With Dry January well behind us, now is a good time to revisit the wide diversity of French wine.
I know that for a lot of British people living here, drinking wine that only costs a few Euros is one of the reasons for moving here but French wine has so much more to offer than cheap plonk in a bag-in-box.
For many English-speaking people, used to choosing wine by grape variety, the regional labels used for French wine can be hugely overwhelming.
Variety or area?
I know that many consumers think that is just the French being typically obtuse and elitist.
It isn’t. It’s mainly historical. In the past, the vast majority of people would have drunk only their local wines.
The only people who would have knowledge of the different wines would have been travelling merchants and the very wealthy.
Local winemakers would have chosen vine cuttings which made the best wines in their vineyards.
That would depend on climate, soil-type, altitude etc.
They may not have even known the names of the varieties they had chosen. If they did, the variety may have had different names in each region.
Regions such as Burgundy, the Rhône and Loire Valleys, the Languedoc and Bordeaux became reputed for producing consistently good wines.
Within those areas, particular villages (communes), estates and hillsides were known to be better than others.
Wines were traded and bottles were labelled under the names of those areas and villages.
The important thing was where the grapes were grown, not the name of the grape variety.
Also, people only drank their local wines.
Read more: Why people in France are drinking more beer and less wine at home
Local wines mix with local food
Each French region produces a range of wines, often suited to the local cuisine.
You will find dry, medium and sweet white wines, lighter and heavier reds in every region.
The idea of a whole region being devoted to the production of one varietal wine, like Sauvignon Blanc in New Zealand or Malbec in Argentina, is one driven by mass-production and export markets.
It wasn’t until the 1930s that the system of appellations was introduced. The aims
were to define the style of wine, maintain a reputation for quality and to protect both producers and consumers from fraudulent labelling.
What is typically French is the creation of a government agency to administer the system, known as the Institut national de l’origine et de la qualité (INAO).
The system proved successful and the number of vineyards now belonging to an Appellation d’Origine Protégée (AOP) has expanded to cover every wine-growing region of France and the number of individual AOPs has grown to over 400.
As well as the AOP category, France has always had regional wines with fewer rules for their production.
These used to be called Vins de Pays but have been rebranded as Indication Géographique Protégée (IGP). The grapes will come from the geographical region indicated but the producer has more liberty in choice of varieties and production methods.
They also cover wines from vineyards which were never considered to be of sufficient quality to have an AOP.
Read more: What are IGP/AOC/AOP labels on French products?
Although that thinking is debatable. There are many fine wines bearing an IGP label, particularly in the Languedoc-Roussillon.
That has obviously made it more complicated for the consumer, especially ones used to varietal labelling.
I can understand the popularity of varietal-labelled wines. But it has several weaknesses when it comes to actually choosing a wine you like or to go with a particular dish.
Chardonnay can be crisp and refreshing or fat, full-bodied and oaky.
Cabernet Sauvignon can be easy-drinking blackcurrant-flavoured wine or it can be an austere, tannic beast which requires years of cellaring before turning into a magnificent, fragrant and smooth wine.
Learning the quirks of each region
Varietal labelling oversimplifies the diversity of wine and keeps consumers in a false comfort zone.
I say false because most people who believe that they know or dislike certain grape varieties usually get it wrong when faced with a wine served blind.
It ignores the fundamental concept of terroir, the fact that wines do taste of where they come from, not just the grape varieties used to make them and it also assumes that all wines from a grape variety are made in one homogenous style.
Read more: Myths and facts about France's winemaking terroir
The key to enjoying French wine is to put aside the idea that wines should be labelled by variety.
The vast majority of French wines are not labelled by variety and often don’t even mention them in the small print.
The consumer is expected to learn the styles of wine made in the various AOPs. That’s a daunting task given the number of AOPs and IGPs that exist today.
However, it’s not necessary to know the details and nuances of every single AOP. The most important thing is knowing which region an AOP comes from and what defines its style.
The vineyards of France are divided into several distinct regions with distinct characteristics, grape varieties and winemaking techniques. A result of geography and history.
It’s worth noting that each major region has its own bottle shapes. Loire, Burgundy, Rhone, Bordeaux and Alsace all have distinctive bottle shapes. That’s the first clue about the style of the wine it contains.
In a future article, I will provide some tips on how to choose wines like a French connoisseur, with an emphasis on picking wines to go with certain occasions or specific dishes.
