The Cellar: Loire & More Day 8
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Day #7 – Sancerre (Rouge)
Of the approximately 7.000 acres of vines planted in Sancerre 20% of them are planted with Pinot Noir. Now, this doesn’t mean that 1 bottle in 5 produced in Sancerre is red - far from it! Sancerre’s cool conditions, coupled with the fact that Pinot Noir is a notoriously difficult grape to grow, forces farmers to keep yields exceptionally low (as low as 1 ton per acre) to achieve optimal maturity. This means that less Pinot Noir is produced per acre than vineyards planted with Sauvignon Blanc.
Once the grapes have been harvested and de-stemmed, which often happens by hand so as to avoid getting any under-ripe clusters or berries mixed into the cuvée, the grapes undergo a very soft pressing process. This is done to prevent too many astringent flavors from the seeds, including too many tannins from the skins, to get mixed into the delicate fruity juice. Sancerre Rouges are often aged in used or neutral oak barrels, as well as in bottle, prior to being released.
Steffen Rasch is a Certified Sommelier and Specialist of Wine. Feel free to email him at [email protected] with any wine-related question or learn about wine in person by signing up for one of his tastings through the Providence Wine Academy.
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