France is the 2nd largest producer of wine.
Dans un marchand de vin, vous pourriez trouve
Du vin blanc, rouge, rose(bourdeaux, bourgogne, alsace, cotes du Rhones)
Des aperitifs(pastis, whiskey, gin, vodka, muscat, porto)
Des digestifs(cognac, armagnac, Grand Marnier, Cointreau, caluodos)
Five regions of France producing wines
Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Loire Valley, Alsace
Five steps to making wine(The Anatomy of a Great French wine) bestoffrance.ca
- There is harvesting: the harvesting must be done at a particular time to maximize the amount of sugar in the grapes, which will later yield a higher alcohol quantity.
- The crushing and pressing: the old tradition was to stomp on the grapes until they turned into juice. Most of this ritual disappeared. However, it does bring a significant sanitary improvement and enhances the quality and longevity of the wine. There is a difference in the operation between red and white wine.
- There is the fermentation: Fermentation is the magical process that turns grape juice into an alcoholic beverage. Fermentation will convert all the sugar in the juice into alcohol. The liquid starts by fermenting natural for 6 to 10 hours with the aid of wild yeasts in the air. Nowadays, many winemakers seek to control more of this fermentation process by incorporating their yeast strain to predict more precisely the result of the fermentation.
- The clarification: Clarifying the wine, means the wine is racked and siphoned to leave the solids and precipitates at the bottom of the fermenting tank. This is the stage where wine is not yet in a bottle or a barrel but a gigantic tank containing thousands of litres.
- The aging of the bottle: The wine is now ready to be bottled if it’s a “jeune vin” such as the Beaujolais Nouveau, or it can be aged longer, like Bordeaux or a Cabernet Sauvignon.
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