WTF is Cabernet Franc? (aka Chinon and Bouchet, the parent of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, a red wine you can chill)

Show Notes

Episode 40: WTF is Cabernet Franc? (aka Chinon and Bouchet, the parent of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, a red wine you can chill)  00:00

Hello! And welcome to The Wine Pair Podcast. I’m Joe, your sommelier of reasonably priced wine, and this is my wife and my wine pairing partner in crime, Carmela. And we are The Wine Pair! 

Ok, a quick orientation for those of you who may be new to the podcast - in each episode we learn about, taste and review three wines that are reasonably priced - meaning under $20 - and are, or  should be, easy for you to find. Our goal is to have some fun, learn about some new wines you may want to try, maybe laugh a little bit, and expand your wine horizons while taking some of the stuffy and the boring out of wine. Sound good?!?

This week, Carmela, we are back to our WTF series, also know as what the fuck?!? which is one of my favorites because it is a chance for us to learn about wines we don’t know as well, and maybe help those out there in listening land learn a little, too. And, perhaps, one day get your to swear. 

This week, we are talking about, and tasting and reviewing, a wine called Cabernet Franc, which should not be confused with Cabernet Sauvignon. These are different wines, and, let me tell you, if you order a Cabernet Franc expecting it to taste like a Cabernet Sauvignon, you will be disappointed. We will talk more in a bit about where Cabernet Franc is from, why it’s super cool and a wine you should know, but first, here are a few fun facts about Cabernet Franc. Are you ready?

• Cabernet Franc is a red wine you can serve chilled! Yes, it’s true, there are some red wines you can serve chilled and this is one of them.
• Cabernet Franc is the parent grape of both Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. So, for those of you who like to nerd out on facts, this is a fun one to know. 
• Cabernet Franc is also a major blending wine in Bordeaux wines which, some of you may know, are generally made of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
• Cabernet Franc is also known as Chinon, among other names in France. One of the confusing things about wines from Europe, especially France, Italy, and Spain, is that they are often named for the region and not the grape. So, when you see a Chinon wine on the menu, it is all or mostly Cabernet Franc
• Finally it is called Cabernet Franc, not Cabernet Frank. It’s French. You dig?!?

I am super excited to learn a bit more about this wine - and I think it is a red wine you are going to like because you can serve it chilled, but we will see. And, I think I should just assure you all that I am wearing a shirt this week. 

But first . . . we have to do our shameless plug, right Carmela? If you like what you are hearing, we would love for you to subscribe to our podcast, and we would also really appreciate it if you would leave us a rating and review so that people who may stumble upon us will tune in to our podcast. 

If you want to reach out to us with ideas, or thoughts, or just to talk - you can DM us on Instagram at thewinepairpodcast or contact us on our website thewinepairpodcast.com.

And, as we do every week, we’ll tell you someone we think you should tell about The Wine Pair Podcast, and this week we would like you to tell anyone you know who has the name Frank, or who has a family member, friend, pet, or loved one, alive or not alive, named Frank, or any derivation of Frank, like Francesco, Francisco, Frances, Fran, Franz, Francois, Franklin, Franny, etc., and anyone who lives in San Francisco. How about that?

ARTICLES

• https://winefolly.com/grapes/cabernet-franc/ 

Topic: What is Cabernet Franc?  07:47

Ok, so let’s edumacate ourselves a bit on Cabernet Franc. Cabernet Franc is grown all over the world, but is mostly grown in France. The other big producers of Cabernet Franc are Italy and the US, but again, many many other countries grow this grape. In France, it mostly is found in two areas. In the Loire Valley and in Bordeaux. What is interesting is that this grape is made into quite different wines in those two areas.

First, let’s talk about the Loire Valley, which is a place I really want to visit. And it just so happens that I was watching the Rick Steve’s show on PBS this past weekend, and, lo and behold, he was talking about the Loire. Coincidence?

The Loire Valley follows the middle part of the Loire River in France, and this river is said to basically be the dividing line between Northern and Southern France. It covers several regions of France, most notably the Central Loire region which is the region just south of where Paris is, and the Pays de la Loire, which goes all the way to the coast, and includes some famous places like the beach of Normandy. The Central Loire region is also just to the West of Burgundy which I also want to visit because - Pinot. 

The Loire Valley is noted for being a great agricultural region, including wine production, and for amazing chateaux.

