| You dont need a book to follow this method. | | | | Third Quality Rule: |
| Appellation Controlee (AC or AOC) is the top | | | | Has the wine ever won any awards ? You need |
| grade of French. AC is a part of French law that | | | | to be looking for gold medals on the label. It |
| guarantees that a wine comes from where the | | | | seems trivial to non-French people, but if the wine |
| label says it does, that it is made from specific | | | | producer thinks well of his wine he will be |
| grapes and that it is produced in a certain way. | | | | competing for this kind of award, and will be |
| So, first we assume that you are choosing an AC | | | | proud to have the medal on his label. |
| (Appellation Controlee) wine. | | | | Fourth Quality Rule. |
| You will probably have already chosen between | | | | Is the bottle numbered ? Here again if the wine |
| red wine, white wine or Rose. | | | | producer thinks well of his wine he may take the |
| First Quality Rule: | | | | extra care to number his output and put a serial |
| Make sure the wine has sufficient alcohol content | | | | number on his label. Quite what you can use the |
| for its type. This means at least 13% for a | | | | numbers for (apart from this wine quality test) is |
| Bordeaux, but only 11% for a Gros Plant from | | | | a subject for speculation. |
| the mouth of the Loire. 12-13% for a Tavel Rose | | | | Fifth Quality Rule: |
| from the Rhone Valley; 12% for Anjou Rose | | | | Is the cork sufficiently long for the wine ? This |
| from the Loire. Alcohol level is easier to achieve in | | | | really applies to wines that may be kept for a |
| these days of global warming than it used to be | | | | long time before drinking, as a long cork |
| so in some ways this is less of a guide. | | | | preserves the wine more surely. If a short cork |
| Second Quality Rule: | | | | was used then there is a question mark against |
| Is it Chateau bottled or bottled by the proprietor | | | | the wine the producer thought more about his |
| ? It should be. If it is not then it will probably be a | | | | costs than his wine. The only snag about this rule |
| blend from different producers. Not necessarily | | | | by the way is that the cork is at least partly |
| bad, but not the best. Bottling by a negociant is | | | | concealed by the capsul (the metal foil wrapper). |
| less acceptable these days than it was. | | | | |