I’m not a wine expert, but if you give me a chance to attend a workshop while visiting Bordeaux’s museum on the craft, I’ll happily say yes. Whenever I’m out of my depth in a learning experience, I try to remember just one thing. Thankfully, our teacher more than delivered.
Until the 1960s, Bordeaux produced more white wine than red. The most commonly planted grapes were of the light Sémillon variety. But in 1953 and ’56, big frost waves killed the local farmers’ entire yield. So in the following years, they slowly switched to red grapes over white ones. Why? Because red grapes bud later and are harvested later, making it less likely that an early frost will cost you all your fruits.
All my life, all I’ve ever known is that Bordeaux is famous for red wine—and even though that’s true, until not too long ago, “Bordeaux white” was the thing on everyone’s map.
There’s what we see, and there’s what was. Our minds want to assume the two have always been the same. Yet, more often than not, in the not too distant past, the complete opposite was the case. The more differing realities you can imagine in your head, the more easily you’ll accept whatever unlikely future becomes fact tomorrow.
History gives the world its many colors. Allow them all to coexist. And if you’re ever in Bordeaux, make sure to check out both the white and the red.
