French Wine Culture

High-Level Info: Wine is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented grape juice. Growing grapes for wine is one of the world's most important farming activities, and the industry is a major feature of the economy of many wine-producing countries. Wines may be either red, white, or rosé and also dry, medium, or sweet. They fall into three basic categories: 1)natural or "table" wines, with an alcohol content of 8 to 14 percent, generally consumed with meals; 2)sparkling wines, containing carbon dioxide, of which champagne is archetypal; 3)and fortified wines, with an alcohol content of 15 to 24 percent, drunk either as an aperitif or with dessert, depending on their sweetness. (The various types include port, sherry, and aromatic wines and bitters, such as vermouth.)

Why is wine so important in France? Cheese and wine are absolutely central elements of the French diet and French food. In France, traditionally people ate a warm meal in the middle of the day and then a lighter (often cold) meal in the evening. This food tradition coincides with the French philosophy of shutting everything down in the middle of the day for a well-deserved break. Children go home from school and adults go home to eat lunch together. This is gradually changing, but in general you will find this to be true if you visit France.

Wine & Cheese Etiquette Culturally-speaking, wine and cheese are central elements of a French meal. Fortunately, because the many variants and flavors of both wine and cheese are delicious, developing an appreciation for these important French foods takes no time at all!

Wine & Cheese Etiquette French adults do generally drink wine in the middle of the day. Colleagues often go out for lunch together instead of going home, and a glass or two of wine is considered common practice. Wine has always been an integral part of the French dining table, perhaps as central to the French table as water is to the American table. Generally speaking, wine is not overindulged in in France; sipping wine throughout lunch or dinner is a common practice.

Wine & Cheese Etiquette French dining etiquette says that one should wait to have their glass refilled by someone else at the table. With cheese, it's the opposite. A platter of cheese will be passed around the table and you should take some of each cheese that you would like to eat and put it on your plate. Traditionally, the bread sits on the table instead of your plate, and you break off bite-sized pieces of bread and spread cheese from your own plate onto your bite of bread.

Regional Wine Varieties Most wines and cheeses in France are specific to a certain region. This is partly because of cultural history, but also very much related to the geographical differences between different regions. For example, the grapes that are grown in the Champagne and Alsace (north and northeastern) regions of France are very different from the grapes grown in Bordeaux or Provence, which are both southern regions. In wine production, the region of origin is a very important factor.

Regional Wine Varieties On most bottles of French wine you will see the expression vin d'AOC. AOC stands for the appellation d'origine contrôlée. This stamp of approval means that there has been a surveillance process to make sure that this wine, claiming to be from Cheverny, really is produced in that region. This process not only ensures quality control, but it also protects the regional history and tradition of a wine. If a producer is growing grapes in Spain and then putting a label on the bottle that says vin de Bordeaux (Bordeaux wine), this undermines the production of genuine Bordeaux wines.

Regional Wine Varieties While it's not necessarily true that wines without this vin d'AOC stamp of approval are terrible wines, do consider looking for this phrase when purchasing wine in France. The Institut National d'Appellations d'Origine (the National Institute for Regional Place Names) was started in 1905 in order to protect agricultural products and their history. For more than 100 years, this institute has ensured that the regional history of French wine and cheese is not taken over into a nationwide variant of brie or a general vin rouge (red wine).

To make wine:

How is wine made?

How Does Wine Affect Our Health?  Studies show that wine can be good for us: “The French paradox” is a name for the perceived paradox that people in France suffer relatively low incidences of coronary heart disease, despite their diet allegedly being rich in saturated fats. The term is often confused with the related but different notion of the Mediterranean diet. It has been suggested that France's high red wine consumption is a primary factor in the trend. Resveratrol and other grape compounds have been positively linked to fighting cancer, heart disease, degenerative nerve disease and other ailments.

How Does Wine Affect Our Health?  Studies show that wine can be good for us: Although many people wrongly assume that red grapes have the most health benefits, the fact is that grapes of all colors have comparable benefits. Red wine has health benefits not found in white wine because many of these compounds are found in the skins of the grapes and only red wine is fermented with the skins. The medical causes of the French paradox are still not entirely clear, however. A number of studies have been made and some researchers are moving away from the theory that wine consumption is the primary cause.

How Does Wine Affect Our Health? It now seems clear that regular consumption of up to 1-2 drinks a day (1 standard drink is approximately equal to 5 oz, or 125 ml, of 13% wine) does reduce mortality, due to 10%- 40% lower risk of coronary heart disease, for those over the age of 35 or so. However, with larger amounts the effect is compensated by the increased rate of various alcohol-related diseases, primarily cancers of mouth, upper respiratory tract and ultimately cirrhosis of liver. Sulfites (or sulphites) are compounds found in wine that act as a preservative — and can trigger a severe and life-threatening allergic reaction in a small percentage of consumers, primarily asthmatics. In the USA nearly all commercially produced wine is required to state on the label that it contains sulfites. In other countries they do not have to be declared on the label, leading to a common mistaken belief that only wine from the USA contains sulfites. Many consumers who have adverse reactions to wine — such as headaches or hangovers — blame added sulfites, but are probably reacting instead to naturally occurring histamines. The quantity of sulfites in a glass of wine is the same as a serving of dried apricots.