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Alsace
vineyards produce excellent, refreshing white table wines. Separated
from Germany on the east by the Rhine, Alsace understandably produces
wines similar to their German cousins. However the dry and full
flavoured, spicy Alsatian wines, 90% of which are white, are stronger
in taste and alcohol than German wines
Bordeaux
with 247,000 acres, is a wine-producing area three times the
size of
Burgundy.
Bordeaux is the largest fine wine-making region in the world, as well
as the most legendary. More than half the fine wines of the world
come from France and about half of these are from
Bordeaux.
Although the reputation is built mostly on red wines, especially
those from the Médoc, St.-Èmilion and Pomerol districts, the region
produces the entire gamut of wines, including dry and sweet whites,
and rosé
Burgundy
is home to some of the most exciting wines in the world. Burgundy
also produces two of the most popular wines in France: Beaujolais and
Chablis. In general, Burgundy wines are fruity, dark, full-bodied,
and sweet compared to
Bordeaux
wines which are light, dry, and delicate. Burgundy red wines tend to
mature much faster than those of Bordeaux. Also, unlike Bordeaux,
many wines must be made using a single grape
Burgundy
wines vary greatly. Less than ¼ of burgundy wine is white,
with Chablis and Sauterne the best known among them. All the great
whites are made from the Chardonnay grape. All the great reds are
made from the Pinot grape
Champagne
produces a wine so famous that many people don’t know precisely what
it is. Champagne is rigidly controlled and strictly defined in
France, and the name, far from applying to all sparkling wine, is
only legal when applied to one that is unique and made in the
district for which it is named
The Valley of the
Loire
is sometimes regarded as the most beautiful French wine region. The
river is wide and deep, the landscape is quiet and undulated. The
wines reflect the mood of the landscape. They are soft, pleasant,
charming and light
About three quarters of
the production are white wines. Loire whites may be dry, semi-sweet, or sweet, and are usually better than
the reds
The Rhône River stretches from Switzerland to the Mediterranean, its banks lined with vineyards, often planted on steep
slopes.
Rhône reds are sturdy, big, perfumed and often magnificent. The
whites also have a distinctive vigor of their own. The rosé from
Tavel is probably the best known of all rosé wines
Languedocis France's New World wine region.
The vineyards cover over 740,000 acres, three times as much as
Bordeaux. This is the source of one in 10 bottles of the world's wine
and one in three bottles of French wine. Until recently, very little
of the wine was AOC; Vin de Pays d'OC was the region’s most important
product.It is red wine country, with some rosé and whites.
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