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• France: Champagne, Rhone River Valley, Alscace

• LA Weekend wine getaway: Disneyland & Beyond

Sometimes it’s easy to overlook an old friend when the sexy new kids are grabbing your attention. That seems to be what’s happened to French wines in the wake of hotties Australia and New Zealand.

And certainly the two southern hemisphere cover models are worthy of your attention. Good wines are coming from there, reasonably priced wines that taste good, wines that are balanced and go with food. Easy to overlook, then, established stars; familiarity breeds contempt, so they say.

But a recent visit to France re-emphasized for me just how good French wines are and how worthy they are of your attention. They’re balanced, harmonious, love to work with food and taste great.

Which is what many of us are looking for when we open a bottle of wine. All too often these days California wines are neither balanced nor harmonious. Flavorful, I’ll grant you, due to the fact that vintners are ripening their grapes to 27, 28, 29 degrees brix (the measure of a grape’s sugar content) – I’ve even heard of syrah picked at 31 degrees brix – all in the name of getting that high numerical score from famous wine writers. Sadly the resulting high alcohol does not make for food friendliness; it does make for a quick buzz.

It pains me to say that because as a native Californian I love California wines. But I don’t love what’s happening to them. I’ve been forced to look elsewhere for the qualities I value – balance, harmony, food compatibility. The Australians, the New Zealanders and the South Americans seem to have figured this out. Not only that, they’re offering wines at reasonable prices.

Somehow lost in all this are our old friends the French. You remember them: they’ve set the standard for so many wines, and yet they seem to have taken a back seat to the new guys. Lack of PR perhaps; or bad PR: the internal squabbles concerning over-production have generated headlines, not the kind that make a marketing director’s job easy.

Other European countries are faring well: Italy is making superb wines that, with their crisp acidity and food-friendliness, are selling well in this country. Spain seems to be the new darling of the American wine media – deservedly so; good wines. A revived interest in reisling is shining the spotlight on Germany. Even Austrian gruner veltliner is generating attention.

You should also be looking at French wines because, simply put, they taste great. We recently visited France, making stops in Champagne, the Rhone Valley and Alsace. At each stop we found committed, dedicated winemakers making splendid wines that were so balanced, so harmonious, so food-friendly – just downright delicious – we thought we had died and gone to heaven.

  The great news? Virtually all the wines described here are available to you in Bakersfield; and if you have trouble finding them here, you can certainly find them elsewhere in California. 

Champagne 

Sometime one of these summers I want to return to Reims because I have found a fantastic Champagne bar. You sit on the sidewalk under an umbrella overlooking cathedral square – Reims’ cathedral is spectacular – and have your choice by the glass of virtually every Champagne made in that beautiful region. No doubt you can get some exquisite fois gras, too. I envision a blissful afternoon chatting with passersby (my French is passable), fellow imbibers. Simply grand.

And one of the sparklers I would chose would be Champagne Deutz. Deutz is in the neighboring city of Ay, about 20-minutes drive south of Reims. Ay is smaller than Reims, but no less important to Champagne than its neighbor. Drive down Ay’s streets and pass Champagne house after Champagne house.

Turn into the courtyard at Deutz and step back in time. It’s the home of William Deutz, the house’s founder, beautifully preserved. In the courtyard is a statue of a cherub, named Amor de Deutz. Tradition seeps from every nook and cranny.

Yet innovation is everywhere beneath the veneer. The latest technology is visible throughout the winery: computer-controlled fermentation tanks, mechanical riddlers (devices that turn the bottles during secondary fermentation), a modern distribution system. “We’re an old lady with a new skin,” said Etienne Defossé, Deutz’s European sales manager.

Yet for all that it’s also a house steeped in tradition. Founded in 1838, Deutz owns 42 hectares (about 100 acres) of vines, which accounts for about a third of its production, Defossé said. “There’s a big effort on the part of our president, Fabrice Rosset, and our winemaker to keep good relations with the growers,” who provide two-thirds of the fruit for Deutz production.

