Posts Tagged ‘wines from france’

The history of wine production is interesting. Every type of wine comes from France. From the cheapest grapes in 3 litre boxes all the way across Appellations Controlles to Vin de Pays down to Vin de Table. If you think price is the determining factor in finding the best wines, you are easily proven wrong.

White wines
Many will already be familiar with German wines. The Alsace-Lorraine area is inspired by some of that tradition. There are some very well-known grapes that give excellent white wines:

* Chardonnay

* Pinot Blanc

* Sauvignon Blanc

Just as I mentioned the German impact upon some white wines from France, the Riesling grape is very popular. There are many low-price wines (rather sweet), but certainly also some very fine Rieslings. Served chilled while the sun is baking is a lovely thing. Something you may want to remember for summer next year.

Red wines
There are quite a few grapes that provide interesting red wines:

* Cabernet Sauvignon

* Syrah

* Grenache

One of my personal favourites among pricey wines are either the Chinon wines from the Loire Valley or the especially the wine from 2004 entitled “Chteauneuf-du-Pape Cuve Grande Garde Saint-Benoit”. It’s a wine priced at roughly 12 here in Denmark, but truly fantastic. Amazing, however, that you can get wines in the Loire Valley at one third this price (ranging from 3,60-4,50 that will be just as good), but “Chteauneuf-du-Pape” signifies papal wine, and truly one can say that the papacy has had good taste in wine.

Facetiously one could say that since they can’t concentrate as much on lovely ladies, at least an interest in wine can be a very enjoyable experience.

Ross
There are many grapes that give ros wines you will want to taste:

* Grenache Gris

* Clairette

* Cinsault

Ross truly surprised me when we took our first vacation to France in 2006. In Denmark we might have ten-fifteen types of ros from mainly Spain and California – and later we began to see French ross also. But I was truly amazed when one of my very best friends, Cyril showed me a local supermarket called Gant. They had several rows of ross. You can imagine that for a couple like ours, where I have always preferred mature red wines and my wife previously liked semi-sweet white wines, then ross have taken both of us by storm. Previously I only knew of the Zinfandel ros wines from California, but I have taken both Greek and French ross very much to heart.

Voltaire’s philosophy
Notice this: there is no doubt that many abuse alcohol. In our society it is very easy to fall prey for that, but in moderation it is a true enjoyment. Voltaire once declared that “there was more philosophy in a bottle of wine than in many books”. He is truly right, but one needs to be mindful never to overdo that passion.

Good luck in discovering the same beauty as we have. When you visit France you owe it to yourself to take home many different bottles so you can experience some of the variety the French have truly implemented in many even smaller supermarkets. They don’t drink much of the wines that are exported, and guess what? I think they are wise enough even to export some of it so they can avoid digesting it themselves.

Author: Henrik Blunck
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Anyone that loves wine is probably going to agree that French wines are some of the best in the business, if not the absolute best in the world. How can such a small country be such a dominant force in the winemaking world? What makes wines from France so superior to wines you find in other parts of the world?

The country of France has been one that has always taken pride in its food, and French wines are a very important part of that. Professional chefs have long been highly regarded in French society, and this has been true for hundreds of years. During the Middle Ages, lavish banquets were common, and during the time of Napoleon the ability of personal cooks and chefs to produce new and exotic dishes was almost revered. The French celebrated virtually everything with large meals and painstakingly prepared dishes, and enjoyed rich food for their everyday meals as well. To this day the French still consider food preparation and the making of wine an art form and go to great lengths to maintain a very high standard for the rest of the world.

Wine is also commonly enjoyed in France, and not saved for special occasions the way it is with some cultures. This no doubt has contributed to the reasons why French wines are of such high quality; after all, if you’re going to enjoy a beverage every day, it would only make sense that you would do everything to improve upon it and its varieties. Think of what happened with coffee in the United States in the last few years – since so many enjoy it every day, why not spruce it up a bit with some new varieties and improve the quality as much as possible?

Many grapes used by other winemakers actually originated in France and have long been a part of real wines from France. This means that many wines from other parts of the world are trying to imitate these wines from France. Some of the most well-known winemaking practices and processes were perfected on French wines before they were pursued by other winemakers around the world. The names of many regions such as Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne are well-known throughout the world, and have become synonymous with fine wines.

In the past few years, French wines have faced stiff competition from other regions around the world when it comes to the winemaking industry. It’s interesting to note however that French wines are available in such wide varieties from such diverse growers that some vineyards have suffered quite a bit due to this competition while other, more established wineries have been hardly affected at all. Some of the smaller, less quality, table wines have had a hard time keeping up while the most popular and more expensive wines are virtually untouched when it comes to their sales figures.

So it seems that French wines will always be considered the best when it comes to the winemaking industry, and since the French take such great pride in all things they produce, it’s really no wonder.

Author: David Cowley
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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