Garage Wine
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The garagistes refers to a group of winemakers in the
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
region, producing ''"vins de garage"'', "garage wine". A group emerged in the mid-1990s in reaction to the traditional style of red
Bordeaux wine Bordeaux wine (; ) is produced in the Bordeaux region of southwest France, around the city of Bordeaux, on the Garonne River. To the north of the city, the Dordogne River joins the Garonne forming the broad estuary called the Gironde; the Gi ...
, which is highly tannic and requires long ageing in the bottle to become drinkable. The garagistes developed a style more consistent with perceived international wine tastes. For red wines this means "bigger, bolder, fruitier wines, often with sometimes a higher alcohol content." The new style for white wines is a more pronounced oak taste with some residual sugar. This new style of wine is controversial, and purists claim that the wines will not age well and they don't reflect well the ''
terroir (; ; from ''terre'', ) is a French language, French term used to describe the environmental factors that affect a crop's phenotype, including unique environment contexts, farming practices and a crop's specific growth habitat. Collectively, th ...
'' of the region, nor the typicity of the grape varieties used. Characterised as "winemaker's wine whose attributes reflect a disregard for the traditional handling of its particular ''terroir''", the term is sometimes used somewhat as a backhanded compliment; in light of this, vins de garage wines come from previously unknown estates without proven track record or pedigree. Alternately, such wine is referred to as ''"super-cuvée"'' or ''"microchâteau"''. The wines produced by these estates often receive very high
wine ratings A wine rating is a score assigned by one or more wine critics to a wine tasted as a summary of that critic's evaluation of that wine. A wine rating is therefore a subjective quality score, typically of a numerical nature, given to a specific bott ...
from Robert Parker, and are usually sold at prices driven high by rarity,
hyperbole Hyperbole (; adj. hyperbolic ) is the use of exaggeration as a rhetorical device or figure of speech. In rhetoric, it is also sometimes known as auxesis (literally 'growth'). In poetry and oratory, it emphasizes, evokes strong feelings, and cre ...
, and fashion.winepros.com.au.


History

Considered a predecessor of the garage wine,
Château Le Pin Château Le Pin, or simply Le Pin, is a Bordeaux wine from the appellation Pomerol. The unusually small estate is located on the Right Bank of France's Gironde estuary in the commune of Pomerol in the hamlet of Catusseau, and its wine is frequen ...
founded by the Belgians Marcel and Gérard Thienpont on less than two hectares in the late 1970s, wine was produced by ''microcuvée'' from a farmhouse basement in
Pomerol Pomerol (; ) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine near Bordeaux in southwestern France. Wine With only , Pomerol is the smallest wine producing area in the Bordeaux region. It is more a community where the vineyards ...
. Following the efforts of Jean-Luc Thunevin and Murielle Andraud, and the emergence of Château Valandraud came the description of a "movement". Founded in 1989 on a 1 hectare plot in
Saint-Émilion Saint-Émilion (; Gascon dialect, Gascon: ''Sent Milion'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in Southwestern France. In the heart of the country of Libournais (the area around Libourne), in a regio ...
, with limited funds for equipment, much work was done primitively by hands and feet in their garage, with high detail labour resulting in low output yields defining the methods of the model. Several wines fashioned in this same model appeared on the market, such as La Mondotte from Château Canon-la-Gaffelière, La Gomerie from Château Beau-Séjour-Bécot, Le Dôme, Vieux Château Mazerat, Les Astéries and Le Carré from Château Teyssier, Quinault L'Enclos, Rol Valentin, Barde-Haut, Gracia, L'Hermitage and Marojallia. The terms ''"Vins du garage"'' and ''"Garagistes"'' have been attributed to French writers Nicholas Baby and
Michel Bettane Michel Bettane is a leading French wine critic, and for twenty years, a writer for the French consumer wine publication '' La Revue du vin de France''. He left ''La Revue'' in 2004 to work for the rivaling wine publication ''Le Classement des Meil ...
.Jean-Luc Thunevin's Blog
November 26, 2007
After Robert Parker rated Valandraud a better 1995 vintage wine than Pétrus, the economic effects were substantial. Developments in the market saw Garage wines attain surprisingly high prices, sometimes well beyond historically top-priced products. However, the early 2000s saw indications of a reverse in the trend. Wine writer
Jancis Robinson Jancis Mary Robinson OBE, ComMA, MW (born 22 April 1950) is a British wine critic, journalist and wine writer. She currently writes a weekly column for the ''Financial Times'', and writes for her website JancisRobinson.com, updated daily. She ...
noted that the Garage wine market had "shrivelled considerably in recent years", and Robert Parker stated that while the wines are "here to stay ... only the best will survive." Steven Spurrier commented further, "the belief that ridiculously low yields make better wine has finally been exploded by the quality of he abundant2004, as it should have been by 2000, 1996 and 1990. Goodbye to a fad." The American garagiste movement received its first exposure in 2011 at the inaugural Garagiste Festival in
Paso Robles, California Paso Robles ( ), officially El Paso de Robles (Spanish for The Pass of Oaks), is a city in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Salinas River about north of San Luis Obispo, the city is known for its hot springs, ...
. Paso Robles represents the core of the garagiste movement, according to WinesVinesDATA. It lists some 127 wineries with annual production of 1,000 or fewer cases in Paso's home county,
San Luis Obispo ; ; ; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfway betwee ...
(SLO). Every year dozens of artisan winemakers pour at the non-profit festival.


