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French Wine

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Submitted By zacler
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France is the largest wine producer in the world. French wine is produced all throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. Two concepts central to higher end French wines are the notion of "terroir", which links the style of the wines to the specific locations where the grapes are grown and the wine is made, and the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée system. France is the source of many grape varieties (Cabernet Sauvignon , Chardonnay, Pinot noir, Sauvignon blanc, Syrah. The style of French wine echoes that of the French themselves—elegant, well-dressed, showing an appreciation for the good things of life but never to excess. French wines go best with food, never overpowering either in flavor or in alcohol, always well-mannered, often beautiful. The fact that, today, the quality of even the least expensive French wine has improved impressively, means that there is a whole new range of wines open to wine drinkers.
Prestige cuvée
A French term (literally "white from black" or "white of blacks") for a white wine produced entirely from black grapes.
Blanc de noirs
A cuvée de prestige is a proprietary blended wine (usually a Champagne) that is considered to be the top of a producer's range.
Blanc de blancs
A French term that means "white from whites", and is the Champagnes made exclusively from Chardonnay grapes.
Rosé Champagne[edit]
The rosé wines of Champagne (also known as Pink Champagne) are produced by the saignée method or, more commonly, by adding a small amount of still Pinot noir red wine to the sparkling wine cuvée.
Now back to wines:-
By far the largest, the most important, and one of the best, both for great wines and for bargains, is Bordeaux. There are ten main wine-making regions in France, each with their own characteristic wines. The different types of wine are usually labeled by t he region they are from Alsace & Lorraine
This region is on the east side of France around Strasbourg, close to Germany. You can find some excellent Gewürztraminers, Rieslings, and Pinot Gris.
Bordeaux
Famous for full-bodied red wines, Bordeaux is on the southwest coast of France. Red Bordeaux wines are made from a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot. There are also white Bordeaux wines which are combinations of Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and Muscadelle. Apart from excellent reds, Bordeaux produces some fine Sauternes
Burgundy
Some of the best wines in the world are produced in this region between Lyon and Dijon in the eastern side of the country. The grapes grown in Burgundy include red (Pinot Noir, Gamay and César) as well as white (Chardonnay, Aligoté, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris). Some of the well-known types of wine from Burgundy include Chablis, a white wine Beaujolais, Pouilly-Fuissé , and Volnay .
Champagne
This region just to the east of Paris in northern France is well-known for the Champagne sparkling wine, Dom Pérignon
Jura & Savoie
This region is just east of Burgundy, toward Lake Geneva and close to the mountains. Wines like Pinot Noirs and Savoie wines are made here.
Languedoc-Roussilon
This large area is along the coast in the southernmost portions of France and includes a variety of climates and soils. As a result, there are several different varieties of grapes grown in Languedoc-Roussilon which include Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cinsault, Syrah, Carignan and Mouvèdre. White wines are made from Chardonnay, Clairette, Ugni Blanc, Grenache Blanc, Muscat, Sauvignon and Viognier.
Loire Valley
This region along the Loire River, southwest of Paris, the Loire Valley is well known for excellent, refreshing white and rosé wines. The grapes grown in this region include Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc
Provence & Corsica
Provence is a warm, sunny region just east of Languedoc-Roussilon
Rhône Valley
This wine region is just north of the Provence area. Mostly red wine is producedThe wines are rich, with the spicy and peppery flavors of these grapes. Muscat and Viognier are also popular for the white wines of the Rhone Valley.

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