. Further east and stretching towards the south of Anjou and Saumur is the heart of the Vins De Pays du Jardin de la France, increasingly good value white is appearing here. The Anjou appellation includes red, rose and white wines. It covers a vast area north and south of the River Loire, from the west of Angers east to beyond Saumur. The quality is generally high, with some stylish, oak fermented whites from the major white variety of the region, Chenin Blanc. Reds tend to be light, ripe and juicy with more full-bodied examples made from Gamay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The best red has its own AC, Anjou-Villages and some excellent wines are being made from Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon.

The greatest wines here, though, are the intense dry whites of Savennières and the dessert wines of Coteaux du Layon. These sweet wines tend to be quite restrained and very ageworthty, with a beautiful honeyed richness. A small amount of fine sweet Chenin Blanc is also made at Saumur and labelled as Coteaux de Saumur. The vineyards of Saumur are also a haven for sparkling wine production. As well as sparkling Saumur there is also the catch-all appellation of Crémant de Loire, there are a few offshoots of the big Champagne houses in the region. Quality can be really good and the wines are not expensive. The wines are more green apple in character than rich and biscuity in the style of Champagne. Some of the best wines from Saumur are the barrel-fermented still white Chenin Blancs of the Saumur AC and the rich, ripe reds of Saumur-Champigny. Wines from the appellation Chinon are produced exclusively from Cabernet Franc, light, elegant and soft wines. Moving east along the river we arrive at Touraine. Like Anjou, there is a catch-all Touraine AC.

Sauvignon Blanc is a major grape here, think crisp, refreshing gooseberry flavoured whites. In the far west of the region are the red wine appellations of Bourgueil and Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil north of the river Loire and Chinon just to the south. The best of these wines are really good value, delicious soft reds. Just to the east of the city of Tours are the vineyards of Vouvray and Mountlois. Vouvray is found on the north of the river, Montouis just to the south. Some fantastic dry and sweet wines are made here; the latter can be some of the greatest and longest-lived sweet wines in the world. Green and minerally in their youth, they become increasingly rich ad honeyed with age. Sheer elegance in a glass. There are also a number of less famous Touraine appellations that are, nonetheless, worth a look. To the west of Tours can be found Touraine Azay-Le-Rideau and to the east of Vouvray and Montlouis Touraine-Amboise and Touraine-Mesland. Gamay, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon feature for the reds and Chenin Blanc for the whites.

To the south of Blois are the regions of Cheverny and Cour-Cheverny. To the North of Tours we come across the regions of the Coteaux du Loir and its sub-region of Jasnières. The climate here is extremely marginal, a winemaker’s nightmare. Only a protected mesoclimate offers any hope of fully ripe wines in bad years, yet another example of the many challenges wine growers face. Further east we arrive at the heartland of Sauvignon Blanc in The Loire, Quincy, Reuilly, Menetou-Salon, Sancerre and last but by no means least Pouilly-Fumé. That pungent, crisp refreshing style of Sauvignon was coined here long before those New Zealanders starting exporting what has become the white wine drink of choice for many wine lovers. Good Pinot Noir is also made at Sancerre and to a lesser extent at Mentou-Salon. Different in style from Burgundy , the wines are usually extremely light and refreshing to drink, and can be enjoyed even unaccompanied by food. The wines of the Loire are, in essence, perfect for those long summer nights and warm evenings.

Beautiful, refreshing whites and light elegant reds invoke bbq fish, shellfish and picnics in the shade. Travelling along the river banks and visiting its many stately Châteaux is an experience that few will forget and all will relish. Nantes and Tours dazzle visitors with their impressive architecture and abundant good restaurants, shops and bars. Sit in the square and sip a glass of Sancerre – heaven. Offical Loire AOC Website: Top Alsace winemakers include A Beginner's Guide to French Wine | Serious Eats A Beginner's Guide to French Wine 14 [Illustration: Robyn Lee] The idea of tackling France—the accents and the growing regions and the different vintages—can feel like a vast, unmanageable task for anyone who wants to start learning about wine. But even the most seasoned wine professionals sometimes mispronounce words, so you shouldn't worry. Today's guide will help you get a little more comfortable in the French section of your local wine shop. French wines can be confusing because they rarely put the name of the grape on the bottle.

