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Wine Regions of
France
The main wine growing areas in France are: Alsace, Bordeaux, Burgundy,
Champagne, Corsica, Jura and Savoie, Languedoc-Roussillon, Loire Valley,
Provence, Rhône Valley and the South-west of France (see
Wine Map of France). Each of these areas have
their own style of wine and reputation. Furthermore, every region has a number
of sub-regions, each of which has a certain reputation and is known for a given
style (or styles) of wine. The wine bottle label states where the wine is from;
in general basic wines specify the region while better or more specialised wines
will specify a sub-region. This is because it makes sense for wine producers in
above average sub-regions to put their sub-region on the bottle whereas wine
producers in average or below average sub-regions have no incentive to put the
sub-region on the bottle.
Specifying the region on the wine label is associated with the French belief
that the region of origin affects both the style and the quality of wine (for
further discussion, see
terroir). To some extent this is true; for example the south of France is
more suited to heavy fruity red wines whereas the cool north is suitable for
crisp whites. In addition to the natural differences between the regions, there
are also regional traditions in terms of the production techniques, which also
contribute to regional variations. Consequently, one can make general
observations about the wine from a given region, or sub-region, such as
"Bordeaux has full-bodied reds" or "Chablis in Burgundy has elegant whites".
When first learning about wine, it is useful to develop an appreciation of
the differences between the regions and which regions one prefers. For example,
if one goes to a good wine merchant and asks for some typical bottles (say from
Burgundy, Bordeaux and Alsace) and then compares the taste, the regional
characteristics can soon become apparent. However, one also needs to keep in
mind that the variation within a given area (except for the smallest
sub-regions) is greater than the variation between areas. The area of Sauternes
in Bordeaux arguably produces the greatest sweet wines in the world; it also
produces many that are fit only to be poured down the drain. Consequently, we
suggest that one should then use regions (or for the more sophisticated,
sub-regions) to identify the style of wine that one enjoys and then taste around
to find some good bottles within this region.
For more
information, click on Wine & French Wine,
which will take you to our home page for this topic.
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