Wine has been grown in Bordeaux for over two thousand years. Most probably vines grew there before the arrival of the Roman in 56BC. But unlike most of the other French wine regions, wine in Bordeaux was developed by merchants. In other parts of France, wine was under the power of the monks.

At the beginning of the second millennium the Bordeaux region was under English domination. Hundreds of boats loaded with barrels of “Claret” were shipped to England. The “Claret” was a light red wine which Englishmen loved. The word is still used to refer to red Bordeaux. By the 14th century, half of the wine production was boarded on ships mainly to England. At that time, wines from Bergerac and Gaillac, east of Bordeaux, were very famous and strongly competed against Bordeaux wines. Nowadays they belong to the South West wine region.

Therefore the local winemakers and merchants banned those South West wines from entering the city of Bordeaux until their own wines were on board the ships.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, merchants from England, the Netherlands, and Germany controlled most of the red wines produced in the whole Bordeaux region. At that time, wineries sold their wines in barrels and casks just after they made them. Merchants bought barrels and casks, sometimes bottled the wines and matured them.

In 1855, these merchants created a ranking to distinguish the finest Bordeaux red wines. The classification still exists and is known as Grands Crus Classes.

Baron de Rothschild 

At the end of the World War II, Baron de Rothschild was the first wine maker to bottle his wines and mature them in a cellar, before all wine makers did the same.

During the last decade, the trend in Bordeaux is to put a brand name on the bottle with grapes coming from all over the region and even beyond. Brand names such as Mouton Cadet and Malesan are increasingly popular.

Burgundy Red Wine

Burgundy wines are of a velvety and subtle red or sensual and characteristic white. The area of Burgundy experiences a continental climate characterized by very cold winters and hot summers. The weather is very unpredictable with rains, hail, and frost all possibly around harvest time. Because of this climate, there is a lot of variation between vintages from Burgundy.

How To Make Red Wine

To begin making this type of wine you need to pick some black grapes and put them into a crusher, which will gently break the grapes’ skins.  Whether or not you use the stalks will depend upon what type of red wine you are making.  Once you decide upon this, you will then place the grapes, and if you are using the stems, them too, into a fermentation vat.  This takes several weeks for you to complete.

If you are creating a soft wine, then the whole grapes should be fermented in sealed vats.  Herein carbon dioxide will become trapped and help to ferment the grapes under pressure.  This is usually a quick process that will only take a couple of days.  Herein you will be creating a less robust wine that also has less taste and color.

Whatever amount of grapes are left, will go through a press in order to be crushed so that they can create a tannic wine.  Usually this will then be added to a free run wine in order to add a bit more flavor to the blend.  Then both the press wine and the vat wine will be combined before being transferred to tanks or barrels for a second fermentation.  This second fermentation is what takes the longest amount of time.  However, herein is also where the quality and the taste of this wine comes from.

The Final Stages Of Making Red Wine

All of the different types of fine red wine will need to spend at least a year in the barrels fermenting. Real vintage red wine spends a lot more time in the barrels.  In fact, they can may even spend up to several years therein.  In the final process you will need to add egg whites in order to suspend the yeast and other solids that are found in the downwards.  This is done before the wine is racked, filtered and eventually bottled.  Then, once it is bottled, it is shipped off and sold.  Of course, vintage red wine must be stored in the bottle before it is offered for sale. The more robust and more expensive types of vintage red wine benefit from the most time aging in the bottle, unlike the simpler types of red wine.

Try Them Before Buying

Before you go out and buy a bottle of wine, try to attend a wine tasting if you’re able. If not, then go to your favorite restaurant that serves wine. Often times, they will allow you to taste various types of red wine so that you can choose the kind you’d like to order. There are several types of red wine. There is Pinot Noir, Cabaret, Merlot, and a few others. You don’t have to get an expensive bottle of wine, you can get a nominally priced bottle and it will at least give you an idea if you like it or not. Most people find that they have a favorite type of red wine. So try them all out and pick your favorite.

Red wine goes great with certain types of meals. If you go to a fancy restaurant, for instance, you will sometimes find wine recommendations next to some food items on the menu. That means the wine goes perfectly with that type of food. These foods include pastas, and other foods with red sauces, beef, chocolate and more. Of course, some reds go with certain foods while others do not. If you’re curious about wine food pairings, look them up on the internet or contact your favorite restaurant and ask them about the foods that go perfectly with your favorite type of red.

When you go shopping for a bottle of wine, you may find that the price varies wildly. Some brands are more expensive than others because they’re either imported or they are of a brand that is of a higher quality than the others. If you’re trying to save money, go with a bottle that’s a little more in your price range. You’ll still get a great bottle of red wine and it makes a great gift if you are ever invited over to someone’s house. The older the bottle, the more expensive it will be, but if you’re just looking for a bottle on the fly, then, when it comes to red wine, any bottle should do.