Wine Information
Wine-tasting in France?
I'd really like to go wine-tasting in France. I have heard it can be difficult to visit vineyards, as they're not so used to people going there Do you know if this is true - and have you been wine-tasting in France? Is there also a really good wine guide, such as Platters for South Africa, for France? I'm really new to French wines.
Public Comments
- I do not know who told you it was difficult to visit vineyards in France. Mostly they welcome you with open arms. What they don NOT like are people who turn up with no intention of buying and drink a lot of samples then move on to the next vineyard, especially when they arrive by the coachload and speak with American accents. And can you blame them? Here is a good on-line wine guide http://www.terroir-france.com/wine/index.htm If you want a very serious book try to get the Hachette Wine Guide (Published by Hachette) or smaller but still good the 'French Wine (Eyewitness Companion Guides)' France is the biggest wine making country in the world, Bordeaux and Burgundy alone could be a lifetimes study, let alone Alsace, Languedoc-Roussillon. Remember as well that French wines are far more strictly controlled than most 'New World Wines' For example they are allowed to use only half the sugar and that must be grape sugar. This means their wines are subject to greater variation in taste, (the extra sugar masks this). For some this is downside, they like the super-consistency of say Australian Chardonnay, which is not possible in a year on year situation unless a lot of sugar is used. By the same token their wines are less fattening. Enjoy yourself, and the French wines.
- Actually, having just returned from Burgundy, I found some wineries very easy to get into and the vast majority not. While some are open to the public, many many are closed to the public and either unmarked or not touristy. We instead opted to book an English speaking tour that brought us into numerous small wineries and was very informative.
- Most regions of France produce wines; and many are small producers; so not always set up with a commercial operation for tasting and sales. Any time you see a sign "Degustation" Vin that means - tasting - and is an invitation to come in and try and hopefully buy. Burgundy, Champagne, Cotes du Rhone, Bordeaux, Alsace, Loire are all regions where the producers are wide open to degustations; the most commerical (largest) will have English speaking people available. Burgundy is probably most commercial; see in Beaune at the Office of Tourism and they will give you a ton of referrals all speaking English if you want.