When it is grown in cooler climates, like in the Loire valley, it tends to be a lighter bodied, lower tannin, and higher acid wine - somewhat similar to Gamay - which is also known as Beaujolais - and Pinot Noir, which is most famously from Burgundy in France. These wines are often known by their wine region like Chinon and Anjou. When from the Loire Valley, wines made from Cabernet Franc also tend to be only or mostly Cabernet Franc. This is the Cabernet Franc you can chill - the lighter bodied and higher acid versions. I will also say that one of my favorite Pinot Noirs comes from the Loire - aka Sancerre Rouge, and also, by the way, white Sancerre is Sauvignon Blanc. Boom, Two of our faves. 

Cabernet Franc is also grown in the Bordeaux region, and as we mentioned before, is a key blending grape in many Bordeaux blends. Bordeaux is farther south than the Loire, and so is a warmer climate with a different style of Cabernet Franc than that found in Loire. In warmer climates - it can evidently be a richer wine. 

In Bordeaux, it makes up some of the most famous wines in the region, where it is often blended with Merlot. The famous wine regions where some of these wines come from are Pomerol and Saint-Émilion and include really expensive wines like Château Pétrus. Incidentally, his is part of why I find Bordeaux so perplexing, because different producers and regions of Bordeaux have very different styles of blends.

In Italy, where a lot of Cabernet Franc is grown, and is a warmer climate, according to the interwebs, they tend to be deeper flavored, and be higher in tannins. 

So, there can be a lot of different styles of Cabernet Franc depending on where it is from, the climate, and if it is blended with other grapes or not. And, as usual, we have some articles links and other fun stuff on our website - the wine pair podcast dot com

For most of its history, even outside of France, Cabernet Franc has been a blending wine, specifically grown so that wine makers outside of France could make Bordeaux style blends.

However, we are starting to see more and more single varietal versions of the wine, and that is the one we are focusing on in this episode. I found a really great article on Cabernet Franc on a site called Wine Rox which you can find a link to in our show notes, we are starting to see Cabernet Franc grown in a lot of up and coming wine regions - for instance, one of our wines in this episode is from Virginia. Other places in North America include Washington, Oregon, Pennsylvania, New York, Ontario, and Okanagan, among others!

I think this is a wine we are going to start seeing more and more, and likely a wine that you will start seeing grown locally more and more. 

ARTICLES

• https://www.winemag.com/2018/08/13/chill-wine/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loire_Valley#:~:text=The%20Loire%20Valley%20(French%3A%20Val,and%20Centre%2DVal%20de%20Loire 
• https://winerox.com/cabernet-franc/ 
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabernet_Franc 

A review of the Cabernet Franc wines we chose for this episode 15:52

So let’s talk about the wines that we chose for this episode, all of which come from the Americas, however, one of them comes from South America. 

First, we have a wine from right here in Washington State called Isenhower - and it’s a screw cap! - and this one is called the “i” as in the letter i. This is a 100% Cabernet Franc, and the grapes come from the Yakima valley, but the winery is in Walla Walla. I am not sure how easy it is to find, although I know a number of wine shops in the Seattle area are selling it. But, Cabernet Franc can be a little hard to get as a single varietal, so when I saw it, I grabbed it.

And I should note that I did look around for Cabernet Franc, and it is a bit hard to find. At Total Wine, I was able to find a few bottles, but the French versions that were there were either almost all blends or over our price point of $20 max, and so I opted for New World wines.

The second wine we got is from Virginia, and I am super excited to try this wine because I don’t think we have ever had a wine from Virginia before. Now, according to information I found on the interwebs, which you can always trust, Virginia is supposed to be the first place in the US where wine grapes were grown, and there are over 300 wineries in the state. Which I find amazing because at least out here on the left coast, we don’t hear about Virginia wines very often. Although I think our friends on the Swirl Suite would be disappointed in us saying that! 

It turns out that Cabernet Franc is pretty popular in Virginia, and it is the most planted red grape varietal in the state. The wine we have is from Horton Vineyards which is very much a family owned winery - where three generations of the family continue to make wine.  This one is from their Tower Series - which sounds really important - so we’ll see what we think when we taste it. From what I can gather online, it may be a wine series that is made exclusively for Total Wine, which is kind of a bummer, but, again, we’ll see what we think. 

