FRENCH WINE - THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Jul 10, 2017
- 2 min read
Wine is really a part of French culture. French people do drink wine a lot but still not everyday. We drink it when we have dinner with family or friends, when we go to restaurants and for special occasions. Drinking alcohol is allowed starting 18 years old in France but honestly most parents make their children taste (not drink the all glass!) it before.
If you don't like alcohol and don't want to drink, do not worry, refusing to drink is not impolite and French people will not be offended.
4 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT WINE
1. Every year between 7 and 8 billion bottles of wine are produced in France which make us one of the largest wine producers in the world.
2. France dates its wine-making history to Roman times.
3. When experts taste wine, they don’t drink it. They look at it and put it into their mouth before spitting it out.
4. Soil composition, climate and fermentation give the aroma to the wine. Aroma: all the compounds perceived through smell. There are fruity wines, earthy wines (mushrooms, undergrowth, dried leaf…), spicy wines (cinnamon, clove, black pepper…), wines with reminiscence of herbs (mint, rosemary, herbes de Provence…).
4 REASONS WHY THERE ARE 3 COLORS OF WINE
Colors of wine: red, white, rosé (“rouge, blanc, rosé” in French). The color depends on:
1. The variety of the grape (called “cépage” in French) and the pigmentation in the grape’s skin. Also, it’s possible to make white wine with red grapes but impossible to make red wine with white grapes.
2. The climate
3. The grapes' quality
4. The vinification (wine-producing methods). For instance, to make rosé you use the same process for red wine but the maceration time will be substantively different: less than one day for rosé while 2-3 weeks for red wine.
SOME FAMOUS FRENCH WINE DESIGNATIONS
French white wines: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewürztraminer, Chablis, Sancerre, Riesling
French red wines: Pinot Noir, Saint Emilion, Beaujolais Nouveau
WINE BARS IN PARIS
La Cave de Belleville - 51 Rue de Belleville, 75019 Paris
Etna - 33 Rue Mazarine, 75006 Paris
El Vinedo - 25 Rue de Chabrol, 75010 Paris
Inaro - 38 Rue René Boulanger, 75010 Paris
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