Posts Tagged ‘languedoc roussillon’

There are 9 principle wine regions in France. They are Burgundy, Beaujolais, Rhone, Provence, Languedoc-Roussillon, Bordeaux, Loire, Champagne and Alsace.

Many of the internationally prominent grapes are native to these regions and they are as follows:

-Burgundy: Pinot Noir or Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay
-Rhone: Syrah
-Bordeaux: Merlot, Canernet Sauvignon
-Alsace: Pinot Gris, Riesling, Gewurztraminer

Some would question as to why these grapes from France are grown and utilized for wine making in different wine regions of the world instead of their own native grapes. Well, study shows that many of wine regions like North America, Argentina, South Africa, etc. do not have a variety of native grapes that can be used to produce wine. Additionally, since the French winemakers have always been the authority in wine making throughout the world with the exception of the Italians, who use pretty impressive methods to produce high quality and award winning wines, have been able to influence wine making in widely known wine regions of the world and use native French grapes to produce wine in these regions. Now, whether or not, these grapes always result in tasty wines in these regions totally depends on the expertise of the wine maker, the terrain and the climate.

In any event, the 9 wine regions of France tend to produce wines that are very much typical to those regions and not characterized by the types of grape that are used to make them. For example in France you usually don’t see the name of the grape written on the bottle of the wine, rather you see the region where the wine was produced that has a specific characteristic coming from the climate, the terroir and lastly the type of grape used in that region. That is why, Chassagne Montracher has a different taste and characteristic than Nuits Saint George but both regions use Pinot Noir or Pinot Blanc to produce their wines!

So, in France wines are characterized and known by their regions rather than by their grapes.

I will get into details about each wine producing regions of France in my upcoming articles.

Author: Mike Samii
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Bumper guardian

French wine can be described as a broad term which encompasses many different kinds of wine, distinguished on the basis of the region from which they are cultivated. The regions are Alsace, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Corsica, Ctes du Rhone, Languedoc-Roussillon, Loire Valley, Provence and South West. As each region differs from the other in terms of the kind of cultivation, the vineyards, the grapes used, the geographical location as well as the climatic condition, the wine from each area will have a different taste as compared to the wines from other areas.

Each area has its own specialty. Alsace wine is a sweet dry white wine. The Alsace wines include Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot blanc, Tokay pinot gris, Sylvaner and Crmant d’alsace. Bordeaux is the most important wine region, not only in France but all over the world. It has more than seven thousand chateaux. Some of its famous wines are Moulis, Listrac, Pomerol and Fronsac. Burgundy is famous for Chablis, Pommard, Corton, Volnay and Montrachet. The region of Corsica is known for Ajaccio and Patrimonio, which are subtle rose and dry white wines. Ctes du Rhone is known as the most diverse region of wine in France. Some of its famous wines are cte rtie, condrieu, hermitage, chteauneuf du pape, ctes du ventoux. The wine for which the area of Languedoc-Roussillin is famous for are Corbires, Coteaux du Languedoc, Ctes du Roussillon, Saint Chinian and Costires de Nimes.

Loire Valley is known for its white wines, in particular Muscadet, Anjou, Coteaux du Layon, Saumur, Touraine, Bourguel, Vouvray Pouilly Fum and Sancerre. Provence is known for its Bandol, Bellet and dry and fruity rose wine. The South West region of France is a traditional wine region. The wines from this region are Cahors, Juranon, Madiran, Bergerac and Monbazillac. A connoisseur knows that each wine has its own unique taste, aroma and flavor.

Author: Jimmy Sturo
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Mobile device news