Weekly wine update: Loire and Alsace

I loved Angers and the Loire Valley as a whole when I was in France. The cities were beautiful. The chateaux were gorgeous to view from afar and even more fun to tour. The food was delicious. My only problem with the region was its wines. Dr. Bednar took us on a really nice winery tour, and we got to go in depth in one winery, seeing the big casks and everything. There we were, drinking some of the "nicest" white wines in the world, and I would have preferred to add vodka to maple syrup or honey. The wine was just too sweet for me. My wine preferences have remained unchanged these past four years (though I am learning to like some whites), and today, I still found the nice Vouvray we tried cloyingly sweet. Euw.

I only got to see Alsace for two days, and I was there for the Strasbourg Christmas market. This was a nice experience, but the only wine I tried there was "vin chaud" or "gluehwin." That's essentially mulled wine. It's delicious, but more of a winter specialty than a regional thing (as far as I know). The wines we tried from Alsace were better than those of the Loire (and the Gewurztraminer wasn't bad), but they were still too sweet. :-(

Today's highlight was from the Loire, though. Chinon. A tasty red made from Cabernet Franc. Be warned if you're using me as a guide though. What I liked was exactly the opposite of most people.

Next week is Spain (mmm... Rioja) and Portugal (not sure how I'll deal with the sweetness).