Let's talk about France...

A work colleague of mine headed off to Sainsburys last week to buy a bottle of Bordeaux as a gift for a friend. He returned twenty minutes later completely dismayed by the fact that such a large supermarket only had one Bordeaux, which was half price and at £5, looked ‘a little cheap’.

He asked me why there would only be one Bordeaux in such a large supermarket and my response of, ‘the wine may not have had ‘Bordeaux’ on the label’, made him even more frustrated. How can a product, that is something, not advertise the thing that it is?

French wine labels, although often looking prestigious and traditional, can often be the Achilles heel of French wine. We all want to know what it is we are buying and often have a type of wine in mind when we hit the shops.

New World countries, such as Australia and New Zealand, have helped consumers out buy splashing the grape variety over the front label. A technique that has aided sales of New World wines to increase from 27% of the UK wine market in 1998 to 54% in 2007 according to IWSR, June 2009. France, however, has kept the majority of their wine labels traditionally mysterious, with names of villages and producers often the only clues given as to what’s inside.

This all stems from many regulations that control the wine industry in France. To gain certain classifications, only permitted grape varieties can be grown in certain areas. Therefore, by recognising the village or commune name, you can figure out the grape variety….simples!?

To give you a bit of assistance when navigating French wines, I will list a few grape varieties, their corresponding areas and key words to look out for on the wine labels.

If Sauvignon Blanc is your flavour, the Loire Valley is the area to look out for. Although quite a few grape varieties are grown here, areas such as Menetou-Salon, Sancerre and Pouilly Fume are renowned for excellent Sauvignon Blanc.

Burgundy is the home of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. For Chardonnay the names to look out for are Chablis, Macon, Meursault and Pouilly Fuisse. For Pinot Noir try some Beaune, Gevrey-Chambertin, Pommard and Vougeot. Most supermarkets stock generic white and red Burgundy which will be Chardonnay or Pinot Noir from a mix of vineyards throughout the area and can be delicious and a tad more affordable than those from single villages.

For Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, Bordeaux is the place to taste. Almost all wines from Bordeaux are a blend of these two varieties and sometimes seasoned with Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. Although wines from Bordeaux can fetch eye watering prices, the majority of those in your local supermarket can be very affordable. Key words to look out for on the label are Medoc, Haut-Medoc,
Saint-Emilion and Bordeaux Superieur.

The white grape varieties grown in Bordeaux are Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. A lot of these grapes go into making beautifully luscious sweet wines; however drier styles are being produced to fulfil consumer demand. For sweet styles look out for Sauternes and Barsac.

The Rhone Valley, in Southern France, being a very warm area is perfect for growing Syrah, and Grenache. Again, a lot of grape varieties are often blended to produce the wines from this area. However the style is often full bodied, fruity, with a touch of spice and soft tannins – pretty much perfect for a quaffable red. On the label look out for Cotes-Du-Rhone which are often very affordable. Going up the price scale we have Hermitage and Vacqueyras and for a real treat try a Chateauneuf-Du-Pape.

Of course, this outline is just for starters. The beauty of French wines is that there is always so much to learn as well as taste. Hopefully this will help you embark on your next wine choice with a touch more confidence and knowledge. If you want to explore the French wine shelves further, my best advice is to leave the supermarket, walk down the road to your nearest Odd Bins, Wine Rack, or any other wine specialist and fire all your questions at the staff. Most of them would have attended wine courses and I’m sure they would love to help!