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WINES OF FRANCE

Nobody can argue with the supremacy of France as the country that has set international standards by which wine is judged. Though the New World wines are taking over French wines terms of sale & popularity, these wines still remain one of the costliest and classiest. One of the main reasons for this shift is the rigidity of these French wine i.e. there are fixed laws regarding the grape variety, yield, vine density and lot more factors which leave no room for French wine makers to innovate and improvise over the existing wines & their taste. As we know France experiences one of best climate for wine growing, just think about the grape varieties growing outside France and giving wonderful results, what will be resultant wine if they grow in Franc …but then its just a thought.

A Brief History

• Greeks arrived in France in 600 B.C. and brought viticulture with them.

• In 200 B.C. Romans captured some of the France and greatly influenced the wine-making

• By the 6th century A.D. the Roman Empire disintegrated and Christianity was spread in France.

• Now the vineyards came under the rule of monasteries and churches.

• The wine-making greatly flourished under their rule

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• In 1350 one million cases were exported from Bordeaux, and in 1790 six million cases were exported.

• With the French Revolution in the end of 18th century the vineyards slipped out of the hands of churches and went to the local people.

• The vintage of 1854 was disastrous.

• The Phylloxera epidemic spread in 1860 when a winegrower imported some American vines.

• It destroyed about 6.2 million acres of vineyards in France.

• The only effective solution found was to graft European vines on these American rootstocks.

• The first classification was done in 1855 in Bordeaux

Classification

• The classification system in reality evolved in 1930’s.

• The economic depression during this time resulted in the plantation of hybrids, thus there was a wine surplus and nefarious blending.

• In 1932 the Institute National des Appellations d’origine(INAO) was founded in Paris. It covers the following aspects:

Production areaVine varietiesRipeness and alcoholic strengthYieldsVine densityWine making and distillation

• Appellation d’Origin Controlee(AOC): It represents around 52% of all French wines

• Vins delimites de qualite superieur(VDQS): It was founded in 1937 and contributes only 3% of total French wine production.

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• Vins de Pays : It was created in 1970 and formalized in 1979. It is related to country wines and gives some guarantee of authenticity and quality. It contributes to the 33% of total production.

• Vin de Table: It is for the ordinary wines or table wines. It was earlier known as Vin De Consommation Courante (VCC) or Vin Ordinaire. These wines can be a blended with wines from the EU(European Union).

Principle Grape Varieties

Red:Cabernet Sauvignon: It is dominant in the Medoc. It is the most highly flavored, with small berries making dark, tannic wine that demands aging, but has both depth and cut of flavor. Being a late ripener, it needs warm soil, gravel suits it well. Specially grown in Bordeaux (Medoc &Graves)Cabernet Franc: It is bigger, juicer grape. It was widely planted before Cabernet Sauvignon was introduced in Bordeaux in 18th century. Its wine has delicious soft fruit flavors but less tannin and depth. Bordeaux & Loire are the main regions of grape cultivation.Merlot: Merlot buds, flowers and ripens early, making it ready to pick sooner, with an extra degree of alcohol in its higher sugar. Merlot wine has good color and an equally spicy but softer flavor than Cabernet Sauvignon, making the wine that matures sooner. This is the grape that gives Chateau Petrus its texture and flavor. Pinot Noir: Thin skinned, lightly pigmented Pinot noir produces some of the lightest, least tannic wine. Classic growing areas are Burgundy and Champagne.Syrah: This is very full-flavored grape is renowned for producing strong, sturdy wines of deep purple color, capable of aging for many years. Mostly grown in Rhone valley.

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Gamay: Gamay thrives in Beajulais region. Wines made from this grape vary in intensity, but most of them are low in tannin, light, fresh, and fruity, with a sort of fruit-punch flavor.