Instead they put a controlled place name, appearing on the label as the "Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée." You will often see this abbreviated as AOC or, to get in line with EU terminology, AOP. The rules for winemaking and grape growing in each appellation have grown out of each region's long history. Why put the place on the label instead of the name of the grape? Many people would say that it's because of the notion of terroir. Essentially, terroir is the wine's expression of the place from where it came. When winemakers speak about terroir, they're talking about a variety of things that influence the vine, including the type of soil it's growing in, the slope and elevation of the vineyard, as well as the climate and weather. Though it's hard to make broad generalizations, you might find that French wines tend to focus less on fruit flavors than wines from newer growing regions in the New World. French wines might be described as earthy or mineral—which means they taste a little like dirt, chalk, or mushrooms. Today we'll cover a few of the major regions that you should know.

Burgundy [ Photo: Craig Drollett on Flickr ] When someone says "red Burgundy," they're talking about Pinot Noir. And when they say "white Burgundy", they mean Chardonnay. But as with most French wines, you won't see those grapes on the label, so it's worth getting to know a bit about the famous wine-growing regions of Burgundy: there's Chablis in the north, the Cote d'Or between Dijon and Lyon, Cote Chalonnaise, the Mâcon, and Beaujolais. Most wines from Burgundy are split into four major tiers of quality. Regional wines (which are just labeled, say, Bourgogne Rouge, Bourgogne Blanc, or Cremant de Bourgogne) are at the base, made from grapes sourced anywhere in Burgundy. As the prestige goes up, you're getting grapes from a more and more specific area. Next up from regional wines are those specific to one village, then wines sourced from premier cru vineyards, and finally, the top classification is for wines from the most prestigious sites, called the grand cru vineyards.

The appellations in Burgundy are attached the piece of land, regardless of who is making the wine. Some pieces of land may have dozens of producers, with each winery owning a few rows of grape vines. How did Burgundy end up with this system? Well, it's all about the history. Monks have been farming this land for centuries, and noted which spots seemed best for growing grapes. The vineyards were split among multiple owners as generations went by because the Napoleonic code stipulated that a family's vineyards were split among their children, not inherited all together. Chablis, the northernmost part of Burgundy, is famous for white wines made from chardonnay. If the label says Appellation Chablis Contrôlée, the wine will generally be fresh with a chalky, oyster shell-like minerality—many of these wines are not aged in oak barrels. The Cote d'Or is made up of two main regions, Cote de Nuits in northern area, and Cote de Beaune in the south. Cote de Nuits is more known for its Pinot Noir and the Cote de Beaune is famed for its Chardonnay.

Moving south, you will find two regions that serve as excellent (and often more affordable) introductions to the wines of Burgundy: the Cote Chalonnaise and the Mâcon. You'll find great deals in Pinot Noir from Givry or Mercurey. For Chardonnay, look for Pouilly-Fuissé, St-Véran, or Rully. Red wine in Burgundy is mostly about Pinot Noir, but there is one exception: Beaujolais. In this area, delicious red wines are made from the gamay grape. There's much more to these wines than the quickly-produced Beaujolais Nouveau meant for harvest celebrations; those cheap wines really don't represent the quality of the region on the whole. Wines from the ten 'crus' of Beaujolais are beloved among wine nerds and often a great bargain. There are ten crus, but some of the ones you'll see the most are Morgon, Fleurie, or Moulin-A-Vent. Bordeaux The town of St. Emilion. [Photo: Robyn Lee] Wines from Bordeaux are almost always a blend of different grapes.

If you're buying red wine, it might include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, and/or Petit Verdot. What's the dominant grape in the blend? It depends on where the bottle is from... The region of Bordeaux is often divided into the Left Bank and the Right Bank. The area is split by the Gironde river, which has two smaller rivers, the Garonne and the Dordogne, feeding into it (picture an upside-down 'Y' shape.) The Left Bank, on the west side, includes the Medoc and Haut Medoc (north of the city of Bordeaux) and Graves (south of the city). The famous villages of St. Estephe, Pauillac, St. Julien, and Margaux are all in the Haut Medoc. The Graves region to the south of the city includes Pessac-Leognan, home of the renowned Chateau Haut-Brion. The blends for wines from the Left Bank are generally dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, while blends from the Right Bank—the east side, which includes St. Emilion and Pomerol—are more focused on Merlot.