“We buy fruit only from the center of the (Champagne) region,” Defossé said. “It’s very important for quality. Fruit from each village and grower is harvested and vinified separately. Our production is relatively small (about 150,000 cases), and unlike the big guys, who follow a recipe in advance, our winemaker knows every one of the lots and makes adjustments if necessary. Our wines are handcrafted.

Deutz has seven Champagnes, each with its own distinct personality. And both Defossé and Rosset say unequivocally that the Brut Classic, which comprises 85 percent of the company’s production, is its most important product.

 It’s a blend of a third each pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot munier; only free-run juice is used, and it spends three years on the yeast before its release. “The grapes are from the heart of Champagne,” Defossé said. “The longer a Champagne spends on the yeast the smaller the bubbles. The smaller the bubbles the better the quality.

“The success of Deutz is the success of Classic,” he said.

Added Rosset: “We will never sacrifice quality on the Brut Classic. As a Swedish wine writer once told me, ‘Everyone in Champagne makes a good quality prestige cuvee, but only a few pay attention to their (regular) cuvee.’ If we ever did anything detrimental to the Brut Classic, we would shoot ourselves in the foot.”

The Brut Classic has a creamy texture with fruit-forward flavors, a nice crispness and a broad palate – a sublime wine. “Our philosophy is drink it right away and enjoy it for maximum freshness,” Defossé said.

Additionally, Deutz has a vintage brut, the superb Cuvee William Deutz, a vintage blanc de blanc (elegant), three rosés, arguably one of the most exclusive of all prestige cuvees, the Amor de Deutz.

The Amor de Deutz was created in time for the new millennium, Rosset said. “But it’s not just for the millennium. It’s 80 times smaller (production) than Dom Perignon and 15 times smaller than Cristal, so it’s very exclusive. It’s a blanc de blanc and deserves the stature of a prestige cuvee. It’s the crème de la crème.” Tiny-bubbles doesn’t begin to describe it; and the flavors are subtle and complex. It has a sensual texture and creaminess. If you get the opportunity to try this beauty, seize it. “To create it we had to go deep into the culture of our company,” Rosset said. “Partly, yes, it was for the new millennium, but part of it was the awakening of a sleeping beauty. We are condemned to produce good quality, and this beautiful house deserves it.”

Rhone River Valley

 Tournon sur Rhone, some 45 minutes south of Lyon in the Rhone River Valley, is in stark contrast to Champagne, yet is no less beautiful. It’s a medieval town with an old tower on a hillside overlooking the town and surrounding region, the last of three original towers that formed the town’s defenses during the Middle Ages – hence the town’s name. You still walk through the old medieval gate, and stroll down narrow streets where people have walked and talked for more than a thousand years.

Unlike Burgundy farther north on the Rhone, the hills rise sharply from the river here. Vineyards drape the steep slopes and dot the hilltops. This is the land of syrah, and of marsanne, roussanne and viognier.

Bruno Gosset, the European sales director for Delas, a sister winery to Deutz, said the infusion of technology and modern equipment has brought Delas into the 21^st century. The modern winemaking facility was built in 1981, and in 1998 a new crush facility was added.

Much like Deutz to the north, Delas, which has been in business a long time – since 1835 – and has seen a huge makeover in recent years. “In the last eight years, we’ve invested 11 million euros in Deutz and 5 million euros in Delas,” Rosset said.

Gosset said the winery owns 30 hectares (about 70 acres) of vineyards between three of the principal appellations in the Rhone Valley: 18 in Crozes Hermitage, 10 in Hermitage, and two in St. Joseph. Another 50 hectares are contracted with growers in Condrieu and Cote Rotie. The winery produces 125,000 cases a year, of which half is sold abroad.

