Very present in our lives, during friendly meals, aperitifs with friends, or even important events, wine is however difficult to understand. Oenology is a vast world that requires a little knowledge to be able to talk about it, Choose the best wines, and appreciate them at their fair value. To help the most novice among us, here is a little Wine guide for beginners.
The 5 main wine producing regions and their grape varieties
Viticulture is omnipresent in France, but each French region does not produce the same type of wine. Each uses special grape varieties. We can then distinguish 5 large wine production regions in France.
- the Alsace wine : Extended on 15,600 hectares and spread over 2 departments, Alsace mainly works on riesling, gewurztraminer, sylvaner, pinot noir, pinot blanc, pinot gray and muscat;
- the Burgundy wine : Between Mâcon and Auxerre, the 27,200 hectares of Burgundy vineyards mainly produce Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Gamay and Aligoté;
- the Loire wine : with 77,000 hectares of vineyards, spread over 1,000 km long, Loire wines have grape varieties such as Sauvignon, Chenin, Pinot Noir, Cabernet-Sauvignon, Gamay and Cabernet-Franc;
- the Bordeaux wine : With its 118,000 hectare vineyards, the Bordeaux region is the largest wine region in France. We mainly work there from Merlot, Cabernet-Franc, Cabernet-Sauvignon, Sémillon and Muscadelle;
- the Provence wine : The vineyard, with its 27,000 hectares of area, mainly has Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Cinsault, Cabernet-Sauvignon, Tibouren and Carignan.
How to do a wine tasting?
To recognize the different Wine aromas, and appreciate all the flavors, the Wine tasting is done in an adapted glass, and is available in 3 steps.
- Observe the wine: theVisual approach to a wine Allows you to assess the wine dress, its color, but also its fluidity and its thickness;
- Feel the wine: theolfactory assessment is also done in two stages. The first nose allows you to discover the primary aromas coming from the grape variety, and the second nose reveals the secondary and tertiary aromas;
- Taste the wine : for a better appreciation of the aromas, it is advisable to gruer, that is to say to suck a little air in the mouth, to offer a beautiful Oxygenation of wine in the mouth And allow aromas to free themselves.
Decipher the label of a bottle of wine
Even before you can put the wine in the mouth, the label of the bottle can sometimes give beautiful indications on the character of a wine. Thus, the compulsory mentions indicate:
- The AOP/AOC production area (protected/controlled designation of origin);
- The coordinates of the traffic jam, which allows us to know if it is a wine as a merchant, or an independent owner wine;
- The volume of the bottle;
- The degree of wine alcohol;
- The mention "contains sulfites" and the pictogram advising alcohol during pregnancy.
Other information may be given, such as vintage Or the various awards obtained, but these remain optional.
Wine of guard or drink to drink: how to know?
We distinguish a Wine to drink young of a duty wine to their power. A tannic and acidic wine, with a stable and solid structure will be more capable of aging. Conversely, youth drinking wines do not have the power necessary to keep all their qualities and their structure over time.
No confusion, however, a Drinking wine in the year does not mean at all that it is less good than a wine on guard.
To learn to Distinguish a wine from a young wine, there is no other solution than to taste them, to compare them. You will then know how to recognize them and estimate their childcare potential.
What are the new types of wines?
Viticulture has greatly evolved in recent years, and we see new Wine certifications.
- the organic certified wine : bearing the notion AB (organic farming), organic wines come from grapes cultivated in organic farming, without phytosanitary products of chemical origin, such as weedkillers or pesticides;
- the biodynamic wine : The biodynamic winemaker respects the cycles of nature, in order to revitalize the soils. He relies on the tides, or even to the moon, to cultivate his vines and to be able to claim the Demeter label;
- the natural wine : very fragile, natural wines are not added to sulfur, nor any modern oenological input.
This Wine guide for beginners accompanies you during your first steps in the world of wine. Oenology is however very complex and dense, so why not go directly to a cellar? The Château de Berne welcomes you in its cellars and vineyards, for a guided tour complete.