Criticism

Despite the critical acclaim and high prices that have been fetched by some ''vins de garage'', both the term and the movement have faced criticism. In addition to wine experts such as Steven Spurrier describing it a
fad A fad, trend, or craze is any form of collective behavior that develops within a culture, a generation, or social group in which a group of people enthusiastically follow an impulse for a short time period. Fads are objects or behaviors tha ...
, some writers, noted by
Graham Harding Graham Frederick Anthony Harding (19 March 1937 – 20 October 2018) of Aston University was the first professor of clinical neurophysiology in the United Kingdom. He was the first to recognise that television broadcasts and video games could tr ...
, have gone so far as to suggest the
cult following A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...
of these wines are an example of "
The Emperor's New Clothes "The Emperor's New Clothes" ( ) is a literary folktale written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, about a vain emperor who gets exposed before his subjects. The tale has been translated into over 100 languages.Andersen 2005a 4 "Th ...
syndrome" and that the wines are made more for collectors than for wine drinkers.G. Harding ''"A Wine Miscellany"'' pg 102-103, Clarkson Potter Publishing, New York 2005 Another critic is Master of Wine
Michael Palij Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...
, who compares ''garagistes'', particularly those of Château Valandraud, to the large
California wine California wine production has a rich viticulture history since 1680 when Spanish Jesuit missionaries planted ''Vitis vinifera'' vines native to the Mediterranean region in their established missions to produce wine for religious services. ...
producer
E & J Gallo Winery Gallo is an American wine producer and distributor headquartered in Modesto, California. Previously called E & J Gallo Winery, it was founded in 1933 by Ernest Gallo and Julio Gallo of the Gallo family, and is the largest exporter of Califor ...
saying "Each is a triumph of style over substance. Neither pays any regard to either history or
terroir (; ; from ''terre'', ) is a French language, French term used to describe the environmental factors that affect a crop's phenotype, including unique environment contexts, farming practices and a crop's specific growth habitat. Collectively, th ...
."


See also

*
French wine French wine is produced throughout all of France in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France is one of the largest wine producers in the world. French wine traces its history to th ...
*
Bordeaux wine Bordeaux wine (; ) is produced in the Bordeaux region of southwest France, around the city of Bordeaux, on the Garonne River. To the north of the city, the Dordogne River joins the Garonne forming the broad estuary called the Gironde; the Gi ...
*
History of French wine The history of French wine, spans a period of at least 2600 years dating to the founding of Massalia in the 6th century BC by Phocaeans with the possibility that viticulture existed much earlier. The Romans did much to spread viticulture across th ...
*


References

{{Reflist


Further reading

* Taber, George M. ''Judgment of Paris: California vs France and the Historic 1976 Paris Tasting that Revolutionized Wine''. NY: Scribner, 2005. Bordeaux wine producers