French Wines

I%26#39;m sorry for posting this subject again but I think my last question got lost. I jotted down a number of wines and would like to know if I was to order them in a restaurant would I just order by giving the names below, or is there a further breakdown from these such as the price I%26#39;m willing to pay, 1/2 bottle or full bottle (if possible), or anything else.

Pouilly Fuisse, Pouilly Fume, Sancerre, Chablis, Anjou, Meursault,

Chassagne Montrachet, Reisling, Rully, Entre-Deux-Mers, Saint-Emilion.

|||

These are all various regions, each with a handful of chateaux producing the wines under their own label. Prices will vary depending on the year of the wine, the reputation of the producer and the restaurant%26#39;s mark up.

The prices of the wines will always be listed on the menu, as will the quantity. With a few exceptions, most of the wines on your list will only be available in restaurants with a seperate wine list.

Because you seem interested in wines, I%26#39;d like to recommend a couple of restaurants that I think you will enjoy.

1) FISH La Boissonerie, rue de Seine in the 6th. It is owned by an AMerican who also has a wineshop, so the choices are good and they are great at recommending wines. They also include the varietal mixes on the wine list, making it easier for visitors.

2) Au Sancerre, avenue Rapp, in the 7th. This is a wine bar with one of the best omelettes I%26#39;ve ever had in my life. Fun atmosphere and good wines. T%26#39;chin!

|||

Thanks for the recommendations phread. As we hope to be staying a the Hotel du College de France those establishments should be relatively close. As for the wine, am I correct in using those region names when ordering wine.

|||

You may want to ask for the house white or red wine and be assured that you are getting quality at a reasonable price. In addition, you may want to do some reseach before your trip so that you can recognize a good vintage and producer of one white and one red burgundy ( chardonnay and pinot noir grapes respectively). The negociant Jardot has an excellent reputation for his wines. Just enjoy whatever you select.

|||

Depending on the restaurant, they may well have more than one %26quot;brand%26quot; (chateau) of each type of wine on their wine list, at varying prices depending on quality and vintage. If you didn%26#39;t look at the wine list and just asked for, say, a bottle of Pouilly Fuisse they might bring you the most expensive one! Good restaurants will have a sommelier (wine waiter) who will help you choose a bottle to suit your taste and budget. By the way, not all chateaus produce half-bottles so they are not all that common.

Hope this helps. Sante!

|||

%26lt;%26lt;am I correct in using those region names when ordering wine%26gt;%26gt; Yes, you would ask for a St Emilion or a Meursault, but many places will only have a Bordeaux or a Burgundy.

I would never, for example, walk into a restaurant and ask for a Chassagne Montrachet without first seeing it on their wine list.

|||

You could do some research with dinner every night before you leave, if you know what I mean.

|||

The wines will be on the wine list, divided by colour first, and then region (and then, maybe, style)

The wiz method is to order a half bottle of the second cheapest (assuming it comes in half bottles) wine of the style I want. If Mrs Wiz is driving (or we%26#39;re walking home) I order a bottle

Either that or the cheapest beaujolais they have.

At lunchtime, of drinking, I have a demi-pichet of the house red.

|||

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187147-i14-k97736…

Here is your original Post.

|||

PS --

Between now and when you go to France, pay particular attention to the characteristics of the wines you most enjoy. Whether the %26quot;nose%26quot; (aroma) is of berries or tobacco or citrus, or whatever, what the predominant flavours are on the palate, and the finish - does it leave a fruity flavour on your tongue or spice or something else?

When you get to a restaurant in Paris, you will be able to desctibe a wine that you particularly like, and any decent sommelier will be able to suggest something similar enough to be assured that you will enjoy it even if it is completely new to your experience. In this as in so many other things, communication is the key.

Bon voyage.

|||

From Slowtravel.com:

French Wine Regions

Although there are many wine-producing regions in France, the major ones are considered to be Bordeaux, Burgundy, the Rhône Valley, Alsace, the Loire Valley, and Champagne. Others include Provence and Languedoc-Roussillon. The most expensive and highly sought-after wines tend to come from Bordeaux and Burgundy. As you will see in the following chart, most of the names of French wine regions don%26#39;t have distinct English equivalents.

FRENCH ENGLISH SAY IT LIKE THIS

Bordeaux bohr-doh

Bourgogne Burgundy boor-goh-nyuh*

la Loire lah lwahr**

Côtes du Rhône Rhône Valley koht dew rohn

Alsace ahl-sahs

Champagne Champagne shahm-pah-nyuh*

Languedoc-Roussillon lah-guh-dohk roo-see-yoh

Vin de Pays d%26#39;Oc va duh peh-ee dohk

* What we%26#39;re calling the third syllables of Bourgogne and Champagne are not really proper syllables and should be pronounced very lightly.

** Try to pronounce Loire as one syllable, making the %26quot;w%26quot; come very quickly after the %26quot;l%26quot;. What we want to avoid is the clunkiness of %26quot;luh-wahr%26quot;.

Grapes

It%26#39;s useful to know a bit about which grapes are used in French wines. Some basics:

All red Burgundy is 100% pinot noir; all white Burgundy is 100% chardonnay.

Bordeaux wines are usually a blend, in varying proportions, of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and cabernet franc.

