French wine education

Earlier this year, I embarked on the French Wine Scholar (FWS) program; version 7 being the latest update to this ever-popular certification offered by Wine Scholar Guild to wine enthusiasts and professionals alike. Here are my top study tips for passing the French Wine Scholar program!

What is France’s greatest undiscovered wine region? Where do you find the greatest value for money in French wine? Where would you look around France to find potential fine-wine quality at affordable wine prices? Three questions … and from me the same answer to each: South West France.

The vintage chart and harvest reports provided by the Wine Scholar Guild gives you the ranking for every French wine region and vintage from 2000 to today.Andrew Jefford, award-winning author and columnist in every issue of Decanter and World of Fine Wine, Co-Chair Decanter World Wine Awards; Vice-Chair Decanter Asia Wine Awards, gives us his insight about the 2020 vintage in France. The COVID pandemic made 2020 difficult in France as elsewhere in the world, but France’s winegowers had every reason to feel a sense of relief and gratitude as the year ended. Their future prosperity depends on both the quantity and the quality of each year’s harvest. Every French wine region was satisfied with quantities in 2020 and thrilled with quality. Sales may have been difficult in 2020 with the restaurant trade in abeyance and export markets disrupted, but after the run of good to great French vintages since 2015, no one had cause to complain about stocks.

Over the past 10 years, interest in Aligoté has been rising in Bourgogne–and so have prices. Charlie Geoghegan examines the ascendency of this lesser-known white grape. Poor Aligoté. It’s had a difficult few centuries as Bourgogne’s other white grape. Charges levelled against Aligoté include its excessive acidity, unpleasant tartness and tendency to taste rather dilute. Reference books will tell you how much more palatable it becomes with a dash of crème de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur). It’s not a flattering depiction. Thankfully, though, it’s no longer an accurate one.

Thinking about signing up for the French Wine Scholar program?  Be inspired by what our students are saying about the program and the top ten reasons they give for enrolling.

Author of Inside Bordeaux, a book that has been described as the 'bible' by Le Figaro newspaper and a 'category buster' by Jamie Goode, Jane Anson has lived in Bordeaux since 2003. Here she takes a look at the wine trends that are shaping the region, its economy, its climate, the industry and its winemakers.

As a wine region, Burgundy embodies both the past and the future. On the one hand, Grands Crus that have been celebrated for centuries remain in the hands of multi-generational family domaines. On the other hand, outside investment, adjustments to the appellation system, and the realities of climate change (which have necessitated adaptations in viticulture and winemaking) have all combined to bring about change in recent years. This duality lies at the heart of modern Burgundy, and here to sort much of it out for us is acclaimed wine writer and critic Andrew Jefford. Below, he takes a look at the numbers that have shaped Burgundy’s recent history, and what that means for its future.

As an accomplished wine writer Andrew Jefford has decades of experience watching the French wine industry evolve. Here, he takes a look at the wine trends that are shaping the Champagne region, its landscape, its climate, the industry and ultimately, how winemakers are adapting in the cellar.