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Wine Tasting French Wines
from: Maxx Guide to WineGetting familiar with the many varieties of French wines is one of the fun experiences for those who enjoy wine tasting events. France has eight wine producing regions with each producing wine of a specific type and flavor.
Here's a short overview to help you better enjoy the French wines you'll certainly want to try.
Beaujolais: Beaujolais wines are produced using black Gamay and white Chardonnay grapes. These wines are often light in nature, fresh tasting and with a bit of a fruity flavor. In addition, many Beaujolais tend to be slightly fizzy.
Burgundy: Burgundy wines are produced using black Pinot Noir and Gamay grapes as well as white Chardonnay grapes. Pinot Noir grapes are one of the oldest grape varieties and they're extremely difficult to properly grow. However, depsite the difficulties Pinot Noir produces what many consider some of the best wines which tend to be full-bodied and rich while also being light, soft and velvety. Pinot noir wines tend to have a cherry aroma along with a spiciness reminiscent of cinnamon or mint.
Bordeaux: Bordeaux wines are produced using the related black Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, particularly found in the Medoc district of Bordeaux, plus the black Merlot grape.
Chardonnay: Chardonnay grapes are very popular and produce light, delicate dry wines with a distinctive, but often a hard to describe aroma that conjures up a sense of apples, peaches or lemons.
Cabernet Sauvignon wines improve much with aging and are often considered one of the world's truly great wines. As the wine ages the distinctive blackcurrant aroma of wines from this grape develop overtones of cedar, violets and leather and the wines, which are deep in flavor, often becoming soft and smooth.
Wines produced from Merlot grapes are very similar to those made from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes but with a less distinctive aroma and flavor.
If you're surprised that white wines are produced from black grapes remember, grape juice, whether from black or white grapes, is basically colorless. It's actually the skins of black grapes that gives the wine its color.
Rhone: Grape varieties most often used in the Rhone valley include black Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah grapes and the white Muscat grape. Syrah grapes produce intense, rich wines almost black in color with a spicy aroma. Rhone Syrah grapes form the base for many blended wines such as the Chateauneuf du Pape.
Muscat grapes create intense, sweet wines that have a strong and easy to recognize aroma. In addition -- unusual for a wine -- wines from the Muscat really do taste like grapes.
Loire: The grapes of Loire include black Pinot Noir and white Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris grapes.
Sauvignon Blanc grapes are grown all over the world and are widely used for blending. In the case of the Loire it's used to make a distinctive unblended dry white wine with a sharp and aggressive aroma.
Pinot Gris wines often display a bit of a floral and slightly lemon flavor. Depending on the ripeness of the grape when harvested, the wines that are either light and tangy or rich, round and full bodied. Pinot Gris makes one of the few white wines that tends to age well.
Alsace: Although the grapes of the Alsace are similar to those used in the Loire, growing conditions in this region often produce wines with the characteristics of many German wines rather than French wines. Wines in this region tend to be similar to Riesling and sweeter German wines. Some rose wines are also produced in Alsace.
Champagne: In the Champagne region the main grapes are black Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier and white Chardonnay. These wines are best described as thin and tart that provide a perfect base for what many consider the world's best sparkling wines.
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