As at Deutz, quality is the watchword at Delas. Little innovations in the winery help, such as the barrel racks with rollers that allow the winemaker to roll the barrels over to distribute the lees, rather than have to stir them. “The winemaker only has to roll it twice,” Gosset said. “It’s gentler and more efficient.”

Delas’ wines exemplify the different appellations. The 2004 Crozes Hermitage Tour D’Albon, aged 60 percent in barrel, 40 percent in stainless steel, is a fruit-forward, friendly wine that just says have another sip. “It’s very much in the spirit of the appellation,” Gosset said. The 2003 Crozes Hermitage Les Clos, 100 percent aged in oak, is beautifully balanced with deep, rich, syrah character. It, too, reflects its appellation.

In stark contrast is the 2003 St. Joseph Francois Tournon, 60 percent barrel aged, 40 percent stainless steel. A small appellation, St. Joseph only has 1,000 hectares planted to grapes. This wine is more tannic with a minerality, reflective of the tiny appellation. “It’s more an expression of the terroir,” Gosset said. “The Crozes Hermitage is more an expression of the grape. The St. Joseph needs more time to soften.”

The 2003 Hermitage Marquise de la Tourette, which is deep and concentrated, is reminiscent of California syrahs. It’s more tannic than the two Crozes Hermitages but less so than the St. Joseph. The longer it breathes the more complex it becomes. Superb!

Looking at the whites, the 2004 Hermitage Marquisse de la Tourette, a marsanne, is rich and ripe with melon flavors and a mineral note; soft and elegant. Excellent!

The 2004 Condrieu La Galopine, a viognier, prompts a smile from Gosset. “La Galopine is the word for naughty children because viognier is such a difficult grape to farm,” he said with a laugh. The reward is in the glass: a subtle wine, delicate, each taste offering something different. “I think of it as capricious,” Gosset said. 

Alsace

It reminds me of Burgundy with its gentle slope up from the Rhine River; but with medieval castles dotting the landscape it has a charm all its own. This is a region that France and Germany have haggled over for centuries; it became German after the Franco-Prussian War in 1870-71; it reverted to France in 1918 at the end of World War I, then was back under German control during World War II. People here speak both French and German – plus a unique Alsatian dialect – and the cuisine is a unique blending of the two cultures.

The grapes grown here might be mostly German in origin, but the wines are decidedly French in their expression. Reisling is the favored grape, but pinot gris, pinot blanc and gewürztraminer also have a strong presence. And that expression shows up on the label: Alsace is the only region in France producing wines labeled by varietal.

History is everywhere. “The first vineyards here were planted in the third century by the Romans,” said Severine Schlumberger, who with her uncle runs Domaines Schlumberger in Guebwiller, a small city southwest of Colmar. “We found a Roman coin on the property from 207 A.D.”

Schlumberger’s family has been in Guebwiller since 1810, when it founded a textile company that is still in business today. They also began acquiring vineyard land, and by 1919 the family had increased its holdings to 140 hectares (about 350 acres) of vines.

What distinguishes Guebwiller from most other Alsatian vineyards is its terrain. Guebwiller is tucked up into a V-shaped inlet in the Vosges Mountains. The surrounding steep hillsides are home to many of Schlumberger’s vineyards. “We still use horses because of the steepness,” Schlumberger said. “Horses don’t compact the soil as much.”

Old stone walls up the hillsides create tiers for the vines, plus a narrow track where Schlumberger navigates her Land Rover. “These walls are made like Roman walls,” she said, pointing to dates on the walls – 1826 on one section, 1923 on another. “The walls store the heat from the day and release it at night,” she said.

Schlumberger has a living museum, a section of its vineyard planted as the Romans planted their vineyards; another section is planted as vines were during the Middle Ages.

The family’s motto is you’re never working for yourself – you’re always working for the next generation. Severine, at 32, is the next generation, the seventh generation to run the winery. “My dream is to have my younger brother, who is really good with financials, to be with me in the winery,” she said.

But she never stops working to improve. “The day you say you’re the best you might as well close your doors,” she said.