What follows are two lists of white and red grapes grown in France. Descriptions of the various wine growing regions (see A Tour of France%26#39;s Principal Wine Regions) will include more detailed information as to which grapes are grown where.

White Grape Varietals

FRENCH SAY IT LIKE THIS

chardonnay shahr-doh-neh

sauvignon blanc soh-vee-nyoh blah

chenin blanc shuh-na blah

sémillon say-mee-yoh

viognier vee-oh-nyay*

muscadet mews-kah-deh

riesling rees-ling**

(tokay) pinot gris (toh-keh) pee-noh gree

pinot blanc pee-noh blah

gewürztraminer guh-vewrts-trah-mee-nuhr**

* Although we%26#39;ve split this word into three syllables, it%26#39;s preferable to try to pronounce it in two, %26quot;vyoh-nyay%26quot;.

** Since riesling is a German word, French transliteration symbols aren%26#39;t quite applicable. The second syllable rhymes with %26quot;sing%26quot;. In the case of gewürztraminer, even though it%26#39;s a German name, our French transliteration sounds do work.

Red Grape Varietals

FRENCH SAY IT LIKE THIS

cabernet sauvignon kah-behr-neh soh-vee-nyoh

merlot mehr-loh

cabernet franc kah-behr-neh frah

pinot noir pee-noh nwahr*

syrah see-rah

Grenache gruh-nahsh

mourvèdre moor-vehdr(uh)

viognier vee-oh-nyay

* Again, as with the word Loire, care should be taken to pronounce noir in one syllable. Saying %26quot;nuh-wahr%26quot; (or worse, %26quot;noh-wahr%26quot;) is clunky and inaccurate. It%26#39;s sort of like saying ka-vetch instead of kvetch, no?

Reading Wine Labels

Trying to make sense of wine labels can be confounding for the novice. Even for someone who has more experience with wine, it can be confusing. Different regions use different systems. For instance, on the label of a bottle from Bordeaux, you%26#39;ll often see the name of the individual château, or wine estate, that produces it, as well as the name of the sub-region, or appellation, in which that château is located. In Burgundy, the appellation will also appear as well as the name of the individual vineyard. (More about appellations, below.) The producers%26#39; names figure prominently on Burgundy, Alsatian, Côtes du Rhône and most notably, Champagne labels, while they don%26#39;t as much in Bordeaux.

Accompanying each section of our Tour of France%26#39;s Principal Wine Regions will be a label from a bottle from that region along with explanations of certain terms on that label. We%26#39;ve decided to zero in on selected parts of the labels in an effort not to overload the reader with information.

There are a number of basic terms often appearing on labels that can be very useful to know. The designations grand cru and premier cru are used to indicate quality and pedigree of the wine. In general, grand crus are the highest quality wines commanding the highest prices. The word cuvée refers to a particular bottling, sometimes indicating that all of the grapes used to make that wine come from one specific vineyard. Other times, it refers to a special bottling from a producer who has used other criteria for grape selection. Most vin de table is simple, local wine. Vins de pays are regulated regional wines -- also usually simple, but no less pleasing for it! Vintage years are always either included on the main label or on a separate label around the neck of the bottle.

FRENCH English SAY IT LIKE THIS

grand cru grah crew

premier cru pruh-myay crew

cuvee kew-vay

appellation appellation (place name*) ah-puh-lah-syoh

Appellation d%26#39;Origine Contrôlée (AOC)** ah-puh-lah-syoh doh-ree-zheen koh-troh-lay

réserve reserve ray-zehrv(uh)

vendage vintage vah-dahzh

mis en bouteille au château (au domaine) bottled at the château (estate or property) mee zah boo-tay oh shah-toh (oh doh-mehn)

vin de table table (house) wine va duh tahbl(uh)

vin de pays local wine (literally: wine of the country) va duh peh-yee

* The official designation of where a wine comes from.

** French system by which wines are defined and regulated. See AOC and Appellations below.

AOC and Appellations

Ok. Here we go. This can be a confusing topic but we%26#39;ll try to simplify it. The French system of defining and regulating wines is called Appellation d%26#39;Origine Contrôlée, or AOC. It was established in an effort to have some quality control in the wine industry (it%26#39;s also used elsewhere, for example, for cheeses). It guarantees that the wine on whose label the term appears was, in fact, produced in a particular place – the place name being the appellation.

In addition to being the name of the system itself, AOC is also the designation given to top ranking wines. The others are, in order of decreasing %26quot;importance%26quot;, Vins Délimités de Qualité Supérieur, Vin de Pays and Vin de Table. If a wine is designated an AOC wine, the place name, or appellation, will appear inserted into that very phrase on the label (e.g. a wine from the Graves part of Bordeaux that is an AOC -- top rated -- wine will show the designation Appellation Graves Contrôlée).

The appellation on a bottle can refer to a larger area (i.e. if it just says Bordeaux and nothing more) or a smaller sub-region like Pauillac. In the case of the former, it indicates that the grapes used in making the wine come from somewhere (and it could be anywhere) in the Bordeaux region. The latter designation is more specific, indicating that all of the grapes were grown in the Pauillac sub-region. The word appellation is the same in French as in English. It%26#39;s just pronounced differently! Note that the designation of appellations is not an arbitrary thing – it%26#39;s done in accordance with French law.

Hope this helps