Bordeaux is surrounded by the nearly endless peaks of the Massif Central on the north and the unbroken wall of the Pyrenees to the south. Two great rivers flow into each other the Garonne and the Dordogne and from there form into their joint estuary the Gironde. The Gironde forms a wide channel that flows north in to the Atlantic Ocean. In the plains and valleys of Bordeaux there are some 57 wine regions that have high enough quality wine that enables them to carry the A.C. appellation. Of these 57 regions 4 standout as among the best, on the right bank you have Pomerol and St-Emillion and on the left Medoc and Graves.
 
In Bordeaux there are 5 red grape varieties and 2 white permitted by law, Cabernet, merlot and cabernet franc are the 3 major red grapes and malbec and petit verdot the two minor red grapes. Sauvignon Blanc and semillion are the two white wine grapes grown in Bordeaux.
 
Before we travel to each district in Bordeaux and all the sub appellations we need to know how wines are classified. The lowest A.C. classification is Bordeaux, these are nice and inexpensive wines that are of consistent quality. You might even liken them to a proprietary wine or a brand name wine like Gallo or Kendall Jackson. The next highest classification is Bordeaux + region these wines come from a specific region and carry the regional name on the bottle and are similar to a Napa or Sonoma appellation. One step higher and we have Bordeaux + region + Chateau; Chateau wines come from a specific vineyard and are usually considered the best and most expensive wines. There are over 9,000 Chateau in Bordeaux.
 
In 1855 something remarkable happened in Bordeaux the top brokers in the wine industry where asked to rate the Medoc wines by price which they believed was directly related to quality. The brokers agreed providing that the classification never became official. Guess what, that became the Official Classification of 1855.
 
Next Month we discover what the 1855 Official Classification means and how it affects the price of wine in Bordeaux.