History of Bordeaux wine American domination of the reviewing of wine, especially Bordeaux. The result was a broader appeal of Bordeaux wine where the presence of "fruit" became a much more important factor than previously. This critical selection of grapes also resulted in many chateaux introducing second wines, so not to waste good but not optimum quality grapes. It was also the introduction of the "en primeur" concept where traders alongside critics are invited to Bordeaux six months after harvest, to sample the new wine. Bordeaux used to have a significant production of white wines, with Entre-deux-Mers, a primarily white wine area. Unlike the
Bordeaux wine regions Bordeaux and includes the four famous communes of St-Estephe, Pauillac, St. Julien and Margaux. It is about 60 km north to south, and about 10 km wide, with around 10,600 hectares under vines and a production of about 50 million litres per year. All the wine made here is red. The northern or down-stream part was formerly known as the "Bas-Médoc" (lower Médoc), but is now simply (but confusingly) labeled as "Médoc". This region is some 34 km long, by 10 km wide, stretching from the mouth of the Gironde to St-Estèphe, and includes some 5800 hectares of vines, producing