Their wine is from Orange County Virginia which is just west of DC and Richmond, and basically between those two cities. 

The last wine is from South America, specifically the Mendoza valley in Argentina, which is most famous for Malbec wines. This one is from a producer called Mascota, and from what I am reading on the interwebs, this may be a bigger, fuller bodied red wine. I did read that it is finished for 6 months in French Oak, so we’ll see what that does to the tannin in the wine. I have seen this wine described as silky.

Now, we have chilled these wines, but if they are pretty oaky, that may not be a great idea. These wines are not super cold, just put in the fridge for about 45 minutes or so to cool them down. 

Alright, enough with this jibber jabber - let’s get to the wines we chose for this episode because I wants to taste them!


ARTICLES

• https://vinepair.com/articles/the-ultimate-guide-to-tasting-through-virginia-wine-country/ 
• https://wineandcountrylife.com/the-virtues-of-cabernet-franc/
• http://forums.wineloverspage.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=597
• https://winecasual.com/mascota-vineyards-la-mascota-cabernet-franc-2017-a-good-hearty-cabernet-franc/ 

Cabernet Franc wine pairing tasting and review 20:12

Wine: Isenhower Vineyards I Series Cabernet Franc
Region: Washington, Yakima Valley
Producer: Isenhower Vineyards
Year: 2019
Price: $17.99
Retailer: Thriftway on Vashon
Alcohol: 13.9%
Grapes: Cabernet Franc

What we tasted and smelled in this Cabernet Franc: Cherry, sour cherry, underripe cherry, cherry licorice, tart red plum, smoke, leather, rock or gravel or slate, pepper, yellow #2 pencil. Tangy.Thin. Could have been colder.
Food to pair with this Cabernet Franc: May need food. Spicy food. Hot curry.

As a reminder on our rating scale, we rate on a scale of 1-10, where 7 and above means that we would buy it, and 4 and below means that we are likely to pour it down the sink, and in-between we are likely to drink it and finish it, but we are probably not going to buy it.

Rating:
Joe: 6/10
Carmela: 5/10


Wine: Horton Vineyards The Tower Series Cabernet Franc
Region: Virginia, Orange County
Producer: Horton Vineyards
Year: 2019
Price: $13.59
Retailer: Total Wine
Alcohol: 13.2%
Grapes: Cabernet Franc

What we tasted and smelled in this Cabernet Franc: Cheap rose perfume, red cherry licorice, cherry candy, sour cherry balls, potpourri, alcohol, Spree candy. Very strong smell and taste.
Food to pair with this Cabernet Franc: Not sure what to pair with it. Maybe something starchy like tater tots. Doesn’t seem super food friendly. More of a cocktail hour wine.

Rating:
Joe: 5/10
Carmela: 4/10

Wine: Mascota Vineyards Cabernet Franc
Region: Argentina, Mendoza
Producer: Mascota Vineyards
Year: 2019
Price: $12.79
Retailer: Total Wine
Alcohol: 14%
Grapes: Cabernet Franc

What we tasted and smelled in this Cabernet Franc: Cherry, herbs, vegetables or grass, smoke, pepper, red pepper flakes, grilled red bell pepper, charred cedar, fire pit, tobacco, stone.
Food to pair with this Cabernet Franc: Red meat, steak, grilled vegetable wine, grilled food wine, pizza, pasta with red sauce, French Dip, Chicago Hot Beef.

Rating:
Joe: 7/10
Carmela: 6/10


Which one of these are you finishing tonight?
Carmela: Mascota
Joe: Mascota

What is your overall impression of Cabernet Franc?
Feel like we need to keep trying more Cabernet Franc, not sure that we had the best examples of this wine. Intrigued by it, enough to keep trying more.


Taste profiles expected from Cabernet Franc:  43:00

Cabernet Franc taste profile

• From Wine Rox: Flowers, berries (raspberry, strawberry, blackberry), cherry, red plum, green and black peppercorn, green and red pepper, jalapeño, Herbs of Provence (thyme, basil, rosemary, tarragon, savory, marjoram, oregano, and bay leaf) and olives
• Wine Folly says strawberry, raspberry, bell pepper, crushed gravel, chili pepper
• Other flavors and scents can be leather, licorice, tart cherry, coffee, tobacco, cedar, pencil shavings, earth or clay, and vanilla

Outro and how to find The Wine Pair Podcast 44:34
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