White:Chardonnay: It is the most favorable grape amongst the winegrowers. This grape grows well in both coolest regions of Northern France and warmer regions of Southern France. It is made in a medium to full bodied style, with medium to full intensity of apple fruit aroma and flavor. Classic growing regions include Burgundy and Champagne.Sauvignon Blanc: This grape is grown in Bordeaux and Loire valley. It normally give fresh, fruity wines that are medium bodied with medium flavor intensity. Riesling: This is widely grown in Alsace region. It requires long, cool growing season to come to perfect ripeness. Wines made from Riesling are usually of a light to medium body, with a floral, very fruity character and sweetness.Chenin Blanc: This grape is grown in Loire valley where the cool climate seems to provide perfect growing conditions. Chenin blanc are usually light in body and flavor intensity.Semillon: It is grown in Bordeaux especially in Graves. In Sauternes and Barsac it is affected by botrytis and it is major component of in the sweet white wines of those areas.Gewürztraminer: This grape produces very attractive wines with more emphatic fruit character and an unmistakable touch of cinnamon spice. This is widely grown in the region of Alsace.

Regions of France

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Bordeaux

Bordeaux

It is situated towards southwestern France with Cognac in the north It is sited on the either side of the river Gironde. 80 % of the wines produced here are red. Four factors make bordeaux the most important vineyard Region of all: its quality, size, variety & unity. This region is divided into districts which are further divided into communes / parishes, which is again divided into chateau’s.Main districts are - Medoc

Pomerol St Emillion Sauternes Graves

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Main Grape Variety used:Cabernet Sauvginon (R)Cabernet Franc (R)Merlot (R)Malbec (R)Semillon (W)Muscadelle (W)Sauvignon Blanc (W)

Terroir

• Soil: Gravelly Limestone and Clay SoilClimate: Moderate and humid due to the river Gironde.

Great wines of Bordeaux

• Chateau Haut Brion

• Chateau Latour

• Chateau Mouton Rothschild

• Chateau Margaux

• Chateau Lafite Rothschild

• Chateau Petrus

• Chateau D’Yquem (W)

Burgundy (Bourgogne)

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It is situated in east central France, towards the south of Champagne. Principle grape varieties are Gamay and Pinot Noir for red and Chardonnay for white. Due to its southern location the grapes do not ripen properly in the poor years. Chapitalization is carried out to counter act high acidity & low alcohol

Major Wine Producing Regions are - Cote d’ maconnais - Cote d’ Chalonnaise

- Beajolais - Cote de nuits - Cote de beaune - Chablis

Terroir

• Soil: Limestone

• Climate: Semi-ContinentalFamous WinesChablis (W) BeaujolaisPouilly Fuisse (W) Pommard

RhoneIt takes its name from the Rhone River valley and is located in the south east of Paris. Also known as Cote du rhone. It is located below burgundy in the southeast section of France. The best wines come from the southern part of this valley. 90 % of these wines are red with a higher alcohol content than most of the French wines They are robust & full-bodied with plenty of bouquet & taste. There are more than 15 varieties of grapes used here, some of them are Syrah, Grenache and Cinsalt.Terroir

• Soil: Granite in north, sandy in south.

• Climate: Hot summers and autumns,Significant humidity due to Rhone river

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Famous Wines

• Chateau Neuf du Pape – this district is named after a ruined castle in France. Considered one of the best reds, 13 grape varieties are used in production of this full-bodied wine.

• Cote du Rotie – One of the famous Rhone red wines made by law from a min of 80% syrah & 20 % Viognier grapes. This is a full-bodied wine with a heavy tannic flavor.

• Hermitage – Fullest of all the Rhone valley wines made from syrah grapes

• Tavel (Rose) – Most famous & finest rose wine of France. These are soft with just the right amount of taste & fullness. They are quite dry & drunk 2 years of the vintage

Loire

• Also known as Val- de –loire. It is named after the Loire River.

• Like Alsace this region lies far north & doesn’t receive sufficient sunshine to fully ripen red grapes. TerroirSoil: Combination of clay, granite, chalky, limestone and volcanic soilClimate: Relatively cool climateGrape VarietiesCabernet Sauvignon (R)Cabernet Franc (R)Gamay ( R)Pinot Noir (R)Pinot Muniere (R)Chenin Blanc (W)Sauvignon Blanc (W)Muscadet (W)Chardonnay (W)

Major Wines

• Vouvray (w) – made exclusively from chenin blanc grape. Also known as blanc-d’anjou

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• Puilly Fume (W)- Dry full-bodied wine made from sauvignon blanc grape.