Up the road a few miles in the village of Ammerschwihr, almost due west of Colmar, J.B. Adam has been making wine twice as long: the house was founded in 1614. Company President and winemaker Jean-Baptiste Adam is proud of the company’s past, but as the 14^th generation to run the winery, he’s also proud of the innovations he’s brought to the process. “It’s a blending of technology and tradition,” he said. On the one hand he’s still using ancient oak casks that date from 1883. On the other, modern pneumatic presses gently press the juice from the grapes.

He’s also attuned to organic farming practices. “We make our own compost here,” he said. “It’s difficult but worthwhile. There’s much more life in the soil than there was before. As a result we have less quantity but better quality.

He’s hopeful that one of his three daughters – they’re 20, 18 and 13 – will follow in his footsteps. The middle daughter is studying enology in college. If she were to join her father at the winery, that would make the 15^th generation to run the family business.

Adam sees a growing interest for Alsatian wines in the U.S. market thanks in part their moderate alcohol levels. “We see that our customers want wines with fruit flavors and for pleasure, but not too heavy. … I am an optimist; if quality and price are OK, then the U.S. market can be a good market for Alsace. But we have a lot of work to do, to get people to try our wines and introduce them to Alsatian wines.”

Adam’s favorite grape is reisling. “I hope that in the next 10 years we’ll see a great interest in the world for riesling,” he said. His hope is fueled by what he sees happening in the United States. “We’re seeing more interest in Alsatian wines,” he said. “Twenty years ago in the United States people saw no difference between German and Alsatian wines. Now, in the last 10 years they’re recognizing the difference. So I see a good market there in the future. American people seem to like the fruity wines, and that’s perfect for Alsace. Here we have wines that pair with all the foods of the world.”

Jean-Christophe Bott of Domaine Bott-Geyl, just a few minutes up the road in Beblenheim, agrees with Adam. “There’s more pop in riesling because it’s the greatest white grape variety,” he said. “It’s replacing chardonnay as the world’s favorite wine. As chardonnay was in the last decade, riesling is becoming in this one.”

Bott makes five rieslings from five different Alsace appellations, two from grand cru appellations. Each pairs best with different foods. He also makes four different pinot gris, four gewürztraminers, a pinot noir, three sparkling wines and a collection of late-harvest wines. To taste his wines is to taste Alsace in all its myriad complexity.

“The different flavors come from the different soils,” he said, “sandstone, granite, clay and limestone.”

This gem of a winery is easy to miss, although many signs in Beblenheim point you in the right direction. It’s located in a neighborhood, and without the signs you’d never guess a winery was there. But the neighbors know. They drop in all afternoon to chat with Bott or his wife, Valerie, and of course buy wine. The Bott’s two young sons, Pierre-Antoine and Arnaud, also wander in and out. It’s a relaxing and pleasant atmosphere.

So, too, is the Caves du Hunawihr in the picturesque village of Hunawihr, a few minutes drive from Beblenheim. Caves du Hunawihr is a cooperative that draws fruit from 15 different terroirs, said Greg Schlagdenhauffen, the co-op’s international sales manager. “We have 120 growers who are members, but 40 of them are the biggest part of the operation,” he said. “We’re rated the No. 1 wine co-op in France.”

Among the Rieslings that Schlagdenhauffen offers is one from Clos St. Hune, “reputedly home to the world’s best Riesling,” he said. “It’s from the heart of Alsace.”

Like the other Alsatian wineries we visited, Caves du Hunawihr is a blend of tradition and technology; modern equipment and techniques are employed in the winery, while tradition supplies the fruit.

Schlagdenhauffen said the co-op is planning a significant marketing effort in the United States.

Which means you’ll be able to find his wines, along with those of his neighbors at stores in Bakersfield or elsewhere in California, and exciting prospect since these wines taste great, are beautifully balanced, and pair well with diverse foods. Enjoy!