"Take a little wine for your body"

Though I know that the title is a slighty out of context scripture from the book of Timothy, it was the best intro I could think of. The subject of this post is wine if the title didn't give it away. France being the most famous and largest producer of wine, it is something that has to be appreciated and sampled while visiting.

France has nine major wine regions, ten if you include Champagne. The regions encountered first along the route are: The Loire Valley, Bordeaux, and South West wines. I will also discuss the subject of Cognac, which is a wine based product.

The wines in France are able to maintain distinctive regions by a system called "Appellation d Origine Controlee", meaning "a regulated origin name". Wines that want to carry a regional classification, must follow strict guidelines. Guidelines include the strict use of certain grape varieties and being grown in a specific region of the country.

The Loire Valley - This wine region is said to be one of the most beautiful in the world. The Loire Valley, is best known for its sweet and dry white wines. The white wines from this region do not use the popular Chardonnay grape as a rule, but use the Chenin Blanc or Sauvignon varieties. I have tried Sauvignon wines before, and they are my white wine of choice, so I will probably enjoy this area (as if I won't enjoy every area).

Bordeaux - This is the most famous and largest producing wine area in France, producing over 700 million bottles a year! The Bordeaux region is best known for its red wines, but does produce some white and rose wines. The humid atmosphere of this area of France make it ideal for growing wine, the most commonly grown grapes in this area include types of Cabernet and Merlot grapes.

South West Region - The South West region though close to Bordeaux, generally produces what is considered by some to be a lower quality wine. Growing many of the same types of grapes as Bordeaux, this region does produce some nice wines. Wines grown here included full-bodied red wines, and aromatic white wines. This area is one of the more ancient wine growing areas of France, and the writer Virgil, praised the area for its wines.

Cognac - made from white wine, the process to make cognac makes it "eau de vie", and is under the category of brandies. The white wine is cooked in a copper pot, the evaporateded liquid is collected and then double distilled over a twenty hour distillation period. The distilled wine is then aged in large oak caskes, in a controlled environment. The longer cognac ages the darker it gets, and is best when over ten years of age. Melanie and I bought a bottle of cognac last year, a blend with Madagascarar vanilla, it is delicious, something to have on special occasions.

A great thing about wine in France is that it is served automatically at every meal, and is quite cheap. I know the wines that are served are probably not the best quality, but are probably as good as most bottles I buy in Canada, and would hopefully give me a notion of what the regional tastes and qualities are supposed to be. Cognac, now that is where some costs could be seen.
The most interesting parts of these pieces of the jouney would be to see the production processes in each area, and the differences that each area would have.