France, a country renown for its wines, is the highest wine producer of any country in the world, averaging around seven to eight billion bottles every year. It comes as no surprise that France is covered in winemaking regions, each with a distinct style of wine.
The wines produced today reflect a changing world, with a larger range of pricing, both cheaper and expensive, available to consumers. With changing technology in both manufacturing and transportation, France has been forced to adapt to remain on top of the winemaking list.
In the recent past, the French have been very protective of their origins and wine naming conventions, and with good reason, protecting such famous names as Bordeaux, Champagne and Burgundy.
The guidelines used to protect naming origins and winemaking for French regions is known as the Appellation d’Origine Controlee (AOC) system. The body in charge, sets down and enforces the rules in the AOE system which is also used to determine which winemaking practices and grape varieties are allowed to be used in the specific wine producing regions of France.
Another term that is very French is “terrior”, which indicates a number of growing factors that can vary from vineyard to vineyard, taking into account factors like, soil condition, orientation toward the sun and slope of the land.
Many of the most famous varieties of grape such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah all originated from the wine growing regions of France. The last few hundred years of exploration and colonization has seen the spread on both number and popularity of these grape varieties across the globe.
Along with the grapes, the colonists brought over the unique French wine making practices in an effort to produce the same style of wines from France.
The long and proud history of French wine has added to its mystique. It has long been a market leader in sales, grape varieties and wine production trends. On top of all of this, it has managed to retain the pole position while still adhering to its age old winemaking traditions.
As a result French wine and particular houses remain in high demand around the world.
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Do you love wine? If you have a taste for it, especially fine wines, such as vintage French wines and many others, then you may consider them as an investment. Investing in wine is a lot more involved than other types of investments and might even earn you a new group of friends along the way! The top wines will go for high prices and that means a smart investment for you. This article is going to cover everything you need to do to get started with investing in wines.
Before you start purchasing any ol’ bottle of wine you will want to learn everything you can about wine. There are a few ways you can go about this. You can choose to do it on your own. Gather up some books and learn the basics on how vintage wines are made, everything from genetics of the vine to the climate. All of this will be important when choosing your fine wines. You can also employ the expertise of someone called a sommelier, which is a person who purchases high-end wines for restaurants and clubs. Having a sommelier at your beck and call can be handy after you have begun investing as well.
Once you have retained all of the knowledge you feel you will need to be successful in investing in fine wines, you can then move on. You can choose to travel to different wineries or simply investigate them by phone or online. By doing this you will learn all about their reputations as well as their quality of vintage wine. This should help you choose which area you will be collecting from and investing in. It is best to stick with one area so that you can become an expert. Consider investing in wine from outside the country, such as French wines. Of course you won’t be traveling to France, or will you?
Just like with every other kind of investment, investing in fine wines requires you to take caution in certain areas. If a wine has a high price tag, it doesn’t necessarily mean it is a vintage quality wine; it may just be popular at the moment. This doesn’t mean it isn’t worth investing in; it just depends on your tastes. Also remember that many new wines are not meant to be aged, and may only last for a year or two. Once you notice all of these things and learn what you can, you will be on your way to a great wine investment!
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Some of the best wines come from France. It is one of the oldest region in Europe where wines are produced. France wine making history dated back to the Roman era. In fact, it was from this that the knowledge of wine making spread throughout France.
French made wines are extremely popular all over the world. In fact it was from the ‘French Paradox’, a medical finding that observed that despite the French population’s diet rich in fats, their risk of getting coronary disease remains significantly low. This phenomenon has been attributed to the French population’s propensity towards drinking wine. This discovery prompted the many studies that have been devoted to the possible health benefits of wine.
Wine making process in France
The process used in wine making can be adjudge an art form. Given that each wine maker can add his or her personal touch to the wine making process. There are a lot of contributing factors that determine the final result of wine, for instance, harvesting time, the climate, terroir, fermentation period etc. Wine makers are solely responsible for regulating all these contributing factors.
Who drinks French wines
Some of the best wines that come from various regions in France include: Champagne, Burgundy wine, and Bordeaux wine. In the past, usually people of France only consumed wine produced in their locality. Due to availability of rails, road and other transportation, wine is widely available all over the country. France has been known to be one of the biggest consumers of their own wines. Over the years however, the trend has greatly reduced. So it has now become important for France to rely on exporting their wine. Due to quality wines made from other parts of the globe emerging, French wines popularity has been reduced.
Terroir
This is a special term that originates from France. It refers to the natural traits in wine making that are assign to the wine by a particular vineyard. Every vineyard is widely believed to have its own unique composition that can affect the final result of the wine. Some of these include: soil type, altitude, how the vineyard is managed, how much sun the plants in the vineyards are exposed to, etc.
It is no doubt that French wines are included as a favorite among many wine connoisseur. Not only do France have an excellent wine making tradition, they also produce excellent wines which is extremely popular all over the world.
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