Sunday 22 November 2015

Wines!

Today's post is going to be about one of the greatest thing in France: Wine!  French wines traces its history to the 6th century BC with many of France's regions dating their wine-making history to Roman times. France is one of the largest wine producers in the world. It is produced all throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7-8 billions bottles. Only Italy produces more wine. 

France is the source of many grape varietes (Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot noir, Sauvignon blanc, Syrah) that are now planted throughout the world, as wells as wine-making practices and styles of wine that have been adopted in other producing countries. Some producers have benefited in recent years from rising prices and increased demand for some of the prestige wines from Burgundy and Bordeaux.

There is the Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) system. Appellation rules closly define which grape varietes and winemaking practices are approved for classification in each of France's several hundred geographically difned appellations, wchich can cover entire regions, individual villages or even specific vineyards.

The concpet of Terroir, which refers to the unique combinationof natural factors associated with any particular vineyard, is important to French vignerons (winemakers). It includes such factors as soil, underlying rock, altitude, slope of hill or terrain, orientation toward the sun, andmicroclimate (typical rain, winds, humidity, temperature variations, etc.). Even in the same area, no two vineyards have exactly the same terroir.

French wines are usually made to accompany food. They don't have so much alcohol as Polish drinks do ;)

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