Between the two branches of the river-'Y' shape is a region called Entre Deux Mers, known for its white wines made from Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, and Muscadelle. You might have heard the terms 'first growth' or 'second growth' in relation to fancy wines from Bordeaux. These classifications come from a ranking system from way back in 1855, when the wine estates of the region were ranked in order of quality from 'first growth' to 'fifth growth'. 160 years later, some of the top wines are still truly mind-blowing....and expensive. Unlike in Burgundy, the classification in Bordeaux is based on the producer, not the specific piece of land where the grapes are grown. Loire Melon de Bourgogne grapes in the Loire [ Photo: Cyril5555 on Wikimedia Commons ] The wine regions near the Loire River can be thought of in four sections: The Pays Nantais, Anjou-Saumur, Touraine, and the Central Vineyards. Let's start at the ocean, shall we?

The Pays Nantais (named for Nantes, the largest city in the area) is the closest to the Atlantic and famous for Muscadet, an oyster-loving white wine made from the Melon de Bourgogne grape. You're likely to see 'Sur Lie' on a good bottle of Muscadet—it means that the wine was left with the dead yeast cells, or lees, after fermentation. This adds a creamy, textural richness to the fresh, salty tang of the wine. (One thing to keep straight: Muscadet is definitely different from Muscat, an aromatic grape that is often made as an off-dry wine.) Traveling east from the Pays Nantais, we come to the Anjou-Saumur and the Touraine. The white grape Chenin Blanc and the red Cabernet Franc are the most common here. We love the dry Chenin Blancs from Savennières, as well as both the dry and sweeter examples of the grape made in Vouvray. If you're looking for Cabernet Franc, seek out red wines from Chinon and Bourgueil.

While also found in the Bordeaux blend, on its own, Cabernet Franc expresses itself with black cherry, herby green vegetables, and plenty of potting soil. You'll also find peppery, tangy, and bright Pineau d'Aunis in Anjou and Touraine. The Central Vineyards are known mainly for their Sauvignon Blanc. The appellation of Sancerre is the most well-known and often the most expensive. Its neighbors can provide a great entry point with the same tart, sometimes grassy expression. Look for wines from the adjacent appellations of Menetou-Salon and Pouilly-Fumè, or the nearby Reuilly and Quincy. Champagne Cristal Champagne in racks (called pupitres) used for riddling. [Photo: Sarah Bray] You might have heard before that you're not supposed to call every sparkling wine Champagne. It's only Champagne if it's from the region of Champagne. (And they actually make some still, non-bubbly wines there, too, though those aren't called Champagne, either.) What makes Champagne special, beyond the region where the grapes are grown? The methode champenoise, also known as the traditional method.

The basic idea of this labor-intensive process is as follows. Somewhat underripe grapes are first fermented to make a normal still wine with pretty low alcohol. This wine is bottled and then undergoes a second fermentation in the very same bottle that comes home with you from the store. A little yeast and sugar is added to each bottle of wine to get a second fermentation started. The bottle is usually closed with a crown cap (like a beer cap). The yeast converts the added sugar into alcohol, and since the bottle is capped, the carbon dioxide that is naturally produced is captured and remains in the wine as bubbles. After this secondary fermentation, Champagne bottles have to go through a laborious process called riddling. Over the course of several weeks, the bottles are slowly, gradually turned and lowered until they are turned upside down. The goal is to get all of the dead yeast into the neck of the bottle so that it can be removed. Seeing a pattern with this leftover yeast? Lees add a lot to the resulting wine and Champagnes have to age with the yeast for at least a year before taking the next step.

When they're ready to go, the necks of the bottles are frozen and, in a moment of organized chaos called disgorgement, the crown cap on the bottle is popped off and the pressure that has built up in the wine pushes out the frozen yeast deposit. The bottle is topped off with some wine and sometimes sugar (the dosage) before being corked and sealed with a wire cage. Since the grapes often struggle to ripen fully every year in the cool, northern environment, wines from Champagne are often non-vintage (NV), which means the bottle holds a blend of wines from different years. Champagne can also be from a single vintage, which is generally a very good year. All this hard work means that Champagne is definitely pricey—often starting around $40. You can also look for wines made from the traditional method in other areas of France, often for around $20. One easy kind to spot is anything labeled 'Cremant.' These wines will come from other areas around France, such as Burgundy, Alsace, or the Loire. You will see 'Premier Cru' and 'Grand Cru' on bottles of Champagne—this label applies to the entire village from which the grape comes, rather than specific vineyards.

