French Wines

Le Grand Noir (Black Sheep) Uniquely blended, the black sheep on the label symbolizes the wine: irreverent, different. And delicious. Chardonnay and red varietals are aged in French and American oak for 6 months.

France is second largest wine producer of the world (after Italy) and one of the oldest wine-producing regions of Europe. In the year 2002 altogether 909,000 hectares(!!!) with wines were bestockt. The production of wine in France is tightly controlled by two organisations. The Instituit National des Appellations d'Origine (INAO). This body succeeded the Comite' National des Appellations d'Origine after World War II and controls the hierachy of French quality wines. The other is the Service de Repression des Fraudes, which is responsible for seeing that the very complicated laws on wine production are carried out. On the French domestic market, every bottle carries a capsule conge', or capsule with the government seal on it showing that the relevant tax has been paid. It also shows the wine's quality status.

France is the second-largest wine producer in Europe

France Wine Regions

Wine Regions

Alsace

Bordeaux

Burgundy

Beaujolais/Maconnais

Corsica

Languedoc-Roussillon

Loire Valley

Provence

Rhone Valley

Savoie

Southwest France

More About Wines

Carlee Wine
Tasting wine it's a bit like languages: you don't have to talk French to visit France, but if you know some words, your enjoyment can be greatly enhanced. Before you taste make sure there are no distracting...
Wine of The World
Wine (from lat. vinum) is an alcoholic beverage made from grape. Only one beverage, which comes from fruits of the common grape vine, may carry the trade name „for wine ".
lownoise and mental mp3

Choosing French Wine

If you are not expert in wines but would like to be a litle more than newbie, firstly you should know the meaning of all hose words and abbreviations on a wine label. That's not hard, you can use this table:

Term - Meaning

AC - Appellation Contrôlée

AOC - Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée

Barrique - 225 litre oak cask

Blanc de blanc - White wine from white grapes

Blanc de Noirs - White wine from black grapes

Brut - Dry (usually for sparking wines)

Cave - Cellar

Cave coopératif - Cooperative cellar

Cépage - Grape variety

Château - Property usually making/bottling its own wine

Clos - Walled vineyard