French Wineries

“Wine makes every meal an occasion, every table more elegant, every day more civilized.”
------Andre Simon, "Commonsense of Wine"

Those who have had a taste of flavor and aroma of French wine in their life will agree completely with Andre Simon. Wine lifts your spirits, stimulates your senses and makes your dining enjoyable. And if it is French wine, then nothing like

it! The French have earned world wide reputation of being the best wine makers in the world.

Origin of French Wineries

 

Way back in the 6th century BC, French wine is said to have originated when the Greeks colonized the Southern Gaul.

During the middle ages, wine making was the monopoly of the monks who maintained vineyards and produced wine for both celebration of mass and generating income.

Later, noble families developed French wineries extensively and during French Revolution, many vineyards owned by the church were confiscated. Till the middle of nineteenth century, local people were the main customers of the wine produced in the country until improvement of transportation led to the export of French wine worldwide.
 

Famous Winery Regions in France

 

 

• Bordeaux
• Burgundy
• Champagne
• Alsace
• Languedoc-Roussillon
• the Loire region
• Beaujolais
• Calvados
• Cognac
• Corsica
• Rhone

All these are the main regions in France known for extensive wineries. But the famous three is Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne. Each place offers distinct type of wine with unique taste. Wines are named according to the places where they are produced instead of the variety of grapes from which they are derived. The character of wine is dependant on lot of factors- type of grapes, soil, time of harvest, nature of storage and skill of winemaker.

 

Bordeaux is said to be the largest wine producing region supplying many varieties of this drink.

Burgundy claims to be the home of some oldest French wineries dating back to the middle ages.

Champagne is the region which produces world's most famous sparkling wine called Champagne.

While Alsace, a region in the eastern France, is noted for the production of white wine, Provence and Rhone valley mainly produce red wine.

Touring the wine regions of the France can be an exciting part of your holidays in France. French wineries are an integral part of French culture and society. It is necessary that one should make a tour to the French wineries to have a glimpse of work culture and lifestyle in the famous vineyards of France. The tourist offices in the towns can guide you to the wineries where visitors are allowed to see the wine making procedure and even are given free wines to taste. If you are fortunate, you can even visit the four day long wine festival in Bordeaux, held annually in last part of June. Some of the vineyards like Caudalie VinothŽrapie Spa have even started giving facilities for accommodation. If you going for a tour in France, don't miss a trip to at least one of the many French wineries.