Alsace The Hugel & Fils tasting room in Alsace. [Photo: Sarah Bray] You'll find Alsace right on the German border of France. Over the last few hundred years, France and Germany have alternated possession of the area and a unique blend of each country's wine heritage remains. Unlike in most French regions, wines from Alsace most frequently do have the grape of the label. The most exalted grapes in the region, called noble grapes, are Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, and Muscat. In Alsace, these wines are unusually intense and mineral, not the fresh-and-fruity wines you might expect from these grapes. If you see 'Gentil' on a label of an Alsatian wine, it means the bottle holds a blend of the noble grapes (as well as up to 50% wine from other grapes). These blends can be a particularly good value. Alsatian examples of Pinot Blanc and Sylvaner are also delicious and are generally much cheaper than wines made from the noble grapes.

While most grapes grown in Alsace are white, Pinot Noir does make an appearance on its own as a red wine and in bubbly Cremant d'Alsace. Rhône The Hermitage hill, above the Rhône River. [ Photo: David Monniaux on Wikimedia Commons ] You might have heard of Châteauneuf-du-Pape or Hermitage: those appellations are in the Rhône. The Rhône River starts up in the Alps and flows down through Valence and Avignon, ending in the Mediterranean Sea in the area near Marseille. The area is generally split into two main parts: the Northern Rhône and the Southern Rhône. When you think Northern Rhône, think Syrah. The grape finds its most peppery, meaty expression on the steep hillsides that line the river. A good way to get into these wines is to try St. Joseph or Crozes-Hermitage, but even these can be a bit pricey. Some talented producers make wines under the humble Vin de Pays Collines Rhodaniennes, and these can be delicious and extremely affordable. You'll also see white wines made from Viognier grapes in this area.

The sunny Southern Rhone is all about the blend, with Grenache leading the charge. They're usually "GSM," shorthand for Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre. Other grapes, such as Cinsault and Counoise, also make an appearance and in fact, thirteen different grapes are allowed in the blend for Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The white wines are often blends of Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne, and Viognier, though a few other grapes are also allowed. The Rhône wines you will most often see in a wine shop or on a wine list will say Côtes-du-Rhône on the label. These, too, are likely to be GSM blends, sometimes including Cinsault, Carignane, and Counoise. If you want to take one step up from the basic Côtes-du-Rhône wines, look for one of the 18 villages that are allowed to add their name to the label.

(You'll often see Visan, Sablet, and Cairanne.) Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Beaumes-de-Venise, and Vinsobres often offer a bit more quality; they used to be under the Cotes-du-Rhone name, but have been elevated and now stand on their own as appellations. Languedoc and Roussillon Sampling wine in the Languedoc. [Photo: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt] Languedoc and Roussillon are two large regions that lie on the coast of the Mediterranean. Red and rosé wines from these areas are generally a blend of Carignan, Cinsault, Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, with other indigenous and international varieties making an appearance. White wines are less common, but when you see them they are also usually blends that include Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne, Muscat, and sometimes other grapes. If you love the warm climate wines of California or Australia, these regions are a wonderful way to introduce yourself to France. The sunshine gives plenty of fruit flavor and body to the red wines from the AOCs of Côtes du Roussillon, St.

Chinian, Minervois, and Languedoc (Languedoc is the general name for the region and a specific AOC, you still with me?). Rousillon is also known for its fortified sweet wine, made in spots like Rivesaltes, Maury, and Banyuls from a Grenache blend. You might see 'Vin De Pays d'Oc' on a wine label from this region—it's a country wine classification that is one step up from table wine but without as many restrictions as Appellation Contrôlée wines. Good value alert! Provence [Photo: Rebeccah Marsters] When we think of Provence, we first think of rosé. They make a lot of it here, usually a blend of Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault, and Mourvèdre that pairs perfectly with sunshine and beach umbrellas. But there's more to Provence than just these lovely, dry pink wines: if you're looking for reds, look to Bandol. This region sits along the coast and produces mostly red wines from a blend dominated by Mourvèdre.

