France Wine Making Regions, Research Paper Example

Describe some of the most famous wine regions in France and explain why France has been considered as the most important wine producing country in the world for many centuries.

France is arguably the best wine producer in the world. The country has produced high quality wines in great quantity for centuries. In fact, France pioneered making of fine wine, and they still do it the best (Johnson, 2012). No other country can challenge the quality of the wine from France. The majority of the world finest wines are made in the image of French wine icon. These wines are made from French grapes using French techniques and barrels. The domination of French wines in the world market is perhaps due to the French culture where Wine is a key part. It is a symbol of France’s majority religion- Roman Catholicism. In France, wine is the preferred drink by both the elite and common men.

Although the refinement of the French wine begun after the Roman retreat, French wine had already started to earn a following and premium price even before the late Roman time. The wine wisdom was bypassed from generation to generation, and remarkable advance were achieved such as identification of the best grape. These ancient monastic lessons are still key principle of the modern wine making.

The persistence attraction of the French wine is not its volume or prestige but rather the availability of different style (“California Vintners try to quench China’s thirst for wine “, 2009). The consumers taste and preference have changed over time. This has promoted the development of different styles of wines from different grapes varieties available. The white, red, dry, mineral scented grapes have produced wine varieties to match each of the descriptors.

The success of France in the world market of fine wine is probably due the circumstance of its climate, geography, geology, and culture (“California’s Wente Vineyards halts shipments to Myanmar”, 2006). Again, the country is known for its, focus to produce small quantity of high-quality wine. For this reason, France has seriously embarked on refining its grapes and winemaking techniques for a longer time- longer than any of its competitor. Additionally, the fact that most of its region fall outside the grape vine, but within its survival range, has encouraged the development of diverse wine tradition.  Moreover, the diversity of the France wine is also due to the wide range of climate. While most areas in France only make passable wine, few valleys are recognized as superior. Such valley has developed fame for their superior quality. Their names have become synonymous with their product.

Six top wine regions in France have excelled due to their grapes and style. Each of these regions produces a benchmark wines that are limited around the globe. These regions are Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Rhine Valley, Loire Valley, and Alsace (Beverage Industry 2012). The first three regions are major regions. The other three regions are not common, they are best known by wine lovers only.

Bordeaux refers to wines of the Gironde department, surrounding the Atlantic port city of Bordeaux. The region is in the southeast of France. It experience maritime climate that is largely influenced by ocean to the west and several rivers that pass between the vineyards. Red wine dominates the wine production here. However, Small quantities of white and dry wines are also made. Blending several varieties is the rule in the region. This strategy was originally used to caution crop failures during adverse weather. Currently, the wine makers balance the strength and weakness of more than one grape based on flavor.

Burgundy is the other major wine region in France. The region is far from oceanic influence. It experiences a continental climate, which constitutes of cold winters as well as warm and dry summer. The region is famous for its sensual, expressive Chardonnay and pintonori’s. One unique feature of the region is that, it makes wine from one grape without blending. Of the regions five districts, macannais and chalonnaise make the modest wine at a reasonable price. Other districts such as chablis and Cote d ‘or make some of the most rare and expensive wines globaly.

The next wine region in France is called, champagne. This is the original bubbly and still produces the finest cum sparkling wine across the globe. Located just outside pairs, it is the most northern wine region in France. Champagne region is among the coolest climate wine growing region in the world. Its sparkling wine epitomizes elegance, balancing the strain with the richness. Because of the prevailing cool climate in the region, the grapes flavors vary widely from year to year. For this reason, champagne wines are blended from multiple vintage years to achieve harmony. One important point to note about the region is that its tradition method of making wine is the fine way of making wine sparkle and is still limited worldwide.

The next French wine region is Loire Valley. It is the most diverse wine region in France.  The region climate and native grape vary widely. Although small quantities of red, dessert wines and sparkling wines are made here, white wines are the most common in the region and are rarely blended.

The other major winemaking regions in France are the Rhone Valley and Alsace. The Rhone valley, stretch from Lyons to Marsseries. The region is known for its spicy red and dry wines. Alsace region lies in the northeastern corner of France. For a long time now, Germany and France have contested the region for much of its history. White and dry wines are the most common wines in the region.

We can thus conclude that, France is perhaps the best wine producer in the world. One of the key factors behind complex and comprehensive French wines quality level and style is it volume and diversity (“California Vintners try to quench China’s thirst for wine “, 2009). Each year the country produces more than fifty million HL of wine from around 1.9 million acres of vineyard. It is noteworthy that French wines are among the finest wines and will continue to dominate the world market.

References

Beverage Industry (2012, October 12). Brown-Forman Taps Wines From Down.  Retrieved from Beverage Industry: http://www. BeverageIndustry.com/poll/101905/gallup-poll.aspx

California Vintners try to quench China’s thirst for wine.(2009, November 19). Contra Costa Times, p. A1.

California’s Wente Vineyards halts shipments to Myanmar.(2006, November 27) Contra Costa Times, p. A1.

Johnson, H. M. (2012, December 8). All about Wine. Retrieved from reedbooksWebster: http:// www.reedbooks.co.uk