A Year of Wine : Wine and Food Blog

May 22 - Graves and Shrimp Fritters - Podcast

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April 11 - Semillon and Linguine with Clam Sauce - Podcast

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April 02 - White Bordeaux and Chicken Tagine - Podcast

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March 17 - St. Patrick's Day Phelan-Segur and Bookmaker's Sandwich - Podcast

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January 29 - Troglodytes, King John and Bordeaux Rive Droite - Podcast

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January 29 - Troglodytes, King John and Bordeaux Rive Droite

Modern Troglodyte Dwelling

Much like Paris, the Bordeaux wine region has a rive droite and a rive gauche, a right and a left bank. They have very different and distinctive terroirs. Wine has been produced on the right bank since the 3rd century. The Romans started by clearing the area around what is now St. Emilion and Pomerol. Romans dug caves into the surrounding limestone cliffs to store their wines. Later settlers used these same caves for their homes. The were known as troglodytes. Several of these cave homes have been converted into guesthouses for tourists. This region fell under the British throne in the 12th Century. King John of England, the brother of Richard the Lionheart, allowed the town of Bordeaux to establish its own charter and elect a town council called the jurade. It still exists. Not so much as a town council, but more like a wine fraternity. It acts as an important advisory body for the wine industry in St. Emilion. In earlier days, wines that did not meet the standards of the jurade had to be destroyed.

December 20 - Claret and Yorkshire Pudding - Podcast

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December 07 - Petrus and Game Meats - Podcast

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