| For
hundreds of years, France basked in the reputation of being
the world's
greatest producer of wines. Today, that reputation is being challenged
by other wine-growing nations on four continents, and the French wine
industry is going through bad times. Things hit a low in 2003
when French producers saw a 40%
drop in
sales of Burgundy, partly due to the US boycott; it was also due to the
fact that the French wine industry has been slow to adapt to the modern
international competition . Yet
for those who know how to choose, and know something about wines,
France still offers some of the
greatest wines, with the greatest variety, and - yes ! - excellent
value for
money, even from the main wine areas. |
 |
The regions
- Understanding the label
- Value for money
The
main wine
growing regions of
France
Alsace.
Bordeaux
Burgundy
Champagne.
Côtes
du Rhone Jura
Languedoc
Loire
Valley Médoc
Provence
Alsace. Situated
on the lower
eastern slopes of the Vosges mountains, in the Rhine
valley
between Strasbourg and Mulhouse,
the Alsace vineyard is rather
different from any other French wine growing area. Like the region of
Alsace
itself, the wine culture here is steeped in a Germanic tradition,
producing
mostly dry or fruity white wines, the most popular being Riesling,
Sylvaner and
the very fruity Gewurztraminer.
The rules of Appellation
contrôlée are not applied in the same
way in Alsace as in the rest of
France. In Alsace, wines are produced under a simple "Alsace"
appellation, after which the next most important element to be
indicated, and
the most visible word on the label, is the grape variety, Sylvaner,
Riesling or
whatever it may be. Smaller areas do not have their own appellations,
though
with many Alsace wines, the name of the village or vineyard from which
it comes
will also be indicated. See also Vendanges tardives.
Lorraine, also in north east France, produces
mostly VDQS white wines, in the Meuse and the Moselle.
Bordeaux Wine,
and wine growing
region. With Burgundy and Champagne, the Bordeaux region is one of the
three
most famous wine-producing regions in France. Historically, its fame is
at
least in part due to the fact that of these three big wine-growing
areas, the
Bordeaux vineyard is the only one with immediate access to the sea, an
advantage that has enabled it to be France's major wine exporting
region for
many centuries.
In
1152, when queen Eleanor of Aquitaine married the English king Henry
II,
the Aquitaine region became economically integrated into the
Anglo-Norman
world, the Bordeaux region becoming the main supplier of wine for
England. This
historic wine exporting tradition helped Bordeaux to develop far
stronger
commercial links in the ensuing centuries, firmly establishing Bordeaux
wines,
often referred to generically in English as "clarets", on the
international market.
The
Bordeaux vineyard is centered
round the port city of Bordeaux , along the
estuary of the Gironde,
and the rivers Garonne and Dordogne. It is a large
vineyard, and the
geo-specific appellation "Bordeaux" covers an area stretching some
100 km both north-south and east-west.
While
the appellation contrôlée
covers wines of medium quality from all over this region, many if not
most of
the top quality clarets grown in the overall area benefit from more
specific
and distinctive area appellations, such as Médoc
, Graves or Saint
Emilion, and even more local appellations such as Pauillac,
Graves and
Saint-Estèphe.
Unlike
other wine-growing areas, the
Bordeaux area operates classifications of many of its top wines,
notably those
from the Médoc and Saint
Emilion vineyards. The best estates in
these areas have the right to sell wines designated as grand
cru. Below
the grand crus come other high quality wines designated as cru
bourgeois.
Bourgogne
, vin (Burgundy
wine). The Burgundy vineyards
cover a narrow strip of land on the
eastern slopes of the hills running south-east from the Burgundian
Capital, Dijon. the heart of the Burgundy wine growing region is the
historic city of Beaune, where the autun wine sale in the historic
"Hospices" building is one of the high points of the wine year.
Burgundy wines are classified on four levels, the lowest being the
generic "Bourgogne" appellation. Selected areas of the Brugundy
vineyard have their own classifications, such as Côtes de
Beaune.
Within these, there are smaller areas, villages and groups of villages,
reputed to produce higher quality wine, such as Pernand Vergelesse or
Aloxe Corton. Finally, at the top of the pyramid, there are the estate
wines, such as Clos Vougeot, with its mere 51 hectares of vineyard.
Finding ones way around
Burgundy wines is
sometimes a daunting task. The most famous brands are the reds, the
best of which can keep for a good 20 to 30 years. However, Burgundy
also produces some top quality, though not too distinctive, whites. It
is often said that generic burgundies "Bourgogne Rouge" or Bourgogne
Passetoutgrains" white are overpriced and bad value for money.
A good
tip: 2003 is already
being said to be one of the best vintages for many years.
Champagne.
The Champagne region, centered on the towns of Reims (Rheims) and
Epernay, is the most northern of France's major vineyards. Unlike most
French wines, champagnes are blended in order to produce either non
vintage champagnes (blended from different years) or vintage champagne,
blended from wines of the same harvest. Consequently, since the quality
of the champagne ultimately depends on a balance between the quality of
the grapes and the skill of the blenders, Champagnes are also ranked
and promoted by producer, not by any more finely delimited appellation
. Possibly the most highly rated of blends is Krug; other well
appreciated brands include Mumm, Bollinger and Heidsieck, not to
mention the very well known brands of Moët & Chandon
and
Taittinger.
