Understanding

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Understanding French Wines
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10 KEY POINTS ABOUT WINES OF FRANCE
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1. The French Wine Regions

• Wide range of regions 15

• More than 400 specific appellations

• 57 million hectoliters produced
• in 2003 ( over 633 million cases!)

• Word-wide wine production
• Europe 70 (187mh)
• France 21 (57mh)
• Italy 19 (51,6mh)
• Spain 14,5 (41mh)
• USA 8 (22mh)
• Argentina 4,5 (12,5mh)
• Australia 3,13 (8,5mh)
• South Africa 2,5 (7mh)
• Chili 2,4 (6,6mh)
• Source OIV 2003 (mh million hectoliters)

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2. Climate

• Three climatic conditions

Continental
Oceanic
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F
Mediterranean
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2.1 Climate

• Influence of climates on the diversity of french
  wines

• Powerful and perfumed continental wines
• Champagne
• Alsace
• Burgundy
• Beaujolais
• Jura and Savoie

Northern boundary of wine growing area

• Light fruity and fine oceanic wines
• Loire wines
• Muscadet
• Chinon
• Vouvray
• Touraine
• Country wines
•  Jardin de la France 

• Full-bodied and fragrant mediterranean wines
• Rhône Valley Châteauneuf du Pape, Côte Rôtie
• Côtes de Provence, Bandol
• Languedoc, Roussillon
• Country wines from  Pays dOc 

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• Powerful and balanced oceanic wines
• Bordeaux, Bergerac
• Fronton
• South west wines
• Country wines
• from  Côtes de Gascogne 

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3. Grape Varieties
RED Cabernet Franc Cabernet Sauvignon GamayGrenac
he Merlot Pinot Noir Syrah Mourvedre Tannat
WHITE Chardonnay Semillon Sauvignon
Blanc Gewurztraminer Pinot Blanc Pinot
Gris Riesling Muscadet Viognier Chenin ...

• Grape growing regions

Chardonnay Gewurztraminer Riesling Pinot
Noir Gamay
Chenin
Muscadet Sauvignon Blanc Cabernet Franc
Viognier
Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon Sauvignon
Blanc Semillon
Shiraz Grenache
Muscat
Tannat
Mourvedre
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4. 2600 Years of Winemaking

• Centuries of viticultural experience

1868
1935
TODAY TOMORROW
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-600
1500
Vines introduced in 600 BC
The place of the vine and the role of medieval
clergy
The phylloxera outbreak after the catastrophe,
the pursuit of quality
Creation of the INAO First AOC designated
(Appellation dOrigine Contrôlée) Châteauneuf du
Pape
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5. French quality classification system
SOIL CLIMATE GRAPE VARIETIES HUMAN FACTOR
TERROIR (TER WHAR) The Taste of a Place
MAKES UP THE AOC / Country Wines / Table Wines
CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM
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5.1 What does terroir mean?

• An appellation or a winerys terroir (ter whar)
  is a combination of its terrain, climate, soil
  type and sun exposure.
• Terroir affects the characteristics of whatever
  grapes are grown in the vineyard. What affects
  the grapes affects the wines.
• Examples in Bordeaux, on the left bank of the
  Garonne river (the left bank), terroirs are
  best suited to Cabernet grapes. On the right bank
  of the Garonne, terroirs are best suited to
  Merlot grapes.

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5.2 The classification system
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5.3 The quality pyramid
Grands Crus, Crus Classés
Communal AOC
Wines of high and exceptional quality

• Regional AOC
• Bordeaux
• Côtes du Rhône
• Bourgogne
• Beaujolais
• Rosé dAnjou
• Côtes de Provence

• Country Wines
• Vin de Pays dOc
• Vin de Pays du Jardin de la France
• Vin de Pays du Comté Tolosan

Wines of intermediate quality
Wines of standard quality
Table Wines
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5.4 What are Appellations?
An AOC wine is labeled according to its
Appellation the name of the state, district or
village in which the vines are grown and the wine
is made. For a wine to be granted the right to
use an Appellation, it needs to comply with a
strict set of production and quality standards.
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6. Understanding the label
4. Vintage
1. Name of the Winery Château/Domaine/Mas/Brand
2. Name of the appellation (state, district,
village...).
5. Name of Cuvee/Brand or Miscellanous mention
(Old Vines)
3.  Appellation dOrigine Controlée  or
 Appellation Controlée . Indicates that the
wine complies with a strict set of production and
quality standards.
7. Net volume in liters (l), centiliters (cl) or
milliliters (ml)
8. Bottler and address of the principal
establishment
6. Name and address of the owner
10. Indicates whether the wine is bottled by a
winegrowers association or at the property
9. Alcohol level as   vol. 
Look for additional information (varietals, food
pairings...) on the back label.
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7. Service of Wine