Producers in Bandol also tend to make exceptional rosé wines from younger vines that aren't quite ready to be used in red wine. There's More! There are more grapes and regions in France than you probably have time to read about on your lunch break, but we hope we've given you a few handy basics. Got questions about the wines of France or any of the regions we've mentioned? Please share them in the comments below! Video: More Summer Wine Picks If there’s one food that pairs impressively with the French white wine known as Muscadet, it’s oysters. Oysters and Muscadet, one is told, go together like Mickey and Mouse. They are an inseparable duo, which is all fine and good, if you like oysters. I do not. Once upon a time I did; in fact, I had a good 20 or 30 years of liking oysters. Then oysters—raw ones, specifically—apparently decided it was in their best interest to kill me, or at the very least make me wish very strongly that I were dead. So I gave up on them. But I still love Muscadet.

Light-bodied, mineral-edged, made in France’s Loire Valley with the white Melon de Bourgogne grape, from vineyards hard up against the Atlantic, it’s one of the world’s great partners for food of all kinds. That’s what I told Jon-David Headrick, a Nashville resident and wine importer who focuses on the Loire, when I proposed that we meet up in Atlanta and take a Muscadet-fueled tour of the South. My plan was to prove that Muscadet doesn’t just pair well with oysters but with a whole host of foods: fish, fried chicken, even tacos and barbecue. Anything short of a T-bone. “I think that’s the best idea I’ve heard all year,” he told me. To understand why Muscadet is so good, it helps to know a little more about what it is and where it is grown.

The Muscadet appellation, mostly south of the city of Nantes on France’s Atlantic coast, is one of the largest in the country, with more than 650 growers and 23,000 acres of vines; its three sub-appellations are Muscadet-Sèvre et Maine, Muscadet-Coteaux de la Loire and Muscadet-Côtes de Grandlieu. Though the Loire River flows along its northern border, Muscadet doesn’t really belong in the Loire, Headrick says: “It belongs in Brittany. The granitic shelf that underlies Brittany flows right down into Muscadet. The rest of the Loire is mostly on limestone.” This, of course, is exactly the sort of conversation one hears every day in the parking lots of gas-station convenience stores in Atlanta, so why people were looking at us funny I have no idea. Possibly it was related to the fact that we were also trying to stuff 12 bottles of wine into the Styrofoam cooler we’d just purchased. Headrick slammed the trunk. “Have Muscadet, will travel,” he announced.

But granite isn’t the only thing that makes the Muscadet region different from the rest of the Loire. Proximity to the sea moderates the region’s summer temperatures, making the wines lighter and lower in alcohol than those produced in inland places, like Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé. And while the preeminent white grape in the rest of the Loire is Sauvignon Blanc, Muscadet relies on the obscure Melon de Bourgogne. In truth, Melon is a fairly nondescript variety. When farmed for high yields and vinified in a desultory way, it produces a blandly anonymous wine that’s refreshing when chilled, and not much else. That’s the Muscadet sold for a euro or two per glass in cafés and bistros throughout Paris. It’s the definition of forgettable—which is why, until fairly recently, Muscadet was, to some degree, forgotten. On the other hand, Melon’s lack of personality can also be a virtue. Headrick’s analogy is that Melon is like pasta: a vehicle, in this case not for sauce but for soil expression.

“Because the grape doesn’t have that much character on its own, it’s extremely transparent to the nature of where it’s grown,” he says. What that means is that really good Muscadet—the sort that small importers have been bringing to the US over the past few years—is tremendously expressive. Not powerful, but distinct. Headrick’s wines, like the 2010 Delhommeau Clos Armand we opened in Atlanta that evening at Holeman & Finch, are excellent examples. The Clos Armand has bright citrus tones, but also a faint, appealing bitterness— the fruit together with a little bit of the peel, in a way—and a fine minerality that runs through the flavor, much the way that the granite shelf runs through the Muscadet appellation. Good with oysters? No doubt.

But as chef Linton Hopkins said when he joined us, “What I’m really looking forward to is trying this with fatty, porky stuff.” Chefs must have a broad definition of fatty, porky stuff, because our table was soon overwhelmed with Hopkins’s Southern gastropub food: country ham, lamb headcheese, veal brains in black butter, catfish with grits, Berkshire grillon (essentially nothing but pork fat, with bits of crackling suspended in it), and finally, his homage to Nashville hot chicken. The Muscadet handled it all with aplomb, but it was startlingly good with the chicken. Hot chicken—the name refers not to its temperature but its spiciness—gets its heat from cayenne pepper, and lots of it. Hopkins’s version, which he recently started serving every night, is fried and then basted repeatedly with a lard-and-cayenne mixture. It is sweat-on-your-forehead, endorphin-rush hot. Yet Muscadet is somehow delicious with it.

