Wine Tasting - Understanding The Wines Of France

Are you baffled by the huge variety of FrenchSyrah grapes produce intense rich wines which
wines and completely lost when it comes toare almost black in color and which have an
deciding which wine will best suit your needs?aroma that is spicy in nature. The Rhone Syrah
Each of the eight wine producing regions ofgrape forms the base for many blended wines
France specializes in producing wine of a particularincluding the well known Chateauneuf du Pape
type and flavor and this simple overview willThe Muscat grape gives rise to intense, sweet
hopefully make choosing French wines a littlewines with a strong and easily recognized aroma.
easier.In addition, and unusual for a wine, wines from the
BurgundyMuscat really do taste of grapes.
Burgundy wines are produced from the blackLoire
Pinot Noir and Gamay grapes and from the whiteThe grapes of the Loire include the black Pinot
Chardonnay grape.Noir and the white Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris
The Pinot Noir is probably one of the world'sgrapes.
oldest grape varieties and is notoriously difficult toThe Sauvignon Blanc grape is grown all over the
grow. It does however produce some of our bestworld today and it is very widely used for
wines which are full-bodied and rich and at theblending. In the case of the Loire however it is
same time can be light, soft and velvety. Pinotused to make a distinctive unblended dry white
noir wines often have an aroma of cherrieswine with a characteristic sharp and aggressive
accompanied by a spiciness that is reminiscent ofsmell.
cinnamon or mint.Pinot Gris wines often display a slightly floral and
The Chardonnay grape is a very popular grapelightly lemon flavor and, depending upon the
which produces light, delicate dry wines with aripeness of the grape at harvesting, wines that
distinctive but often difficult to describe aromaare either light and tangy or rich, round and full
conjuring up a vision of apples, peaches or lemons.bodied. Pinot Gris makes one of the few white
Bordeauxwines that can be said to age well.
The wines of Bordeaux are based upon theAlsace
related black Cabernet Franc and CabernetAlthough the grapes of the Alsace are similar to
Sauvignon grapes, found particularly in the Medocthose used in the Loire, growing conditions in this
district of Bordeaux, and the black Merlot grape.region tend to produce wines which bear the
Cabernet Sauvignon wines improve greatly withcharacteristics of many German rather that
age and are often amongst the world's trulyFrench wines.
great wines. With age the distinctive blackcurrantThe wines in this region are similar to Riesling and
aroma of wines from this grape developsthe sweeter German wines. Some rosé
overtones of cedar, violets and leather and thewines are also produced in Alsace.
wines, which are characteristically deep in flavor,Champagne
often become smooth and soft.The main grapes of the Champagne region are
Wines made from the Merlot grape are verythe black Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier and the
similar to those produced from the Cabernetwhite Chardonnay.
Sauvignon grape but have a less distinctive aromaThe wines of the Champagne region can best be
and flavor.described as thin and tart and provide the perfect
If it seems strange that white wines should bebase for what many believe to be the world's
produced from black grapes then bear in mindfinest sparkling wine.
that grape juice, whether from black or whiteBeaujolais
grapes, is essentially colorless and it is the skin ofBeaujolais wines are made from the black Gamay
the black grape that gives the wine its color.and white Chardonnay grapes.
RhoneThe wines of this region are often light in nature,
The grape varieties most often seen in the Rhonefresh tasting and with a somewhat fruity flavor.
valley are the black Cabernet Sauvignon andMany Beaujolais wines are also slightly fizzy in
Syrah grapes and the white Muscat grape.nature.