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This article will launch our new series, I Love French Wine and
Food. You may be aware that we have written over two dozen
articles in our first series, I Love Italian Wine and Food. This
series will continue this labor of love, but for French wine and
food. While this article launches the French series, it is
actually not our very first one describing French wine and food.
We posted the article I Love French Wine and Food - Beaujolais
Nouveau in time for the opening of the Beaujolais Nouveau season
in mid-November. We will soon be taking a look at other wines in
the Beaujolais region of southeastern France.
Let's start with a few statistics for the French wine industry
as a whole. France constantly fights with Italy for the title of
the world's biggest wine producer. As in many other European
countries, the French are drinking less wine, but better wine.
France has more than 2 million acres devoted to grape vines, and
produces more than 600 million cases of wine each year. France
exports over one third of its wine production all over the world
including a considerable portion to the United States.
We are going to look at eleven wine French regions: in
alphabetical order they are Alsace, Beaujolais, Bordeaux,
Burgundy, Champagne, Jura and Savoie, Languedoc-Rousillon, the
Loire Valley, Provence and Corisca, the Rhône Valley, and
Southwest France. Each article will discuss the region and its
distinctiveness. We'll talk about the wines and the foods that
characterize the region. We will try to have at least two
articles per region. All articles in the series (except for this
one) will give our unbiased tasting report on a wine. We will
taste the wine with food, including several main courses and at
least one imported cheese usually French, and sometimes from
elsewhere in Europe. In our Italian series the wines we tasted
cost between $6 and $38, but were mostly in the range from $10
to $20. We expect to pay more for French wines but intend to
work in approximately the same price range. Don't expect a
report on three fine French Champagnes. We are going to be
flexible in our wine tasting. But there are two rules that we
follow. First rule, all wines that we taste and review have been
purchased at the full retail price. Second rule, if we are
unhappy with a wine we will let you know. If you followed our
previous series, you know that we weren't always happy with the
Italian wines we tasted and I've got the funny feeling that the
same thing will happen with French wines.
Now back to the subject of French wines.
Wine Classification. France has legally defined four national
wine classifications that presumably help the consumer make a
selection when faced dozens of unfamiliar choices. Some regions
such as Bordeaux define additional classifications that will be
discussed in the appropriate articles. The French national
classifications were first introduced in 1935 with the goal of
regulating wine production in given geographical areas and
helping the areas to develop their own specific identity.
Starting with the lowest level, these four classifications are
vin de table, vin de pays, Vin Délimité de Qualité
Supérieure-VDQS, and Appellation d'Origine Contrôlé-AOC.
Vin de table may be translated as table wine. Table wine
production has been severely reduced during the last decade or
so. At present, only about 12% of French wine carries this
plebian classification. Almost all table wines are red. Table
wines follow few rules, except that their labels may not
indicate the grape varieties used, the vintage year, or the
specific area that the grapes came from. You won't find many
French table wines for sale in North America.
Vin de pays may be translated as country wine. This category was
first established in 1968. At present, the annual production of
vin de pays is more than twice that of vin de table. The label
must indicate the location where the grapes were harvested. Once
in a while an exceptional vin de pays is produced, which should
not be surprising when you consider that almost one French wine
bottle in three carries this classification. Let's not worry
about vin de pays's specific rules which can be complicated.
Sooner or later, we will probably review such wines. With a
little luck we'll find a bargain or two.
Tip! Walk the wine very well in your mouth, ensuring it touches each part of it. This is important because our tongue, palate, the inside of the mouth and our throat each detect different aspects of the wine.
Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure - VDQS may be translated as
superior wine. This is a very tiny classification, comprising
only about 30 French wines. You may think of it as a waiting
room for AOC, the highest French wine classification. Of course,
not every VDQS wine gets promoted. We are not going to make a
specific effort to find VDQS wines.
Appellation d'Origine Contrôlé - AOC may be translated as
controlled-origin appellation. Approximately half of all French
wine is accorded this top-level classification. I don't know
about you, but such a high percentage makes me wonder how
helpful this classification can be. To achieve the AOC
classification, a wine must meet laws defining the grape
varieties used, the grape growing methods and wine-making
methods employed, the maximum yield produced, and the minimum
alcoholic content. In addition, the wine must pass a taste test.
When you consider that only about 3% of wine tasted fails the
taste test, don't be surprised that the AOC classification is
far from a guarantee of quality. Most of the wines that we will
be tasting carry the AOC classification.
About the Author:
Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten books on computers
and the Internet, but to be honest, he would rather just drink
fine French or other wine, accompanied by the right foods. He
teaches classes in computers at an Ontario French-language
community college. Presently his wine websites are
www.theworldwidewine.com and
www.theitalianwineconnection.com .
Article Source www.GoArticles.com
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