• Anjou (Rose)- Also known as “Rose d’ Anjou”. Made from cabernet franc grapes. It’s a light wine with a hint of sweetness.

• Muscadet (W) – A dry light wine usually high in acidity.

Alsace

This region is towards the northeastern part of France & the Vosges Mountain towards its west. It has a very difficult history of shifting belongingness between France and Germany. The region receives the lowest rainfall & most sustained sunshine. As per the strictly enforced law the grapes must be 100% of the variety named, properly ripened & fermented dry with no sweetening added.TerroirSoil: Combination of granitic rock, sandstone and limestone.Climate: Continental climate.Grape variety Gewürztraminer (w)Pinot Blanc (w)Pinot Gris ( w)Reisling (w)Muscat (w)Famous WinesRiesling (W)- also called as Alsace Reisling.Gewurstraminer (W) – Spicy & a full flavoured wine.Tokay ‘D’ Alsace (W) – Renamed as Pinot Gris.Sylvaner (W) – Light, dry & refreshing wine.Pinot Blanc (W) – It has a floral bouquet.

ChampagneIt is the most northerly vineyard area of France situated in the northeast of Paris. The vineyards are one of the smallest and low yielding as compared to the rest of France. This area is famous all over the world for its sparkling wines.

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Terroir

• Soil: Thick layer of chalky soil.Climate: Very coldGrapesOnly three grape varieties are grown in this region - Chardonnay (W), Pinot Noir and Pinot MuniereMajor Shippers

• Dom Perignon

• Piper Heidsieck

• Bollinger

• Ruinart

• Pommery

Noble RotAlso known as Pourriture Noble in French, Edelfaule in German, Muffa in Italian and sometimes simply as Botrytis.

It is a fungus, which attacks the fully ripe grapes and feeds on the moisture from it. It also takes away five-sixth of the grape’s acidity and about a third of its sugar, but as the amount of water consumed is between one-half and two-thirds which more than the amount of sugar consumed, the grape becomes high in sugar content and less in acidity, thus producing a very sweet and flavorful wine.

Glossary

Botrytis – A generic term for rot but is often synonymously used for Botrytis Cinerea.BOB – Stands for Buyer’s Own Brand, a brand that belongs to the buyer which could be a wine merchant or supermarket or a restaurantChateau – It literally means a “castle” or “stately home” but in wine parlance it usually means a wine growing, wine making estate to include vineyards, the cellars often the wine itself or any building or buildings on the property. The term is most commonly used in Bordeaux.

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Commune – French for village.Cote / Cotes – Slope or hillside of one contiguous slope or hill.Cremant – Traditionally ascribed to Champagne with a gentler mousse than usual but now applied to fully sparkling wines from other areas.Cuvaison – The fermentation period in red wine production during which the juice is kept in contact with the skin.Cuve – VatCuvee – It can be the contents of the wine vat or a blend of Champagne or a special lot of wine.En-primeur – Classic wines such as Bordeaux for sale En-Primeur that is to say within a year of harvest before the final blend and bottling has taken place.Vendage Tardive – Late harvest.Vigneron – Vineyard worker.Vignoble – A vineyard.Vin de Grade – Wine capable of significant improvement if allowed to age.Vin de Goutte – Free run juice. In the case of white wines this is the juice that runs free from the press before the actual pressing operation begins.Vin Gris – A delicate pale version of Rose.

Bibliography

1. Oz Clarke’s Encyclopedia of Wine2. The Oxford Companion to Wine – Jancis & Robinson3. Exploring Wine – Kolpan, Smith & Weiss4. Modern Encyclopedia of Wine – Hugh Johnson5. Wines of the World – Andre Simons6. World Wines Encyclopedia – Sotheby’s7. The World of Wine – Robert Mondavi8. Wines of France – Alex Lichine

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