« Chablis has become one of the best known of French white wines — outside of France. Unfortunately some of its notoriety arises because its name has been freely borrowed the world over to describe any dry white wine. »
That's what the Larousse Encyclopedia of Wine (English edition) says.
That's what the Larousse Encyclopedia of Wine (English edition) says.
« There are four appellations in Chablis. In descending order, they are Grand Cru, Premier Cru, Chablis, and Petit Chablis. The Grands and Premiers Crus are specific vineyards... Village or AOC Chablis covers much of the appellation,
while Petit Chablis is little used at present. »
(Larousse again.)
while Petit Chablis is little used at present. »
(Larousse again.)
« When new, [Chablis wine] has the immediate appeal of youthful fruitiness, with a firm backbone of acidity... Although Chablis is appealing in its youth, it is much more rewarding with a few years' bottle-age: at least five for a Premier Cru,
and ten or more for a more substantial Grand Cru. »
(Larousse again.)
and ten or more for a more substantial Grand Cru. »
(Larousse again.)
The French noun cru is a hard one to translate into English. The word derives from the past participle of the French verb croître (which is crû), meaning "to grow, grown". Sometimes it seems to mean something like terroir (soil+climate), or vineyard, or vintage, and other times it becomes a synonym for "wine". Un grand cru is a great wine (or a great vintage), and un premier cru is a fine wine. Les mystères de la langue française...
Yes, I agree on your explanation of the word cru as it refers to wine. It is an interesting word because it also means believed (past participle of croire) and raw.
ReplyDeleteI definitely grew up, in the U.S., hearing Chablis as the term for any white wine choice in every restaurant or liquor store (of course, just as a generic term, for inexpensive white wines). Chablis and Burgundy were the two choices for white and red... except in Italian restaurants, where it was Chianti! LOL
ReplyDeleteThat brings back memories: "What wines do you have by the glass?" "We have Chablis and Burgundy."
DeleteMy late father, who loved wine but never learned anything about regions or appellations, was visiting many years ago, and we went down to my modest wine cellar. He said that he liked Chardonnay, but didn't see any on the racks. I said that I had several white Burgundies, which are Chardonnay, including some Chablis. His response was: "Chablis? That's the cheap stuff they pour for free to gamblers at Las Vegas casinos."
That kind of reminds me of one of my first trips to California with Walt, probably in 1985. We stopped at a restaurant about half way between LA and SF for dinner. We ordered red wine as our beverage. "Can I put some ice in it for you," the waitress asked. "You know, they serve it warm here."
DeletePretty amusing. I also had an occasion at a restaurant in Boston where I ordered a glass of Zinfandel, and I was brought a rose-colored wine. I told the server that I had ordered Zinfandel, not white Zinfandel. She said "I didn't realize they made a red one also."
DeleteMy first experience with the word cru was at Gare de Lyon getting a sandwich to eat on my train journey. I asked the man what cru meant. He flipped through his French English dictionary and said ‘raw’. I ordered it, with butter, on a baguette and it was delicious. My first Jambon cru but not my last.
ReplyDeleteBettyAnn, you make me craving a jambon cru sandwich!
DeleteThat kind of sandwich is, or used to be, called un sec beurre. Jambon sec is pretty much a synonnym of jambon cru.
DeleteMaybe cru when applied to wine is akin to the English word "batch." Interesting post, I will start looking for Chablis on our menus here.
ReplyDeleteI think it does mean that in certain contexts. Un bon cru can mean a good vintage, a good year. As I said in the next post, or implied, I was surprised that the Chablis production area is nearly as big as the Touraine production area, which includes so many towns and villages.
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