Hyd po vynam Frantsyy: populyarnye vynodelny y sorta vynohrada

Chardonnay, Beaujolais, Champagne, Pinot Noir — these words are like music to wine lovers. You immediately picture some valley with vast vineyards, barrels in a cool, dark cellar, and the reflection of the setting sun in a glass. Incredibly beautiful and so French.

Besides being beautiful, it is also regulated. France is renowned for its strict requirements for wine producers. When buying, for example, Loire Valley wine, you can be sure it will not disappoint. All production processes have been perfected and regulated down to the smallest details. At the legislative level, the varieties and amount of grapes that may be grown in each appellation are regulated. Additives or their absence, ageing and other aspects also deserve special attention. Winemakers strictly follow the rules, and it is precisely thanks to this that the quality of the alcoholic beverage remains consistently high.

Popular French wineries

Wineries are not only about wine production, but also beautiful grounds, a history of their creation and development, and a place for tastings and relaxation. That is why wine tourism has become so popular in recent years. Enjoying wine where it was born is appealing to connoisseurs of the beverage. Naturally, the wineries of France attract the greatest interest. Let us look at the TOP 5 most interesting ones.

1. Moet et Chandon. One of the symbols of France. They produce champagne that is opened every second around the world. Every tour of this winery begins with precisely this information.
2. The famous “Widow Clicquot” — Veuve Clicquot-Ponsardin. An appealing place with a history. It is located in Reims, in northeastern France.
3. Château Cantenac in the Grand Cru region. This is a château where the owners’ family lives, and a winery where you can learn about its history and technological processes and taste the wine.
4. Maison Ruinart deserves special attention — the oldest champagne house still operating today. Eight kilometres of cellars hold bottles of wine. During the tour, visitors walk down and return by lift.
5. In the Châteauneuf-du-Pape region, Chateau de la Gardine is worth visiting. The winemaking family who owns it moved to the region in the middle of the 20th century from the southern Rhône Valley. They had been producing wine there since 1670. The wine is bottled in unusually shaped bottles, which are also a distinctive hallmark of this winery.

Popular grape varieties in France

There are several thousand wine grape varieties around the world. Red and white, popular and declining. But only 136 varieties are suitable for making French wine. The most popular among them are:

• Chardonnay;
• Riesling;
• Sauvignon Blanc;
• Chenin Blanc;
• Cabernet Sauvignon;
• Merlot;
• Pinot Noir;
• Beaujolais Nouveau.

By the way, a special holiday was created in honour of the last variety, and it has long been celebrated beyond France as well. On the third Thursday of November, people celebrate the end of the grape harvest and the maturation of the first young wine of this variety. This vine is cultivated not only in France. Winemakers in other countries also produce wine from these varieties. But traditionally, French wine comes to mind first: rich and bright, tart and distinctive, like everything in this country!