Okay . . . perhaps that’s too ambitious, but this post will hopefully help you to understand how to read French wine labels. I’ll begin with a scenario:
Pretend that you are an employer looking at two marketing resumes. The first resume says: Mary, marketer from Arizona. The second one is a full resume with a name (let’s say Claire), and tons of information complete with work experience, references, technical acronyms, industry jargon, education and awards.
The above example demonstrates the difference between American (Mary) wine labels and French (Claire) ones. An experienced recruiter would have no way of knowing which candidate for the position would make a better marketer, but they would definitely know more about Claire based on her resume – the same holds true for American and French wine labels. Once you understand how to read French labels, there is a lot less risk in making the purchase, whereas an American label will provide little information other than the majority grape variety used and the location it comes from.
So here is a quick guide to understanding how to pick French wines by their labels:
1. Appellation Contrôlee: Look for the bottle to contain these words. This is the highest level of quality and regulation that a French wine can have. It surpasses anything that we have in the U.S. France has numerous appellations and each one has strict regulations including the exact location that the vines can be grown, their soil, grape varieties, wine making methods, aging methods, and a lot more. Although it limits the creativity of the winemakers in France, it ensures that quality measures are in place and that the best grapes are grown in areas that they are best suited for.
2. Understanding Appellations: The best way to learn about the numerous appellations is to try one and to get to know that style before moving to another. Most of the grape varieties that are grown throughout the U.S. originated in France, so it’s great to see how they differ in their native lands. Like Cabernet Sauvignon – try one of the appellations of Bordeaux (Medoc and Haut Medoc to name a few). Likewise, if you like Chardonnay, try a Chablis or a Meurseult. Once you get to know the names, they become less exotic and easy to associate with a style.
3. Be Adventurous: One of the beauties of the French quality system is that wines that are labeled appellation controlee inherently have less risk than an American wine with a cute slogan or animal on it, so it allows you to be adventurous without getting burned. You may not like the style, but at least you know the quality is there so it is truly the style that you are evaluating. Try Malbec where it originated (Cahors) or Chenin Blanc from its home (Vouvray) or Cabernet Franc from its native soil (Saumer). The possibilities are endless.
4. Freshly Bottled: There are numerous ways that one can state that a wine was bottled at the place it was grown in French. They include: Mis en bouteille au château, Mis en bouteille à la propriété, Mis en bouteille au domaine and several others. In general, these wines will taste better than ones that are grown in one place and bottled in another. The one exception to this rule is the Burgundy region where a culture of winebrokers have made estate bottled wines hard to find.
5. Don’t Be Pretentious: French wine brings out the worst in some people. It might be fun to drop words like Lafite, Latour & d’Yquem to show off and but it’s better to have a broader appreciation for what French wine is – an amazingly diverse and delicious drink that brings people together at the dinner table. Few Frenchmen are snobs about their wine, so don’t let perceptions sway you from enjoying these fabulous tipples.
Henceforth a large majority of my posts on French wines will be focused on individual styles of appellations instead of the global buying tips posted here. There are so many great wines to explore and I look forward to sharing them with you.
Salut!
