English/Bordeaux

[Thomas]

"Bordeaux was protected by England and the estates have been in the same families for generations."

Guru,

Bordeaux wasn't protected, it was owned by England between the 12th century and the middle of the 15th century, when the French reclaimed it after the 100 Years Wars. The British were then thrown out of Bordeaux, but the fact that British and Gascon merchants had centuries-long relationships, plus the French monarch came to realize that he needed the wine trade with England, brought the British back in the trade stronger than ever.

The Dutch had been thrown out of the wine trade at Bordeaux centuries prior by British exclusionary decrees, and so Dutch merchants ambled over to the Cognac region to begin that industry.

In the 18th century, the owner of Haut Brion opened a restaurant in London. There, he sold his single-vineyard wines to wealthy British customers, establishing the practice of single vineyard Bordeaux wines that led to upgrading standards and practices in the region that in turn was partly responsible for the future 1855 classification system.



[This message has been edited by foodie (edited 04-16-2005).]