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What to Know Before You Buy French Wine Online

by Wine Taster
published: 27 Apr 2009       | Comments

Understanding French wine isn't easy. Buying French wine is an even bigger challenge. Buying French wine online can be positively daunting.

The first thing you should know before trying to buy French wine online is that almost all French wine labels carry the name of the region where the wines were made as an indication of the grapes used for the wines. This is strange for most people who are used to seeing the name of the grape as the prominent indicator of the type of wine they are buying. The French government allows only certain grapes to be grown in certain areas. Wine drinkers will find it helpful to learn what grapes are grown in the various regions of France before buying French wine online.

The French associate flavors with regions and laws have been created in regards to planting to protect these associations and provide some guarantees for the consumers. Growers can't plant Chardonnay grapes in Bordeaux, for instance, or grow Cabernet Sauvignon grapes in Burgundy. Bordeaux yields Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot grapes. Burgundy yields Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Gamay grapes.

In the United States, wine marketing focuses more on the type of grape used rather than where the wine is from. Because of this, the name of the grape is front and center on most American wine labels.

The French emphasize "terroir" - how soil, landscape, climate and more of a specific region (or vineyard) work together to create the particular tastes and aromas in the finished wine.

Specific grape-growing regions of France have defined terroirs. Before you buy French wine online, it's helpful to learn the regions. Here are five of the most famous ones:

• Alsace is in the northeastern corner of France and is noted for its excellent white wines (Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Blanc and Sylvaner), but they also produce some red wine (Pinot Noir).
• The Bordeaux region in southwestern France has been famous in the wine trade for centuries. Bordeaux produces more wines classified with AOC status than any other region in France. Bordeaux is best known for producing red wines (blends based on Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot), but also produces delicious dry and sweet white wines (blends of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon).
• Burgundy is located in the central part of eastern France. The Burgundy region is the home of some of the finest Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines in the world.
• The Champagne region is located in northeastern France (only about 1 1/2 hours from Paris by train or car, in case you plan to visit). It is the inspiration for Tuesnights (which is the one night of the week dedicated to sparkling wine, for those of you who haven't been following @SuppleWine on Twitter closely enough) Champagne produces some of the world's best sparkling wines from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes.
• The Rhone river valley in southeastern France is a grape growing and wine producing area famed for its red wines. The Northern Rhone is best known for Syrah, while the Southern Rhone blends many different grapes together, including Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault and a more.

More and more French wineries are making wine to ship directly to the United States and are therefore listing the grape before the region. But most French wineries stick to the tradition of listing the area first in order to pay homage to the soil that grows the grape. So when you're planning to buy French wine (online or in a store without helpful employees), don't forget: the emphasis is on the soil where the grape grows - not the grape itself.