• Opening a bottle of still wine

1. Remove the capsule, by cuting round below the
lip of the bottle. 2. Insert the corkscrew 3.
Draw the cork out smoothly and slowly. 3. Smell
the cork. 4. Pour a sample. (50ml)
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7. Service of Wine

• Glassware

• Temperature

WHITE WINE
SPARKLING
RED WINE
FORTIFIED WINE
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8. Tasting and evaluating the wine

• First contact with the wine

• APPEARANCE Appreciate the wines color and
  texture.
• SWIRL The glass to release the wines aromas.
• NOSE Place your nose above the glass and inhale
  deeply.
• PALATE Savor the wine. Identify flavors.

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8.1 Tasting the wine

• Aromas and flavor
• characterictics

1. Use personal descriptives 2. Try to remember
familiar smells 3. Tasting is subjective
Acidity
Smoothness Texture
Aromatic Complexity
Tannins For red wines Sugar For white wines
White Wine
Red Wine
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9. Pairing wine food

• Principle

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9.1 Matching wine with food
Grilled breast of duck
Pizza
WITH Cotes du Rhone
WITH Pinot Noir from Burgundy
Pan-fried steak
Paëlla
WITH Rose from Loire Valley (Cabernet dAnjou)
WITH Cabernet from Languedoc (Vin de Pays dOc)
Steamed turkey breast
Squid Sushi
WITH Gewurztraminer from Alsace
WITH Rose from Provence
Lamb curry
Fillet of Sole
WITH Corbieres (Languedoc full bodied wine)
WITH Champagne Blanc de Blancs
Veal in a sauce
Grilled game
WITH Chardonnay from Burgundy
WITH Red Bordeaux
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10. Conclusion
You will definitively  Spring into French
Wines  because of
The unique diversity of these wines style,
color, taste.
The great value for the money many French Wines
are available in the 7-20 range.
The great choice for all occasions year round.
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TIPS
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How to convince customers to  Spring into
French Wines 
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STEP 1
Presentation
1. Greeting 2. Introduce Yourself 3. Ask
questions
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STEP 2
Present the wine
1. Before pouring, always show the label to the
customer. Point out the name of the wine, the
Appellation and the grapes. 2. Pour a small
amount of wine into the glass (50ml
approximately 1 to 1 ½ ounces). 3. Let the
customer taste the wine. 4. Emphasize the price
and food friendiness. 5. Offer food pairing
suggestions.
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STEP 3
Encourage the customer to buy wines

• EMPHASIZE
• 1. Price/quality ratio
• 2. Range of wines
• 3. Special offer during the tasting
• Thank the customer for his attention and
  participation.

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Helpful suggestions
1. Present the tasting with enthusiasm and
motivation. 2. Always be polite with
customers. 3. Take your time with
explanations. 4. Dont try to invent answers to
questions, just be sincere and say that you dont
know! 5. Be sure that the customer is at least
21!
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FAQ 10 key questions

• 1. Why are Wines from France the best?
• Wine evaluation is subjective
• However, centuries of vinegrowing winemakeing
  techniques(by which all others are judged)
  experience know-how
• The best wines of their type
• Standard of quality
• Terroir
• 2. What does terroir mean?
• SOIL CLIMATE GRAPE VARIETIES HUMAN FACTOR
  TERROIR
• the taste of a place.
• 3. French Winemakers Make a Big Deal about
  Terroir. Isnt These Concept Overrated?
• - Terroir affects the characteristics of
  whatever grape is involved.
• - What affects the grapes affecs the wines
• - Variety of Terroirs
• - Historical experience

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FAQ 10 key questions

• 6. Why are French wines expensive?
• They are not!. Only a small percentage of
  French wines are expensive.
• France produces a lot of wine in all price
  ranges. Many French wines are sold between 7 to
  20 a bottle.
• 7. Who are you ?
• I am working for an agency hired by Wines Of
  France to promote French wines
• 8. Which of those wines do you like the best ?
  Why?
• Be honest, dont say there is one that is not
  good, explain about food and wine pairing, can be
  drunk in every occasions...Be positive.
• 9. How are French Wines different from New
  World Wines?
• French wines differ from New World wines in
  two major ways
• - Most French wines are named after the place
  they come from (Saint-Emilion, Sancerre, Anjou,
  Bourgogne).
• - French wines generally reflect the terroir.
  They present the characteristics of the
  particular location where the grapes are
  grown. Many New World wines speak the language
  of their grape variety.

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Thanks for your time
For more information
www.wines-france.com
Marie.cordonnier_at_sopexa.com Office 212 386
7449 Cell 917 251 0220