FRENCH WINE

THE FRENCH CONNECTION

• The French tradition is to serve wine with meals.
• France is the largest producer of wines, in quantities between 50-60 hectolitres per year.
• The French wine traces its history to the 6th century BC.
• France is the source of many grape varieties. Like the Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot noir, etc.
• In 1935, France established Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée to control the quality of wine.

WINE AND ITS VARIETIES

• All common styles of wine – red, rosé, white (dry, semi-sweet and sweet) are produced in France.
• The varieties of the grapes (and their wines) grown in France are over 1,000!
• Like Merlot, Chardonnay, Grenache, Pinot gris, Cabernet franc, Syrah, Macabeu etc.
• Grapes are primarily associated with a certain region, like Cabernet Sauvignon in Bordeaux.
• Traditionally, many French wines have been blended from several grape varieties.

TERROIRS

• Terroir refers to the unique combination of natural resources.
• It includes soil, underlying rock, altitude, slope of hill or terrain, orientation toward the sun.
• Even in the same area, no two vineyards have exactly the same terroir.
• In other words, the same grape variety can produce a vastly different wine due to terroir.
• In France the concept of terroir manifests itself most extremely in the Burgundy region.

LABELLING PRACTICES

• The amount of information included on French wine labels varies.
• It depends upon the region the wine was made in.
• Labels usually state the classification and the name of the producer.
• Higher quality wines even include the vineyards they were grown in.
• "Vigneron indépendant" indictes an independent wine maker.

WINE MAKING REGIONS OF FRANCE

• Situated in the east, Alsace is primarily a white-wine region.
• Bordeaux is famous for it red wine, namely Château Latour.
• Champagne, the coldest region, is famous for its sparkling wine.
• Burgundy or Bourgogne in eastern France, grows red and white wines.
• Languedoc-Roussillon is the largest region produces blanquette de Limoux.