Bordeaux

First records of Bordeaux wine production are dated back in 71 AD by Pliny the Elder, although it is believed that the Romans established vineyards before that date in order to cultivate grapes and produce wine for the legions occupying Gaul.

During Middle Age, a boost to Bordeaux wine popularity was the marriage between Henry Plantagenet and Aliénor d’Aquitaine in the 12th century. When Aquitaine became an English territory, Bordeaux wines started being exported and traded in exchange for other goods. Their increasing popularity abroad required vineyards to expand to accommodate the demand.

In the 17th century, Dutch traders started draining the marshland around the Médoc, thus encouraging the planting of vineyards. They also opened new distribution channels, initiating what is widely referred to as the “second golden era” for Bordeaux.

With the War of Spanish Succession in the 18th century, navigation along the French coast and the English Channel became hazardous. Bottles of Bordeaux began appearing in auctions in London and other cities in England: officially referred to as captured bounties of privateers. Speculation about a formal arrangement for Bordeaux producers enabled led to producers to continue to thrive during the inevitable slowdowns of war.

It was around this time that bottles coming from Bordeaux began wearing labels with both the region and the specific area of origin.

Perhaps the most significant date in Bordeaux history is 1855, when Emperor Napoleon III requested the infamous classification system. The reason behind ranking wines was the Exposition Universelle de Paris of the same year, where indications were required by the attending visitors. Wine brokers then ranked the producers according to both reputation and trading price, a quality indicator for the era’s standards. Wines were ranked from first to fifth growths, with the châteaux at to the top of the list gaining a popularity and fame from which they still benefit today.

In the second part of 19th century, a phylloxera (a louse or aphid) epidemic destroyed almost all of the region’s vineyards. A solution to the catastrophe was grafting the vines to a pest-resistant American rootstock which led to the grapes that responded best to becoming the region’s most valued produce.

It was in 1982 that, after years of economic problems and the effect of the oil crisis in the 70s, wine critic Robert M. Parker, Jr. glowing review gave Bordeaux wines a new spring. The region suddenly became more appealing, especially because critics, especially American, started having more influence beyond official classifications. Crucially, the presence of fruit in wine became a factor more than even before.

It was this trend that pushed châteaux to introduce “second wines”, an efficient way to avoid wasting good, but not optimum, grapes without tampering the fame and reputation of the main labels.