Wine Labels - What Do They Really Mean?

Most people are very confused when it comes to wine. Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Burgundy, Beaujolais, dry, sweet, etc. .. What are all these names really?

If you live in America, you may want to know that such names as Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, you will be taken to the bottle tags are simply the names of the grapes, the wines, the French are the names of the grapes .

Interestingly enough, but France is not the name of the Grapes on wine bottles, but the name of the domain or the region the wine was in. This is because a general confusion is made. If the name "Beaujolais" or "Cabernet Sauvignon" on the labels, you can not know what they actually mean. In this case, a Beaujolais region of the Rhone Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon is the name of a red grape.

Here are some basic instructions about French wine, are to help you better understand your California will> Wine.

The reason why France does not use the grape name on the bottles is that each wine region is generally well known and linked to one or two types of specific grapes.

For example, (the red wines from the Burgundy region of Burgundy, known as the United States) are all made from Pinot Noir and white wines are all made from Chardonnay. Bordeaux wines are produced from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and Beaujolais wines are mostly fromGamay and Chardonnay.

The southern areas, such as the Rhone Valley produces mainly red wines, because red grapes bask in the southern sun no better than the white does. The northern regions such as Alsace produces mostly white wines, as is the white grape variety a better fit for the cooler regions.

As far as France calls appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) is a wine that the regulation, which contains the better wines from France. It's a bit similar to the American Viticultural AreaAreas (AVA), but the difference is that the (AVA is) only one area in which at least 85% of the grapes used a wine has become. It does not include a specific quality such as the French (AOC).

Dry or sweet?

Most wines in France are dry, not sweet. This is because, in France wine is drunk with meals, and meals will be enjoyed as a rule with a non-sweet wine. Sweet wines are mainly reserved for desserts. EvenDemi-sec (semi-sweet) wines are also preferred desserts in France.

Red or white?

Red and white wines also have their food. For example, fish and salads are preferred by whites, while meat and pasta are eaten with red.

Champagne, excellent expensive champagne from this region, is also preferred and desserts served in a rule at the end of the special meals.