Wine labels are not some decorative stickers on wine bottles; they are supposed to give you all the information you need to know about the wine that you may want to purchase. This labeling has gone under sticker rules recently, which will assure you that what you read on the label is what is contained in the bottle.

Wine bottle labels should tell you from what grapes the wine was made, where they were grown and the name of the region where they were grown. In addition it should also tell you the name of the wine maker, the liquid volume content and the degree of alcohol. The latter is sometimes found on a back label.

If you are not used to buy wine, and maybe even if you are, you might be a bit confused by some labels that are not as clear to understand as you’d like, especially if you are not an expert wine buyers.

The first thing you might want to look for is the grape variety since this will give you information about the taste of the wine. The following thing you might want to look for is the region where the wine comes from. This will also give you a pretty good idea about what kind of wine you are dealing with, and most time explain its price as well.

Europe wines do not usually state the grape variety but rather the region where the wine originates. The reason for this is due to the fact that each region uses the same variety of grapes to make their wine. Some region such as the Rhne Valley uses a blend of up to thirteen varieties, but they are always the same ones.

Before you are able to taste the wine, the label is what you need to look for in order to make the right choice for you when it comes to buying wine.

Do you want to learn more about wine? Check French Wines of Taste and discover the whole story of wine and more.

http://www.squidoo.com/frenchcuisineandwine

Author: Regine Marne
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Tags: bottle wine, buying wine, decorative stickers, expert wine, French Wines, wine bottle labels, wine bottles, wine buyers, wine labels, wine maker

My French “mother-in-law” is coming to lunch tomorrow. Its not often I cook for her, and I am racking my brains and shuffling the recipes to decide what she would enjoy. A tricky one, as she is convinced that the British cannot cook. In fact most of the French I have discussed this topic with are all defiant regarding the cooking skills of expats from across the Channel. They are also very happy to remind us of our “mad cow disease”.

However our French Christmas lunch cooked by “ma-in-law” was not a patch on the seasonal roast turkey & trimmings I used to do at home in the UK. Our festive meal consisted of an old boiler fowl, pressure cooked with tinned chestnuts and what I can only term “artisan potatoes” (no further veg) followed by an uninspiring endive salad and a supermarket frozen dessert…no fun crackers, or flourish of a little garnish.

It is my opinion that the French are too complacent with their vintage crown of “the best cooks in the world”. The majority of local restaurants here in Nice, in the south of France, mainly cater for tourists, the same menu year in year out. If you dare complain – that is it – you are enemy number one. Only once did we return a lukewarm undercooked steak. We could not even decide if it was lamb or pork and at 22 euros… the waiter threw a fit, then returned the same steak – that had just been re-heated in a microwave!

I do understand that there are some amazing restaurants around especially further afield, but we do not have a car and what if the food is not worth the palaver of a trip? For us, we now avoid the local French restaurants, as we have exhausted the few varieties of dishes offered. There is only so many insipid chocolate mousse you can desire.

Now our one restaurant weekly treat is to go to the expat pub for Sunday lunch. They do not have a microwave, everything is served with a bright stimulating variety of fresh veg and the desserts are always an inspiration. Mulled wine trifle, Bailey’s creme brulee and their chocolate mousse is made with Guinness and served in a fun glass to look like half a pint. Naturally my ma-in-law firmly turned down our invitation to join us there!

I admit to generalizing regarding he cooking skills of both nations, but in my view, the French could be a tad more adventurous with their tried and tested, regurgitated traditional recipes.

Thanks for reading

For more info about being a expat in France visit http://www.livinginthesun.info/articles/france/

Also check my blog on all aspects of moving to France here http://livinginthesun.info/france/

I wish you the best of luck.

Liz

Author: Liz Sunny
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Guest blogger

Tags: chocolate mousse, christmas lunch, enemy number one, festive meal, french attitude, french christmas, french mother, frozen dessert, mad cow disease, roast turkey