If custom wine cellars in Dallas, TX are on your radar because you hear “La Vie En Rose” playing in your head every time you uncork a bottle of French wine, then it’s time to call us at Vineyard Wine Cellars. At Vineyard Wine Cellars, we know that wine can become an obsession, especially French wine, because of the romance and history associated with it.
It All Began With The Romans
Though there is evidence that grapes were grown all over Europe well before the Romans travelled north from Italy, winemaking as we know it didn’t begin in France until the 3rd century A.D. when the Romans brought grapevines to France, Germany and even England. By the time the Roman empire fell, wine was an established trading commodity and a part of everyday life in much of Europe. Part of the reason wine became so pervasive was because of the need for wine in religious ceremonies, which led to the refinement of winemaking techniques by French monks. Many of the techniques perfected in monasteries are still in use today.
Quality Laws And The Appellation System
In 1935, laws were passed to control the quality of French wine. From these laws came the establishment of the Appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC) system, which grants certifications to wine from specific geographic regions. These strict certifications are based on terroir, which is a set of environmental factors that include soil and climate type. The AOC system presumes that these environmental factors impart a unique quality to the grapes and, consequently, to the wine. This type of system has proven so effective at controlling the quality and authenticity of French wine that is has been adopted by many other European countries.
Wine Styles And Wine Consumption
All of the common styles of wine - red, rosé, white, sparkling and fortified - are produced in France. In each of these styles the quality ranges from simple and cheap to expensive and highly-sought-after. One thing most French wine styles have in common, though, is that they were developed to accompany food, rarely for drinking alone. Though the consumption of wine in France has fallen in recent years, the French still prefer a glass of wine with dinner over any other beverage. In fact, the French are second only to the United States in total bottles of wine consumed per year but fall far behind the largest per capita consumer of wine, Vatican City.
Wine Regions of France
France has dozens of wine regions but there are seven that are the most recognizable and that produce the majority of the French wine to keep in wine cellars in Dallas, TX:
Burgundy - produces red wine from pinot noir grapes and white wine from chardonnay grapes Bordeaux - known for its full-bodied wines often referred to as clarets by wine drinkers in the UK Champagne - The Benedictine monk, Dom Pérignon, perfected the sparkling wine Loire Valley - produces the greatest variety of wines of any region in France Languedoc - produces up to 40% of France’s less expensive table wines Alsace - produces white wines almost exclusively Rhône - famous for red wines made from Syrah and Grenache grapes
Fall in love with French wine and fill your collection with a variety from every region of the country. For storage, call us at Vineyard Wine Cellars in Dallas, TX at (866) 615-4008 or visit www.vineyardwinecellars.com.