People tend to describe wines in terms of fruit flavors, but what made the Muscadet work so well with that onslaught of cayenne heat was its non-fruit characteristics: its refreshing, citrusy acidity; its modest alcohol level (high alcohol intensifies spiciness); even its temperature (the bottle was nicely chilled). “I think Muscadet is the wine for hot chicken,” Hopkins decided. “In fact, I’m putting that pairing on the menu tomorrow.” Muscadet’s resilience in the face of foods that would ordinarily be wine-killers was clear at every stop Headrick and I made. It was certainly true at Tienda Mexicana Los Amigos, a Mexican grocery store in a scruffy part of Athens, Georgia. We met up there with Hugh Acheson, the chef-owner of the renowned Athens restaurant Five & Ten, among others. An all-purpose place, Tienda Mexicana Los Amigos sells everything from cowboy boots to condensed milk to piñatas, but most importantly, it sells tacos—very good tacos. “It’s definitely the kind of place that makes you think of French wine,” Acheson observed archly as we sat down. Does Muscadet go with tacos?

I’m happy to report that it does, or at least the green-appley 2011 Domaine de la Fruitière Petit M we drank at Los Amigos did. Plus, it resulted in one of my wine-geek discoveries of the year: Sur lie aging (aging on the spent yeasts from fermentation, which gives the best Muscadets more texture, along with a savory, umami-ish note) makes wine go bizarrely well with corn tortillas. You can’t take a turn in the South with a trunk full of Muscadet and not figure out whether it goes with barbecue, because that would just be wrong. Which is why, finally, we found ourselves at Full Moon Bar-B-Que in Birmingham, Alabama. Frank Stitt, the chef-owner of the Highlands Bar and Grill, had brought us there; it’s one of his favorite barbecue joints. Full Moon, a white cinder-block building on the edge of downtown, serves terrific pork shoulder and chicken, all smoked over the hickory wood common to Alabama barbecue. It’s a very friendly place, bringing customers of all backgrounds together through a common desire for great meat. “There’s a uniqueness to what comes off this pit,” Stitt says.

“I don’t know exactly why, but I love it.” We sat down to platters of charred “outside” meat and juicy “inside” meat and a heap of smoky chicken, our table crowded with Muscadet bottles. One of the kitchen staff called over cheerfully, “Y’all need some help with those?” Unfortunately, the Full Moon was the scene of a rare instance of Muscadet failure. The wines were nice with the pork, and with the chicken they were spectacular, but they were obliterated by Full Moon’s chowchow, a sweet, spicy, cabbage-based relish with vinegar, sugar and lots of cayenne in it. It wasn’t really a surprise; sweetness is always a problem for high-acid whites, as it makes them taste thin and aggressively sharp. We put the chowchow aside; there was plenty of meat left to go. “I’m a huge Loire fan, and a huge Muscadet fan,” Stitt said (he’s the wine buyer for his restaurants, as well as the chef). “I think the smoked chicken with the Muscadet is just a home run.

The pairing makes the wine really sing, and the chicken taste super-good.” In particular, the wine’s flinty notes seemed to intensify the smokiness of the chicken. I turned to Headrick. “You know, it’s not really all that far to New Orleans from here.” “Muscadet and gumbo,” he said thoughtfully. “Also étouffée,” I noted. “Crawfish. Think about it. How else will we know?” Five Great Muscadets To Seek Out 2011 Domaine De La Fruitière Petit M ($13) Fruitière’s vineyards are planted on sheer rock cliffs—gorgeous but not easy to farm. The wines they create, like this one, are exceptional. 2011 Jo Landron Domaine De La Louvetrie ($14) The most affordable of Louvetrie’s three cuvées; its nearly electric acidity makes it incredibly crisp. 2011 Château De La Ragotière Etiquette Noir ($17) This large estate was founded sometime in the 14th century. The lime-scented etiquette noir (black label) bottling is its top wine.

2011 Domaine Luneau-Papin Pierre De La Grange ($18) Vines more than 45 years old help account for the salty, savory complexity of this excellent Muscadet. 2011 Michel Delhommeau Symbiose ($18) Michel and Nathalie Delhommeau, a young husband-and-wife team, make a range of superb Muscadets. Among them is this stony, green apple–inflected bottling. Video: More Summer Wine Picks Advertisement

Question: Muscadet is a white wine from which French wine region?
Answer: LOIRE