The distinct taste and purity of real champagne is
certainly due to the chalky soil and the continental growing conditions
that abound in the Champagne region. Several of the main French
Champagne producers have set up branches and vineyards in California,
but in spite of bringing over their best master-blenders, have never
been able to achieve quite the same result.
Although many people imagine that Champagnes are
all
white, this is not quite true. Rosé champagnes also exist.
Finally, please, the correct way to open a
champagne cork
is to ease it very gently out of the bottle. It is not to imitate a
victorious Formula One racing driver and spray the contents of the
bottle all over one's guests.
Côtes
du Rhone.
The Côtes du Rhône vineyard runs for over 200
kilometres
down the Rhone valley from the south of Lyons to the Camargue. Within
the region, there are a number of prestigious smaller areas such as
Côte Rotie (in the northern part of the region), Hermitage or
Chateauneuf du Pape (near Avignon). But the vast majority of
Côtes du Rhône wine is sold under the generic
appellations,
"Côtes du Rhône" or "Côtes du Rhone
Villages". This
is a mediterranean wine, and generally speaking it is a wine blended
from several different grape varieties, including most notably
Viognier, Syrah, and Grenache. Price-wise, Côtes du
Rhône
are often at the cheaper end of the "appellation
contrôlée" range.
Jura.
Possibly
the most underrated of French white wines, Jura wines come from the
west-facing slopes of the Jura hills, that look out across the wide
Saône valley to the slopes of Burgundy on the other side. The
best and most distinctive of Jura whites are made from the "Savagnin"
grape variety, which is found only in this region, and gives the wine a
delicious sherry-like taste. However, most Jura wines are blended from
different varieties, and as in Alsace, the grape variety tends to be
indicated on the label. the Jura vineyard also produces dark
rosé wines, sometimes called reds, as well as the famous Vin
Jaune,
an expensive apéritif wine
not unlike Amontillado sherry, made exclusively from the Savagnin grape
variety. The most prestigious appellation for Vin Jaune is
Château Chalon. This wine is made from late harvested grapes,
and
then left to
mature in casks for at least six years.
Languedoc.
The Languedoc region, covering the Mediterranean coastal plain west of
the Rhone, produces a lot of fairly ordinary red wine, much of it
marketed as VDQS or Vin de Pays. there are nevertheless seven
Appellations controlées in the area, the best-known of which
is
Corbières, and possibly the best average quality of which is
Fitou. AOC wines account for some 10% of the region's production.
Thanks to the long hours of summer sun, Languedoc wines are rich and
full bodied, and often have high alcohol content. The wines of
Roussillon are very similar, this area being particularly noted for its
fortified wines such as Banyuls.
Loire
Valley.
Although
there are some excellent wines produced in the large Loire Valley area,
there are few Loire wines, whites, rosés or pale reds, that
rank
among the greatest French wines. "Anjou Rosé" is a good
everyday
rosé, and "Muscadet" and "Gros Plant" from near the mouth of
the
Loire are dry white wines that go excellently with seafood.. Another
good appellation is "Pouilly Fumé" (not to be confused with
"Pouilly Fuissé", a white Burgundy). The Loire
valley,
however, is also France's second largest producer of sparkling wines,
after Champagne. Two of the more prestigious varieties are Vouvray and
Saumur. While there are plenty of Loire wines
that benefit from appellations controlées, others are sold
under
the
VDQS label.
Médoc
wines.
The Médoc, the region south
of the Gironde estuary to the north west of Bordeaux,
is the home of
many of France's most prestigious wines. Among the famous appellations
produced
in this area are Saint Estèphe, Margaux, Saint Julien and
Pauillac. It was in
1855 that the wine producers of the Medoc region classified their 61
best wines according to a league table of "grands crus", ranking from
"Premier Cru" to "Cinquième Cru". These grands crus are
generally reputed to be the greatest of all French wines, and naturally
their prices generally reflect this status. Obviously, if you buy an
estate bottled wine from a chateau with grand cru status, (and of
course they are all estate bottled), you can be pretty sure of getting
a top quality wine. But take care! Even a grand cru wine can go off if
it is not matured and cared for in the best conditions.
Other
south-west France
wines - Inland from the Bordeaux / Saint
Emilion regions, there are a number of smaller less well-known wine
growing areas, producing some quite good wines at very reasonable
prices. These include Bergerac, Cahors, Gaillac and Marcillac (all
Appellation Contrôlée wines) , or
Côtes du Tarn or Vin de Pays du Lot.
Provence -
Provence is a large wine-producing area, best-known for its
rosé
wines, the most famous of which are Côtes de Provence and
Côteaux d'Aix. However, the Provence vineyard also produces
red
wines, including some very rich red wines from the Var. The most famous
of the area's white wines is Bandol, celebrated since the middle ages.
Note that the Provence vineyard also includes the southern
end of
the Côtes du Rhone AOC area.
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